Happy Halloween

By Victoria Wang

The Origin of Halloween

The Halloween celebration comes from All Hallows Day or All Saints Day, the 1st of November. This was originally a pagan festival of the dead, but later became a holiday to honor Christian saints.

The Origin of Halloween

The name Halloween comes from a contraction of All Hallows Eve (Evening), the day before All Hallows Day. On this night it was believed that the spirits of the dead would try to come back to life!

Do you think there should be a special day to remember the dead？

Apple Bobbing

To play this game, people will place some apples in a large bowl of water. People have to bite the apples without using their hands. To make this more difficult, the competitors have their eyes covered with a scarf.

Making pumpkin lanterns

These are pumpkins with the inside removed and eyes, a mouth, and a nose cut into one side. A candle is placed inside the empty pumpkin. People use pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes at Halloween.

Trick-or-treat

Children dress up and then visit the houses in their neighborhood asking for a "trick or treat". The neighbor gives them sweets or money as a "treat". If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbor.

Why do you think people carried out these rituals？

Multiple Choice

To play the game of apple bobbing, people can bite the apples using their hands.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What is placed inside the empty pumpkin?

• A candle

• An apple

• A scarf

• A lantern

Multiple Choice

What is a "treat" in Halloween?

• Playing a trick

• Biting an apple

• Sweets or money

• A pumpkin lantern

Multiple Choice

Which action is NOT considered "decorating"?

• Hanging pictures on the wall.

• Putting up Christmas lights.

• Placing flowers in a vase on the table.

• Using a broom to sweep the floor.

Xiao Bai coughed badly, so he went to the doctor. After an examination, the doctor said Xiao Bai was perfectly healthy. Why?

​Puzzle 1

Xiao Bai was a parrot. Its owner had a bad cough, and it was imitating the sound. The "doctor" was a veterinarian, who found the parrot in good health — the coughing was just learned behavior.

Answer

One day, Xiao Li was happily opening a mystery box at home when a group of police officers suddenly came to arrest Xiao Li.

​Puzzle 2

Xiao Li liked opening mystery boxes too much. He liked the feeling of unknown and a sense of pleasure. But he didn't have much money, so he stole many mystery boxes.

Answer

A man told his boss in the morning, "Don't take a flight today. I had a dream last night that if you do, the plane will crash and you will die." After hearing this, the boss immediately fired him.

Puzzle 3

The man was a night security guard, and he was not allowed to sleep on duty. By mentioning that he "had a dream last night," he unknowingly admitted to his boss that he had fallen asleep while working.

Answer

Puzzle 4

Honghong's newly bought thing was damaged by someone, but she wasn't angry at all. Why?

Answer

Because what Honghong bought was a movie ticket, and the person who "damaged" it was the ticket collector tearing it for admission.

Celebration around
the world