Halloween Text Structures

There are many symbols that are popular around

Halloween. For example, the pumpkin is common

because people use it in baked goods and to make

jack-o-lanterns. Another symbol is a haunted house

because many people like to visit haunted houses

for spooky fun. Bats and spiders are also common

animals that people think about during Halloween.

Different spooky creatures like witches, ghosts,

and vampires are also associated with Halloween.

These spooky creatures are popular Halloween

costumes. What other symbols do you notice at

Halloween?

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Around the world there are different holidays celebrated at the

same time as Halloween. For example, in Mexico people

celebrate Day of the Dead. Just like Halloween, this holiday

starts on October 31. Day of the Dead, however, is celebrated

for three days. The purpose of modern day Halloween is to

share scary stories, go trick-or-treating, and dress up in

costumes. The purpose of Day of the Dead is to remember

family members who have passed away. Both celebrations have

special symbols. Pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween and skulls

are a symbol of Day of the Dead. There are also special treats

for each holiday. Pumpkin pie and candy corn are very popular

Halloween treats. A sweet bread called dead bread and sugar

skulls are common Day of the Dead treats. Halloween and Day

of the Dead are different holidays celebrated at the same time.

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It is fun to collect candy, but you probably know that too much candy can be quite a problem. Eating too much candy can cause tummy aches and is bad for your teeth. Many dentist offices want to help solve the problem of too much candy. Some dentist offices buy the candy from kids to send to the troops. When our troops are serving overseas, they miss out on many things at home, including Halloween. Sending extra candy to them can help them enjoy Halloween. Donating your candy to the troops not only helps you eat less candy, but it also helps a soldier enjoy a Halloween treat.

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The idea of trick-or-treating has changed over time. At the beginning, it was mostly poor people who would go door-to-door singing a song that asked for food. Later, kids dressed up and performed tricks and asked for money or fruit. This was called “guising” because children wore different disguises. Next, kid began to receive chocolate or candy when they went door-to-door and the name was changed to trick-or- treating. Later, during World War II, trick-or-treating became less popular because there was not as much candy available. After the war, trick-or-treating became popular again. Today, many kids participate in trick-or-treating in different types of costumes.

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Do you know where some of our Halloween traditions came from? Many people believe that Halloween ideas came from a celebration called Samhain. Samhain was celebrated by a European group of people called the Celts. They believed that on Samhain, spirits were able to travel back to the world. Since families wanted the spirits of their family and friends to visit they had special parties. However, bad spirits could come visit Earth on this day too. People dressed-up in costumes in order to trick the bad spirits. To scare the bad spirits away, faces were carved into turnips or pumpkins. Some of the Celtic beliefs about Samhain are what caused many of our Halloween traditions.

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