Ghosts and witches

Hallowe'en means 'holy evening', and takes place on 31st October. Although it is a much more important festival in the United States than Britain, it is celebrated by many people in the UK. It is particularly connected with witches and ghosts.

At parties people dress up in strange costumes and pretend they are witches. They cut horrible faces in potatoes and other vegetables and put a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play difficult games such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands.

In recent years children dressed in white sheets knock on doors at Hallowe'en and ask if you would like a 'trick' or 'treat'. If you give them something nice, a 'treat', they go away. However, if you don't they play a 'trick' on you, such as making a lot of noise or spilling flour on your front doorstep!

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 12