Where Did Halloween Come From? — The Halloween Files 1 (B1–B2)

THE HALLOWEEN FILES · LESSON 1 OF 4

Where Did Halloween Come From?

Myth or Fact?

PAIRS

In pairs, mark each statement F (fact), M (myth) or ? (nobody really knows). Agree on your answers. The readings will tell you who was right.

1

Samhain was the "Celtic New Year".

F M ?

2

The first jack-o'-lanterns were carved from pumpkins.

F M ?

3

The word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallows' Eve".

F M ?

4

Irish and Scottish emigrants took Halloween to North America.

F M ?

5

People dressed up at Samhain to hide from ghosts.

F M ?

6

The ancient Celts had a god of the dead called Samhain.

F M ?

7

Hundreds of years ago, poor people in England went door to door asking for cakes.

F M ?

Samhain: Summer's End

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text alone. Then, in pairs, check statements 1, 5 and 6 from "Myth or Fact?". Were you right?

Over a thousand years ago, people in Ireland marked the end of summer with a festival called Samhain (say "SOW-in"). It fell around 1 November, when the harvest was in and the dark half of the year began.

What the stories say

The ancient Celts wrote

almost nothing down. Our best sources are Irish stories, written down by Christian monks centuries later. In them, Samhain is a time of huge gatherings: feasts, drinking, games and meetings of kings. It is also when strange things happen. The doors to the Otherworld open, and fairies and spirits walk about.

CONTINUED

In one tale, a fairy called Aillen plays music so sweet that everyone at Tara, the royal hill, falls asleep. Then he burns the place down. Every Samhain. Kings in these stories have a nasty habit of dying at Samhain, too.

What we don't know

Here the evidence gets thin. In the 1700s, a British army engineer,

Charles Vallancey, wrote that the Celts had a god of the dead called Samhain. There was no such god. In the late 1800s, scholars called Samhain the "Celtic New Year", but no early text says so. The old stories never describe a religious ritual, either. And the idea that people dressed up to hide from ghosts? A good legend, but there's no early proof.

Legend or History?

GROUPS

In groups, discuss the questions. Choose one answer to share with the class.

Charles Vallancey invented the "god of the dead" in the 1700s. Websites still repeat it every October.

1. Why do you think the "god of the dead" story spread so well?

2. Which is more fun to hear: a true story or a good legend? Why?

3. Think of a legend from your country. Is it history, guesswork or pure story?

4. How do you check if a "fact" you read online is really true?

5. Should tour guides and teachers tell the legend, the history, or both?

From Saints to Soul Cakes

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text alone. Then, in pairs, check statements 3 and 7 from "Myth or Fact?".

Meanwhile, the Church had its own calendar. In the 730s, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St Peter's, Rome, to all the saints on 1 November. By 835, 1 November was All Saints' Day across much of western Europe.

A name gets squashed

An old English word for a saint

was "hallow", so All Saints' Day was also called All Hallows, or Hallowmas. The evening before was All Hallows' Eve. In Scotland, "eve" was often shortened to "e'en", so the name became Hallowe'en.

CONTINUED

Was it a takeover?

Did the Church choose 1 November to replace Samhain? It's a popular story, but many historians doubt it. In fact, some early Irish church calendars remembered all the saints in April.

Cakes for prayers

Later, the Church added All Souls' Day on 2 November, a day to pray

for the dead. In parts of England, poor people and children went from door to door around this time. This was called "souling". They promised to pray for the family's dead, and in return they got a small spiced soul cake. Shakespeare seems to joke about it: in a play written around 1590, a character whines "like a beggar at Hallowmas".

Fairies, Turnips and a Long Voyage

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text alone. Then, in pairs, check statements 2 and 4 from "Myth or Fact?".

In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween night had a wild side. In 1584, a Scottish poet described the King of Fairies and his court riding out on Halloween. People were so superstitious about the night that in 1648, church leaders in Fife, Scotland, tried to stop the "superstitious fires" lit at Midsummer and Halloween.

