English Festivities : 🎃 October: Spooky Stories & Halloween Traditions 👻🕸️

🎃 October: Spooky Stories & Halloween Traditions 👻🕸️

Welcome back, festive explorers!

October has arrived, and that means one thing in most English-speaking countries: Halloween is just around the corner! But where does this spooky celebration come from, and how is it celebrated today?

🎃 A Brief History of Halloween

Halloween has ancient Celtic roots, dating back over 2,000 years to the festival of Samhain in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. It marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter — a time when people believed the line between the living and the dead became blurred.

Fast forward to today, and Halloween is one of the most fun, festive, and slightly creepy holidays of the year!

👻 How is Halloween celebrated in English-speaking countries?

USA & Canada:
The biggest celebrations! Houses are decorated with spider webs, skeletons, and pumpkins. Children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating, knocking on doors and asking for candy.
UK & Ireland:
Halloween is growing more popular every year. You'll see carved pumpkins, costume parties, and even apple bobbing, an old game where you try to grab floating apples with your teeth!
Australia & New Zealand:
Halloween is not as traditional, but it's becoming more common — especially among kids who enjoy dressing up and collecting sweets.

🕷️ Vocabulary Corner:

Jack-o’-lantern – a carved pumpkin with a face and a candle inside
Trick or treat – the phrase children say to get candy
Costume – the outfit worn to dress up (witch, ghost, superhero...)
Haunted house – a spooky place full of ghosts
Boo! – what you say to scare someone (playfully!)

🕯️ Whether you're celebrating Halloween with scary stories, pumpkin pie, or a classic costume party, this month is all about imagination and tradition.

✨ Next month: Fire, fireworks, and remembrance… any idea what’s coming in November?

See you soon,
The Festivities Team 👒🍬