Halloween by Sophie Mumm

Halloween

Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted houses, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching scary movies.

History

the practice of dressing up and going door to door for treats on Halloween dates back to the Middle Ages. Trick-or-treating resembles the late practice of souling, when poor folk would go door to door on November 1, receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2.)

Around the World

Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration are quite different from one another. Celebration in USA and Canada has a great impact on how Halloween is observed in other nations. This larger North American influence has extended to places such as South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and other parts of East Asia.

Trick-or- treating

Is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. They go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question "trick or treat?"The word "trick" refers to a "threat" to perform a prank on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.

Food!

Because the holiday comes around the annual harvest, candy apples, caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apple's in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes also rolling them in nuts.

Some other foods for Halloween are:

• Candy corn




• caramel corn




• pumpkin pie




• candy shaped like bats, worms, skulls etc.




• soul cakes

Costumes

Halloween costumes are normaly modeled after figures such as monsters, ghost, skeletons, witches and devils. Other costumes could also inclued popular characters like ninjas and princesses.