Hallowe'en
Hallowe'en is a special ghost festival. It
happens on the night of 31 October. People wear
special clothes at Hallowe'en. They tell ghost
stories and play games.
Hallow'en is very popular in the USA. Children visit the houses of their neighbours. They wear strange costumes and say 'trick or treat? The neighbour then gives them a 'treat' or something nice. This could be a sweet or an apple.
The Jack--o'-lantern is a popular
part of Halloween. This is a pumpkin with a face carved
out (see picture above). Inside the pumkin there is a
candle. The candle is to frighten the witches
away. 
Another tradition is a special Halloween cake. This has
a silver coin inside. When the cake is cut, someone
finds the coin in one of the pieces. This person will
become rich.
Today Halloween is a fun festival. But in the past it
was very frightening. People called it 'The night of
the flying witches.' They thought these witches could
do terrible magic. They lit fires to frighten them.
You can read more about
hallowe'en in simple English here.
Note for ESL, EFL & ESOL Teachers
What is ESL Reading?
An independent website providing free resources for English language teachers and students. These include reading and listening materials for use in the classroom or online.
ESL Reading is edited by Kieran
McGovern, described as 'amongst
the best writers of language learner materials in
English'. It has links with Extensive
Reading, the British Council and many other
organisations promoting language learning through
reading.
More about ESL Reading here.
