St P atric k s D ay Halloween

St. P atric k’s D ay

Halloween

The celebration of All Saints Day or just Halloween takes place on October 31 st. The tradition of Halloween began in the fifth century B. C. This day the Irish Celts celebrated their New Year at that time, because they organized their year according to the agricultural calendar and marked the transition from one year to the next on October 31. In the year 835 A* D. the Roman Catholic Church made November 1 st a church holiday to honor all the saints Halloween means All Hallows Eve. You know, the 1 st of November is All Hallows Day (День всех святых). People thought that the evening (eve) before is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is lifted and witches, ghosts and other supernatural beings are about. So this holiday is associated with death and supernatural.

It is the only time in autumn before the cold days begin when it is still warm enough to go outside and enjoy the beauty of autumn. On that day children wear unusual costumes and masks. They dress up as witches, ghosts, ghouls, bats, evil spirits, skeletons and frighten people.

Trick or Treat was first known as Mischief Night. Halloween was a time for making mischief — many parts of England still recognize this date as Mischief Night — when children would knock on doors demanding a treat (Trick or Treat) and people would disguise themselves as witches or ghosts, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders. Halloween was sometimes called Nut Crack Night or Snap Apple Night in England. Families would sit by the fire and tell stories while they ate apples and nuts.

The main attribute of Halloween is Jack-O`Lantern (Фонарь Джека) or hollowed-out pumpkin. It is cut up to look like a frightening face and a candle is placed inside. In the old days people lit bonfires to ward away evil spirits and in some places they used to jump over the fire to bring good luck. Today, people light candles in pumpkin and then put them outside our homes to ward of evil spirits.

But in the year of 423 Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary. He travelled from village to village and talked about the Christ. He believed that he was called by God to perform this important mission and covert the Celtic people to the Christian religion. But they didn’t understand him and didn’t believe in the Holy Trinity. One day Patrick picked up one of the plentiful shamrocks, growing wild in Ireland. It struck him how to explain. «Here are there leaves» , he said to the people «but yet one plant. Imagine the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as each of three leaves. Here they are and they are the one. » He used the familiar object and the tribesmen understood him. From that time on, the shamrock has become the symbol of Ireland.

St. Patrick is revered as a patron saint of Ireland. The stories of his miracles reached far and wide. There is a legend that he got rid of all the snakes in Ireland. St. Patrick died on the 17 th of March. First, it was a day of mourning but then it turned to commemoration of him and his deeds. But the 17 th of March is not only St. Patrick celebration. It is an Ireland’s national holiday. On that day Irish people all over the world put on green clothes and go out to the streets. As you probably know, green colour is a national colour of the country. So, people wear green hats, shirts, ties and hair ribbons and green stirpes are painted on the streets.

The story of St Patrick’s Day Began so long ago The lyrics in this song Will tell you All you need to know The seventeenth of March Is when this joyous holiday Is celebrated happily With colorful parades Dee Lai Dee Dai Dee Lai Dee Dai Hummm… Patrick was only sixteen when The pirates captured him They sold him to slavery And took him to Ireland He kept the faith And made his escape When he was twenty-two And made it back to Britain ‘Twas the only home he knew Patrick had a vision To return to Ireland And vowed to teach Christianity Until the bitter end Legend says that Patrick used The shamrock to explain That the Father, Son and Holy Ghost Are all and one the same On this day the Irish dress In many shades of green And some are feeling lucky With the leprechauns they’ve seen It’s music and fun for everyone We’ll party and we’ll play Come one, come all Come join along On this St. Paddy’s Day!

Thank you for your attention