"It was (called) Samhain and people were celebrating it, pagans were celebrating it, and the church came and said, well OK fine, we're going to take these customs of remembering the dead and we're going to sanction a church holiday on the same date. And this festival they invited the ancestral dead to, so there were ghosts about, and they tried to tell the future by asking the spirits what would happen to them."ĪA: So how did the name Halloween come about? Lesley Pratt Bannatyne says it had to do with the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church. "You can go back 2,000 years to Celtic tribes in northern Europe celebrating the end of summer in a festival called Samhain, which was essentially their New Year's Eve. RS: She says that while Americans have transformed Halloween, its roots are ancient. although Halloween is supposed to be scary, with spooky little monsters trick-or-treating alongside ghosts, goblins and witches.ĪA: Lesley Pratt Bannatyne is author of a book called "Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History." RS: Yes, it's a form of extortion, but it's usually meant in good spirits. RS: "Trick or treat!" or "Happy Halloween!" What do these children want? Candy, of course!ĪA: "Trick or treat" means give us a treat or we'll do something nasty to your house. Some kids are standing there, dressed in costumes. INTRO: Listen up guys and ghouls! This week VOA's Wordmasters Avi Arditti and Rosanne Skirble talk about some of the language of Halloween - which just happens to be today.ĪA: It's a dark and stormy night.
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