Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Children
Trick or treat!
Voice 1
Every October thirty-first [31st] children all across America do something unusual. They put on strange clothes. They may even paint their faces to look like someone different. They walk around to different houses. They knock on the door of the house. And then they ask for a sweet candy treat!
Children
Trick or treat!
Voice 1
This is the holiday of Halloween.
Voice 2
People all around the world celebrate holidays like Halloween. But they celebrate them in different ways. Today’s Spotlight is on Halloween!
Voice 1
The tradition of Halloween is very old. In fact, historians, people who study history, believe that Halloween traditions began as long as two thousand five hundred [2500] years ago. They believe these traditions started in ancient Ireland, with the Celtic people.
Voice 2
The Celts had two seasons - summer and winter. The bright half of the year was summer. And the dark half was winter. They believed that the bright half of the year ended around October thirty-one [31]. After this day, came the beginning of the winter season. The Celtic people called this change in season Samhain, which means the ‘end of summer.’
Voice 1
Samhain was a special time. It was a celebration of the end of summer, or life, and the beginning of winter, or death. So it was also a frightening time. The Celts believed that there was a natural barrier between the living and the dead. But, around this time, the barrier disappeared. They believed that spirits could rise from the dead around the time of Samhain. They could come among the living. And the spirits could even occupy the body of a living person during the next year.
Voice 2
Historians say that during the celebration of Samhain the Celts dressed themselves in different clothes. They walked through their villages making lots of noise. And they caused disorder in the village. They believed that this frightened the spirits away. Some historians also believe that the Celts sacrificed humans or animals during this celebration as a warning to the spirits.
Voice 1
Other people groups in other parts of the world celebrated similar holidays. Around the year four hundred [400], Christians came to Ireland. They began to celebrate Christian holidays at the same time the Celts celebrated their holidays.
Voice 2
For many years the church had a celebration in honour of saints - special people in the Church. They called this celebration ‘All Saints Day,’ or ‘All Hallows Day.’ It was a day to celebrate these special, or ‘holy,’ people. They celebrated ‘All Hallows Day’ on November one [1]. And after a time, people began calling the Samhain celebration ‘All Hallows Eve.’ That is because it happened on the evening, or night, before ‘All Hallows Day.’ Language is always changing. After a while, people shortened the name ‘All Hallows Eve’ to ‘Halloween’ and that is what we call it today!
Voice 1
For many people today, Halloween is a very important time. It is a day to celebrate the people who have lived before us. Many people believe that Halloween started in the Americas. But that is not true!
Voice 2
Irish settlers brought Halloween traditions to the United States in the middle eighteen hundreds [1800’s]. But Americans did not widely celebrate Halloween until almost one hundred [100] years later - during the early nineteen hundreds [1900’s]. Today, children all across the United States dress up on October thirty-one [31]. They go from door to door demanding candy by saying ‘trick or treat.’ And some still cause trouble too - just like the ancient Celts celebrating Samhain!
Voice 1
People celebrate holidays like Halloween all around the world. Many countries and people groups have a celebration to remember people who have died. They do not always call these celebrations ‘Halloween’. And they do not always celebrate them on October thirty-one [31]. But the celebrations all have similar meanings. So, how do you celebrate Halloween?
Voice 2
On Halloween night in Belgium, people light candles. These candles help people remember their dead relatives.
Voice 1
In the Czech Republic on Halloween, people place chairs to sit on by the fire. There is one chair for each member of the family. And there is one chair for each family member’s spirit.
Voice 2
German people traditionally put away their knives on Halloween night. They do not want to harm spirits returning to earth.
Voice 1
In China, people do not celebrate Halloween. But they have a very similar celebration called ‘Yue Lan.’ It is the ‘Festival of the Hungry Ghosts.’ The people there believe that spirits visit and travel through the world for twenty four [24] hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money. They believe that the spirits can see these burned pictures. And the burned pictures bring calm and peace to the ghosts. This celebration is not a time for games or dressing up. Instead, it is a day to remember and respect the memory of dead ancestors.
Voice 2
In Latin America and Spain, the people celebrate ‘El Dia De Los Muertos’ - ‘the day of the dead.’ It is a time to remember friends and family members who have died. A three-day celebration begins on October thirty-one [31]. During this time, families make special places in their houses to honour their dead friends and family. They place candy, photographs, fresh water, flowers, and food and drink in this special place. They burn candles and strong smelling incense to help spirits find their way home. On the last day of the celebration, called ‘All Soul’s Day’, living family members eat a meal at the gravesite where dead friends and family are buried. They tell stories and remember good times of when the person was alive.
Voice 1
And the tradition of Halloween is still popular in Ireland too! Today, on Halloween, Irish boys and girls, children and adults, dress themselves in frightening costumes. They dress like ghosts, witches, or other frightening creatures. The Irish people light big fires. Many children go around to different houses. They ask for fruits, nuts, or sweets.
Voice 2
As you can see, Halloween celebrations are popular all over the world. Halloween is a day for remembering. But it is also a day for having fun! Here at Spotlight, we would like to wish you a happy Halloween - any way you celebrate it!
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