The history of Halloween – for kids

The History of Halloween

Halloween is a holiday in many English speaking countries, such as the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, New-Zealand and Australia. It is celebrated on the night of October 31st. Children wear costumes and they go to people’s homes saying “Trick or treat!” to ask for candy. They collect chocolate bars, toffee, gummi bears, marshmallows, and other sweets in their baskets. People dress up as ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies, spiders, and other scary things for Halloween. You can dress up as anything you like.

Houses, shops, and streets are also decorated. People decorate with spiderwebs, vampires, bats, graves, frightening things, and pumpkins. There are Halloween parties in many schools and kindergartens. Children carve pumpkins too and they put candles inside. A pumpkin like this is called a jack-o-lantern. People also cook and bake with pumpkins. Pumpkin cakes, cookies and muffins are very popular.

The word Halloween is from Hallowe’en, the day before the Catholic holiday All Saints holy day. This holiday was made by Christian missionaries. In many countries, the Day of the Dead is also celebrated on November 1^st. It is about remembering family or friends who have died.