Halloween, Octobeer 31st

Halloween is a shortened form of All Hallows' Eve.
Hallowed means holy. Eve is the day before a holy day. Halloween was an ancient British Celtic festival. At Halloween the souls of the dead returned. People lit bonfires to frighten evils spirits. Now bonfires are only burnt on November 5th.

Bonfire night!

• Masks
• Costumes
• Ghosts

Witches on broomsticks with black cats,...
skeletons, bats and spiders...
and Haloween lanterns have all become part of Halloween.
Children play trick-or-treat. They ask for a treat, hoping to get sweet.

Here is a short video of Halloween:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-z1U5zcrQ

I chose this video, because it tells lots of informations about Halloween's traditions and where they have come from.

Farrah

Farrah, an American woman, visited us on Wednesday in our English lesson. She told us some personal things, general things about America and we compared Austria with America.

Farrah is 22 years old and she moved to America when she was 14. She lives in Maryland, which is 30 minutes north-west of DC, and has no brothers and sisters. She has been studying German for 3 years and now she will stay in Austria till the end of May to learn the language better and to get some impressions of our culture.

Farrah also told us, that in the states, the students often have a snow day in the winter. When kids want to have a snow day, they wear their pyjamas inside out, because they think that this brings luck.