APTIS ADVANCED READING

PART 2: MATCHING HEADINGS

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

The pumpkins are carved, the costumes are prepared and there’s a big bowl of
candy waiting by the door — if it lasts until Oct 31, that is. Halloween is lurking in
the wings, ready to swoop down for another night of trick-or-treating, haunted
houses and frights for all. But where did these annual rituals come from? Read on
to find out...

A)
About 2,000 years ago, the Celts celebrated the end of their year on Oct. 31. Their new year
started the next day, but for that one night, the Celts believed that the line between the
living and the dead blurred and that people who were dead could come back to walk the
Earth. The Celts, who lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated
with bonfires and wore costumes for the festival called Samhain, pronounced sow-in or
sown (rhymes with clown).
In A.D. 43, the Celts were overrun by the Romans, who ruled during the next 400 years and
combined two of their fall festivals with Samhain. In late October, the Romans remembered
their dead on Feralia and then honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
Supposedly, this is why we bob for apples on Halloween.

B)
By the 800s, Christianity had appeared in the area and Pope Boniface IV wanted to replace
the pagan festivals with Christian holidays. But it didn’t work exactly the way he expected.
The Catholic Church decided to honor all saints on Nov. 1 and later named Nov. 2 All Souls’
Day to remember the dead. All Saints’ Day was called All hallows, so the night before (Oct.
31) was All hallows Eve, which was celebrated with bonfires and costumes.

C)
The Celts (and their descendants) left food in front of their homes because they believed the
dead would eat and then not need to come inside the house. The church tried to change this
by encouraging people to hand out food to the poor on All Souls’ Day. In exchange for “soul”
cakes, the poor promised to pray for the dead relatives of the people who gave them the
cakes. Soon, children were dressing up and begging for cakes, too.

D)
By the 1920s, the children in America began trick-or-treating as a harmless way of involving
everyone in town in the holiday. Back then, tricks like turning over out-houses and soaping
the windows were wide- spread, especially if a house wasn’t giving out treats.
 APTIS ADVANCED READING

E)
The people in colonial America immigrated from Europe and brought their customs with
them. These were combined with some from the American Indians. Scary pagan rituals were
discouraged, and the holiday became sort of a fall festival to celebrate the harvest. There
were ghost stories and mischief, too.

F)
The Celts and later the Europeans, believing that the spirits walked the Earth on Oct. 31,
wore masks after dark so that if they should run into a ghost, the spirit would think the
wanderer was one of their own and not try to possess the body.

G)
An Irish legend tells the tale of Stingy Jack, who played tricks on the devil. When Jack got to
heaven, he wasn’t welcome; he wasn’t welcome by the devil, either. So Jack had to wander
the Earth forever. Because he couldn’t see in the dark, he carved out a turnip or potato and
put in a lump of coal he stole from the devil.
When the Irish people immigrated to America, they brought the legend and the tradition of
the carved potatoes and turnips with them. Pumpkins were easier to carve and there were a
lot of them in America, so they soon took the place of the turnips and potatoes.

HEADINGS:

1. WHY IS IT CALLED HALLOWEEN?

2. WHAT’S UP WITH THE JACK-O’-LANTERN?

3. WHAT’S “TRICK-OR-TREAT”?

4. WHY DO PEOPLE WEAR COSTUMES?

5. HOW DID HALLOWEEN START?

6. CELTS CELEBRATING FERALIA

7. WHY DO PEOPLE HAND OUT TREATS?

8. HOW COME THE UNITED STATES CELEBRATES?

 APTIS ADVANCED READING

ANSWER KEY

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

The pumpkins are carved, the costumes are prepared and there’s a big bowl of candy
waiting by the door — if it lasts until Oct 31, that is. Halloween is lurking in the wings, ready
to swoop down for another night of trick-or-treating, haunted houses and frights for all. But
where did these annual rituals come from? Read on to find out...

A) 5. HOW DID HALLOWEEN START?

About 2,000 years ago, the Celts celebrated the end of their year on Oct. 31. Their new year
started the next day, but for that one night, the Celts believed that the line between the
living and the dead blurred and that people who were dead could come back to walk the
Earth.
The Celts, who lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated with
bonfires and wore costumes for the festival called Samhain, pronounced sow-in or sown
(rhymes with clown).
In A.D. 43, the Celts were overrun by the Romans, who ruled during the next 400 years and
combined two of their fall festivals with Samhain. In late October, the Romans remembered
their dead on Feralia and then honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
Supposedly, this is why we bob for apples on Halloween.

B) 1. WHY IS IT CALLED HALLOWEEN?

By the 800s, Christianity had appeared in the area and Pope Boniface IV wanted to replace
the pagan festivals with Christian holidays. But it didn’t work exactly the way he expected.
The Catholic Church decided to honor all saints on Nov. 1 and later named Nov. 2 All Souls’
Day to remember the dead. All Saints’ Day was called All hallows, so the night before (Oct.
31) was All hallows Eve, which was celebrated with bonfires and costumes.

C) 7. WHY DO PEOPLE HAND OUT TREATS?

The Celts (and their descendants) left food in front of their homes because they believed the
dead would eat and then not need to come inside the house. The church tried to change this
by encouraging people to hand out food to the poor on All Souls’ Day. In exchange for “soul”
cakes, the poor promised to pray for the dead relatives of the people who gave them the
cakes. Soon, children were dressing up and begging for cakes, too.

D) 3. WHAT’S “TRICK-OR-TREAT”?
By the 1920s, the children in America began trick-or-treating as a harmless way of involving
everyone in town in the holiday. Back then, tricks like turning over out-houses and soaping
the windows were wide- spread, especially if a house wasn’t giving out treats.
 APTIS ADVANCED READING

E) 8. HOW COME THE UNITED STATES CELEBRATES?

The people in colonial America immigrated from Europe and brought their customs with
them. These were combined with some from the American Indians. Scary pagan rituals were
discouraged, and the holiday became sort of a fall festival to celebrate the harvest. There
were ghost stories and mischief, too.

F) 4. WHY DO PEOPLE WEAR COSTUMES?

The Celts and later the Europeans, believing that the spirits walked the Earth on Oct. 31,
wore masks after dark so that if they should run into a ghost, the spirit would think the
wanderer was one of their own and not try to possess the body.

G) 2. WHAT’S UP WITH THE JACK-O’-LANTERN?

An Irish legend tells the tale of Stingy Jack, who played tricks on the devil. When Jack got to
heaven, he wasn’t welcome; he wasn’t welcome by the devil, either. So Jack had to wander
the Earth forever. Because he couldn’t see in the dark, he carved out a turnip or potato and
put in a lump of coal he stole from the devil.
When the Irish people immigrated to America, they brought the legend and the tradition of
the carved potatoes and turnips with them. Pumpkins were easier to carve and there were a
lot of them in America, so they soon took the place of the turnips and potatoes.

EXTRA: 6. CELTS CELEBRATING FERALIA