| HALLOWEEN |
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About Halloween Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. It takes place the day before All Saints' Day. In the 700's, the Roman Catholic Church named November 1 as All Saints' Day. The old pagan customs and the Christian feast day were combined into the Halloween celebration. Many superstitions and symbols are associated with Halloween. Some of these symbols are jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, witches, ghosts, spirits, goblins, fairies and elves. The custom of decorating with leaves, pumpkins, and cornstalks comes from the Druids - an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain. Halloween is usually celebrated by both adults and kids. Some families celebrate by having costume parties and playing special games like bobbing for apples and telling ghost stories. Sometimes children go "trick or treating" - knocking on doors in their trusted neighborhoods collecting candy. Other times they may attend a community party instead. Schools usually prefer to celebrate Halloween by having children dress as storybook characters. In this way, children are still allowed to "dress up, " and the holiday becomes both fun and educational |