Celtic Beginnings
This ancient Celtic festival marked the end of summer and the start of the new year.
What is Samhain?
The Celts called fairies this polite name so they wouldn’t get angry.
Who are the good folk?
These Celtic priests lit big fires on hills to scare away spirits
Who are the Druids?
Christian missionaries later renamed the Celtic holiday this.
What is All Saints’ Day or All Hallows Day?
Today, we still wear these on Halloween.
What are costumes?
The Celts believed that on the night before Samhain, these returned to the earth.
What are ghosts?
This terrifying fairy looked like a big black horse with glowing yellow eyes.
What is the pooka?
The Druids’ fires were meant to do this to evil spirits
What is scare them away?
Even after Christianity spread, people kept carving scary faces into these root vegetables.
What are turnips?
Instead of leaving sweets for fairies, we now give this to trick-or-treaters.
What is candy?
During Samhain, people brought animals home and saved this for the winter.
What is food?
Fairies could do this to your food or weather if you offended them.
What is ruin your food or bring bad weather?
People wore scary masks and costumes to do this.
What is trick monsters or spirits?
Those carved turnips became the first versions of this Halloween decoration.
What are jack-o’-lanterns?
Modern jack-o’-lanterns are made from these, not turnips.
What are pumpkins?
This word, “Samhain,” is pronounced this way
What is SOW-en?
To stay safe, people left these out for the fairies.
What are sweets?
The Celts held these events to lead spirits away from their homes.
What are parades?
Halloween came to America in this century when many Irish immigrants arrived.
What is the nineteenth century?
The story ends with a warning to “watch out” for these mischievous creatures.
What are fairies?