LESSON NOTES

Advanced Audio Blog S3 #18

Top 10 US Holidays: Halloween

CONTENTS
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Cultural Insight

# 18
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 ENGLISH

1. Top 10 US Holidays—Halloween

2. Halloween is typically celebrated in the United States by children dressing up in various

costumes and going from house to house collecting candy. A door knock is answered
with a cheerful "Trick or treat!" The holiday falls on October 31 every year, and children
aren't the only ones celebrating. Adults also enjoy going to costume parties.

3. The history of the name dates back to the Scottish, and it translates to "All Hallows Eve."
The holiday is a mix of Celtic practices and also Roman Catholic rituals. In many cultures,
Halloween is the day when the dead are allowed to return to earth, although in the United
States this is mostly expressed only through the spookiness of the holiday. Halloween is a
time to be scared and to frighten others, usually through ghoulish pranks.

4. The way Americans celebrate Halloween can be traced all the way back to its roots in
Celtic and Roman times. Bonfires were a hallmark of the celebration, just as they are
today. In the United States, it is common for children and their parents to carve faces into
pumpkins, which are known as jack-o-lanterns. This custom dates back to the Irish and
Scottish practice of carving turnips, which was meant to be done in remembrance of
those who were in purgatory.

5. Dressing up in costumes and going door to door also dates to the Middle Ages, during
which the poor would go around to the doors of various residents on this holiday to ask
for food. In return, they would pray for the dead.

VOCABULARY

V oc abular y English C lass

set of clothes for a specific

occasion, possibly meant to
costume make the wearer look like noun
someone or something else

no longer alive; as a noun,

dead people who are no longer adjective
living

white root eaten as a

turnip vegetable noun

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 big outdoor fire used for
bonfire noun
celebrations and to burn trash

scared filled with fear adjective

action taken to deceive

trick somebody noun

source of happiness or joy

treat that is often unexpected noun

related to the Celts, a tribe of

Celtic people in Europe and Asia adjective
before the Roman Empire

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Costumes offer a very entertaining time, no Having a fear of the dead is very common
matter what time of year. in today's world.

Turnips are a root vegetable not many A bonfire is a great way to keep warm
people like to eat. during a campout.

Children are often scared of a great many I played a trick on him the other day, and it
things until they learn about them. turned out better than I thought.

It was such a treat to see my grandchildren She wore a Celtic cross around her neck at
this weekend. all times.

Back in Celtic days, the world was a very different place.

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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Fun Facts about Halloween

One of the most well-known movies about Halloween is the 1978 film Halloween. Many
Americans enjoy watching this movie around the time of the holiday. If you take the time to
look closely at the mask the monster is wearing in the movie, you will notice that it bears a
striking resemblance to William Shatner. This is because the movie makers were on a very low
budget, and they had to use the least expensive mask they could find, which happened to be
a Captain Kirk mask from the long-running series Star Trek. Shatner later said he was honored
that they used his mask to make the character's face.

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