In 1786, Robert Burns published "Halloween", a long poem about the night's fortune-telling games.

Guisers and ghost turnips

By the late 1800s, young people dressed up and went "guising" from house to house. Some believed the masks and lanterns scared off wandering spirits.

CONTINUED

For light, they carved faces into turnips, or sometimes potatoes, with a candle inside. Ireland's National Museum has a model of a "ghost turnip" from Donegal, the kind made there around 1900. It is not cute.

Across the ocean

In the 1800s, huge numbers of Irish and Scottish

people left home. During Ireland's Great Famine (1845–1852), about a million people died and more than a million left, many for North America. These emigrants packed their Halloween traditions too. In America, pumpkins were plentiful and easier to carve than turnips. By the early 1900s, Halloween was celebrated across the USA.

Rebuild the Timeline

GROUPS

In groups, put events A–H in order: write the letters 1 to 8. Then find a date for each one in the texts. Last question: which moment would your group most like to visit, and why?

A

Halloween is celebrated across the USA.

E

Ireland's Great Famine: more than a million people leave.

B

A Shakespeare character whines "like a beggar at Hallowmas".

F

A Scottish poet describes the King of Fairies riding out on Halloween.

C

Pope Gregory III dedicates a chapel to all the saints on 1 November.

G

1 November becomes All Saints' Day across much of western Europe.

D

Robert Burns publishes his poem "Halloween".

H

Church leaders in Fife try to stop "superstitious fires".

700

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1900s

Remembering, Your Way

GROUPS

In groups, discuss the questions. Find one thing that is the same in two of your countries, and tell the class.

Many places have special days for the harvest or for remembering the dead: Día de Muertos in Mexico, Chuseok in Korea, Obon in Japan, All Saints' Day in much of Europe.

1. Is there a festival like these where you live? What do people do?

2. What do people where you live think about Halloween?

3. Which matters more in a festival: its history, or the fun?

4. Are any old superstitions still alive where you live? Do people really believe them?

5. Which old tradition from your country would you hate to lose? Why?

Would You Rather…?

PAIRS

In pairs, take turns to choose. Give a reason every time. Find one question where you disagree.

USEFUL PHRASES

• I'd rather … because …

• For me, that's an easy one: …

• That's a tough one. On the one hand … , but on the other …

• Really? I'd go for the opposite, because …

1. Would you rather feast at Tara on Samhain night (Aillen might visit), or go souling for soul cakes?

2. Would you rather walk home on Halloween night with a turnip lantern, or with no light at all?

3. Would you rather live where every legend is true, or where every legend is proved false?

4. Would you rather see Samhain in ancient Ireland, or Halloween in an American town in the early 1900s?

5. Would you rather know the true origin of one famous festival, or invent a festival the whole world keeps?

Real or Fake? Write a Legend

GROUPS

In groups, write a fake "ancient legend" (3–5 sentences) that explains a Halloween custom: a lantern, a game, a food, a costume… Make it sound really old. Send it to your teacher in the chat. Keep it secret from the other groups!

USEFUL PHRASES

• Long, long ago, in a village by the sea…

• Legend says that…

• Ever since that night,…

• And that is why, to this day,…

IDEAS

• why we eat apples at Halloween

• why black cats bring bad luck

• why people knock on doors

• why lanterns have faces

Real or Fake? Spot the Real One

WHOLE GROUP

Listen to the legends. One of them is a real folk tale, hundreds of years old. Vote for the number you think is real. Then discuss the questions with the class.

