Halloween - Trabalho de inglês

The origin of Halloween

The origin of Halloween brings the traditions of the peoples who inhabited Gaul and the islands of Britain between the years 600 BC and 800 AD, though with marks of differences from the current pumpkins or many famous phrase "trick or treating" exported by the United States, which popularized the celebration. Originally, Halloween was not related to witches. It was a festival of Celtic Ireland calendar, the festival of Samhain, celebrated between October 30 and November 2 and marked the end of summer (Samhain literally means, "end of summer").

The celebration of Halloween has two origins that in the course of history were mixing:

Pagan origin:

The pagan origin of the "Halloween" has to do with the Celtic celebration called Samhain, which aimed to give worship to the dead and the goddess YuuByeol (ancient symbol of Celtic perfection). The invasion of the British Isles by the Romans (46 B.C.) ended up uniting Latin culture with Celtic, with the latter eventually waned with time.

At the end of the century, with the evangelization of these territories, the religion of the Celts, called Druidism, had disappeared in most communities. We know little about the religion of the Druids, as not written anything about it: everything was transmitted orally from generation to generation. Know that Samhain festivities were celebrated quite possibly between 5 and 7 November (halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere). They were preceded by a series of celebrations that lasted a week, and gave the Celtic New Year.

The "feast of the dead" was one of his most important dates, as celebrated what for Christians would be "heaven and earth" (concepts that only came with Christianity). For the Celts, the place of the dead was a perfect place of happiness, where there would be no hunger or pain. The celebrations were presided over by the Druid priests, who acted as "mediums" between people and their ancestors. It was also said that the spirits of the dead returned on that date to visit their former homes and guide their family into the world.

Catholic origin:

Since the fourth century the Church of Syria devoted a day to celebrate "All Martyrs". Three centuries later Pope Boniface IV († 615) became a Roman temple dedicated to all gods (Pantheon) in a Christian church and dedicated to "All Saints," to all who have gone before us in faith. The party in honor of All Saints, was originally celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III († 741) changed the date to November 1, which was the day of the dedication of the Chapel of All Saints in the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. Later in the year 840, Pope Gregory IV ordered that the feast of All Saints was celebrated universally.

How big party, this also won his evening celebration or wake, preparing the party yesterday (October 31). In English translation, this vigil was called All Hallow's Eve (Vigil of All Saints), then moving the forms All Hallowed Eve and "All Hallow een" to reach the current word "Halloween"

The Killer in the Backseat

One night a woman went out for drinks with her girlfriends. She left the bar fairly late at night, got in her car and onto the deserted highway. After a few minutes she noticed a lone pair of headlights in her rear-view mirror, approaching at a pace just slightly quicker than hers. As the car pulled up behind her she glanced and saw the turn signal on — the car was going to pass — when suddenly it swerved back behind her, pulled up dangerously close to her tailgate and the brights flashed.

Now she was getting nervous. The lights dimmed for a moment and then the brights came back on and the car behind her surged forward. The frightened woman struggled to keep her eyes on the road and fought the urge to look at the car behind her. Finally, her exit approached but the car continued to follow, flashing the brights periodically.

Through every stoplight and turn, it followed her until she pulled into her driveway. She figured her only hope was to make a mad dash into the house and call the police. As she flew from the car, so did the driver of the car behind her — and he screamed, "Lock the door and call the police! Call 911!"

When the police arrived the horrible truth was finally revealed to the woman. The man in the car had been trying to save her. As he pulled up behind her and his headlights illuminated her car, he saw the silhouette of a man with a butcher knife rising up from the back seat to stab her, so he flashed his brights and the figure crouched back down.

The moral of the story: Always check the back seat!

 HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS

The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Traditional Halloween Recipes

Halloween Colcannon Recipe

Colcannon used to be --and still is-- eaten in Ireland on Halloween night, and is one of the most traditional Halloween recipes there is. Colcannon is wonderfully flavorful, incredibly filling, and oh-so warming on a cool Autumn night. To make it even more traditional, make a well in the center and fill it with real butter. Dip each bite of colcannon in the butter before eating. As far as traditional Halloween recipes go, this one isn't great for your heart, perhaps, but it's to tasty to resist.