Halloween Origins
What Celtic Festival began the origins of Halloween?
Samhain (pronounced sow-in)
Why are black cats considered "bad luck"?
During the Middle Ages, many people believed that witches would turn themselves as black cats
Name your favorite costume that you wore growing up?
Answer
How did the Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating first start off?
During All Souls’ Day parades in England where the poor would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's deceased loved ones.
One-quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is bought for ______________.
Halloween
Why did the Celtics celebrate Samhain?
-To celebrate the Celtic New Year
- marking the end of summer and the harvest
- the beginning of the dark, cold winter
Where did the superstition of not walking under a ladder is bad luck?
From the ancient Egyptians.
False
Hundreds of years ago, it was believed that spirits came back to earth, and people thought they would encounter spirits if they left their house. What would people wear to avoid being recognized by the spirits?
They would wear mask so the spirits could mistake them for other spirits.
Halloween is the country’s ___________ largest commercial holiday after Christmas.
Second
They would light bonfires and wear costumes to scare off spirits
On Halloween what 3 superstitions people try to avoid?
- breaking mirrors
- stepping on cracks
- spilling salt
Tell me what your favorite Halloween movie is
Answer:
To keep spirits from coming into their house on Halloween, what would people do back in the day?
People would place bowls of food outside their house to make the spirits happy
Americans spent around $700 million on ___________ costumes in 2023.
Pet
In the second half of the 19th century, which new immigrants helped popularized the celebration on Halloween in America?
The Irish.
Name one superstition that you know that has not been mentioned
Answer:
True or False: The first American Halloween celebrations were mainly in New England
False, they were limited in New England and more common in the Southern Colonies
On Halloween, the Celtics believed the veil or boundary between the living and the dead was thin or blurred, allowing for _______________ to return to Earth.
Spirits
What is the name of the famous 1978 horror movie that inspired many Halloween films
Halloween - A horror film about Michael Myers, in 1978