11 Halloween -- A Favorite Event for Kids. Part II

(continued)

1. Why do kids love Halloween ¹⁾?

There are three big reasons: (1) Kids will get a lot of candy for free. (2) Kids can go out at night wearing costumes ⁴⁾. (3) Kids can try out making jack-o’-lanterns ^{1, 5)} with the help of older kids or adults.

(1) Kids will get a lot of candy for free.

see previous newsletter

(2) Kids can go out at night wearing costumes ⁴⁾.

see previous newsletter

(3) Kids can try out making jack-o’-lanterns ^{1, 5)}with the help of older kids or adults.

Jack-o-lanterns are placed in front of houses or in windows. To make a jack-o’-lantern, the carver cuts a lid in the top of the pumpkin ²⁾with a knife and scoops out the seeds and fibers by hand or with a spoon. Holes are then cut for eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Then the carver places a candle inside the pumpkin and lights it at night. The seeds can be salted and roasted for a snack.

2. Other Info. on Halloween

For adults, there are usually Halloween parties on a different day from Halloween day. They also wear costumes ⁷⁾, and have contests, fun and drinks. A famous Halloween game for kids and adults is called “Bobbing for Apples”⁸⁾.　The players take turns trying to grab apples from a tub of water using only their mouth. This supposedly is derived from a Roman tradition in England ⁹⁾.

Kids sometimes do pranks on Halloween. They may create a mess with toilet paper and/or eggs. In rare cases, the pranks go too far and become serious vandalism involving paint, small fires (This doesn’t mean arson, just burning bags of doggy doo-doo on the doorstep and the like), or breaking things. Says one victim of a minor prank, “When I came home on Halloween from my Kung Fu Class I noticed someone had played a ‘trick’ on me. Someone had turned my outside water on and left it on. When I got home, there was a half frozen puddle of water in the yard.”

Halloween expressions:

Boo! - This word is used to scare or startle people
TRICK OR TREAT!¹⁰⁾ - Children say this phrase at the door of a house in order to get candy.

November 29, 2002, in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
http://www.exploreamerica.info
___________________________________________________________________

1) Sources on Halloween: < http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown2.htm > < http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm > < http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/ >
2) Pumpkins here are most likely different from pumpkins in Japan. They usually grow much bigger than the Japanese varieties. Some can grow to over 500 lbs. (=226.8 kg) (see a great pumpkin at our photo gallery < http://www.exploreamerica.info/Photo_StateFair_A_Great_Pumpkin.htm >, or our newsletter 4 on Stat Fair < http://www.exploreamerica.info/what_letter_e4.htm > ).
3) One decoration that is becoming more common in recent years is a figure of a witch that is attached to a tree. The witch is made to look like it was flying and crashed into a tree.   See the photo (Top left) < http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Promenade/6312/halloween/halownpics.html > .   A witch crash project < http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Promenade/6312/halloween/wc.html >
4) Costume examples: < http://www.halloweenmart.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=HM&Category_Code=200   >
5) Photo examples of jack-o’-lanterns < http://www.exploreamerica.info/Photo_Gallery_01_Halloween.htm >
6) Caramel Apples recipes, Halloween recipes, etc. : < http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8149/hal-recipes.html > < http://dessert.allrecipes.com/AZ/Crmlppls.asp > < http://www.jackolanterns.net/recipes.htm >
7) Examples of adult costumes: < http://www.halloweenmart.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=HM&Category_Code=100 >
8) “Bobbing for Apples” and party games < http://www.night.net/halloween/party-games.html-ssi >
9) < http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/hallowmas.html >
10) Photo examples of “Trick or treating” < http://www.exploreamerica.info/Photo_Gallery_01.htm >

Keywords: Halloween, pumpkins, jack-o’-lantern, carving pumpkins, costumes, Trick or Treat!, Boo!, candy, pranks, “Bobbing for Apples”, Halloween parties

Newsletter List | Home | Back To Top

mail to joe@exploreamerica.info with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified Date is shown on our What's new? pages. Explore America Info ( Explore USA Info ): American culture and tips on how to improve your English; Explore America Info ( Explore The U.S. Info ) also includes Explore Minnesota Info, Explore The Twin Cities Info ( Explore Minneapolis Info and Explore St. Paul Info ), and Explore Wisconsin Info. Improve English skills with our materials.