1. Which legend sounded the oldest? Why?

2. What makes a legend convincing: names, places, details, or a scary ending?

3. Which fake legend would you believe if you read it online?

Word harvest

ancient

festival

harvest

spirit

very, very old; from thousands of years ago

a special day or time when people celebrate something

the time when farmers collect their crops

a ghost, or a being without a body

evidence

ritual

legend

saint

facts or things that show something is true

a set of actions always done the same way, often religious

an old story that may or may not be true

a very holy person, honoured by the Church

pray

superstitious

emigrant

tradition

to speak to God or a god

believing in luck, magic or signs

a person who leaves their country to live in another

something people have done in the same way for a long time

PAIRS

In pairs, take turns. Use four of these words to tell your partner where Halloween came from, in 30 seconds.

Homework

HOMEWORK

Find a legend or origin story about a festival from your own country (or a festival you like). Is it history, legend, or a bit of both? Do some research and decide.

Bring to the next lesson:

• the name of the festival and its legend, in one or two sentences

• 3 facts you found

• 1 source (a website, book or museum page)

• your verdict: history, legend, or a bit of both?

Time: about 20–30 minutes.

The Verdict

How many of the seven "Myth or Fact?" statements did your pair get right?

• 7: history detective

• 5–6: sharp eyes

• 3–4: half legend, half history

• 0–2: you'd have believed Vallancey!

Tell the class: which fact from today will you tell someone this week?

NEXT TIME

A Very British Halloween. Turnips, guisers, and a very noisy 5 November.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

MYTH OR FACT? settled in the three readings; recapped in The Verdict

1 ? Nobody knows. Scholars suggested the "Celtic New Year" in the late 1800s, but no early text says so ("Samhain: Summer's End").

2 M Myth. In Ireland and Scotland, lanterns were carved from turnips, sometimes potatoes; pumpkins took over in America ("Fairies, Turnips and a Long Voyage").

3 F Fact. All Hallows' Eve became Hallowe'en ("From Saints to Soul Cakes").

4 F Fact. Irish and Scottish emigrants took their customs to North America in the 1800s ("Fairies, Turnips and a Long Voyage").

5 ? Nobody knows. A popular legend, with no early evidence ("Samhain: Summer's End"). Accept "M" if a pair argues it well: the point is that it can't be proved.

6 M Myth. Charles Vallancey invented the "god of the dead" in the 1700s ("Samhain: Summer's End").

7 F Fact. "Souling": poor people and children went door to door for soul cakes and promised prayers for the dead ("From Saints to Soul Cakes").

REAL OR FAKE? SPOT THE REAL ONE teacher only: read this aloud, mixed in with the groups' legends

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

Long ago in Ireland there lived a mean, clever man called Jack, who made a bargain with the Devil and then cheated him. When Jack died, the gates of Heaven stayed shut, because he had lived such a bad life. So he went down to Hell, but the Devil turned him away too. The Devil threw him a burning coal to light his way, and ever since, "Jack of the Lantern" has wandered the dark roads with his light, leading travellers astray.

The facts behind it: this is a genuine Irish folk tale, not history. Irish schoolchildren wrote down many versions for the Schools' Collection in 1937–39 (for example "Jacky the Lantern" from Coachford, Co. Cork): https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes. In some versions Jack is refused by Purgatory, or the light is a mark left by the Devil's blow. Popular modern retellings (often called "Stingy Jack") add that Jack carried the coal inside a hollowed-out turnip, and say this is why carved lanterns are called jack-o'-lanterns. That link is a popular explanation, not a proven one: "jack-o'-lantern" first meant a mysterious light seen over marshes at night (a will-o'-the-wisp).

REBUILD THE TIMELINE

1 C: the 730s (Pope Gregory III's chapel to all the saints)

2 G: by 835 (All Saints' Day on 1 November across much of western Europe)

3 F: 1584 (the King of Fairies poem)

4 B: around 1590 (Shakespeare's "beggar at Hallowmas")

5 H: 1648 (church leaders in Fife and the "superstitious fires")

6 D: 1786 (Burns publishes "Halloween")

7 E: 1845–1852 (Ireland's Great Famine)

8 A: the early 1900s (Halloween celebrated across the USA)