Halloween

On the day before Halloween, my second grade students were fortunate enough to have a "pumpkin patch" at our school provided by the PTA. The afternoon was filled with pumpkin decorating, trick or treating, and of course educational math games with pumpkin seeds and pieces of candy. This got me thinking...what does Halloween really mean to these kids? It means getting candy, dressing up in costume, and most of all...an excuse to act silly for one, two, maybe three days. However, the roots of Halloween, and its inception to being an actual Holiday are rooted in many different cultures from around the world.

In reality, Halloween traces itself back to the Celtics from Ireland. This holiday, was meant to mark the separation of two different times of the year, Beltrane (May 1) and Samhain (Nov 1). The Celtics believed that Samhain was the time when the things separating the two worlds became very thin, and the ability for evil spirits to enter our world from theirs came eerily true. This led to the Druids (Celtic priests) conducting certain rituals and prayers to ensure that their world would stay safe, and that the evil spirits would be turned away and cast back to the underworld. These rituals included dressing up, chanting, and lots of prayer to protect their world.

So...how exactly did we get to where we are today with corporations such as Hershey and Nestle making millions off of the festive day (not even mentioning the profits on costumes!). The modern day trick-or-treating comes from Samhain, which was the highest night of demonic jubilation. During this time, people would return to houses which they formerly lived in and the present day dwellers would present them with fruits and goods so that they would leave them alone...sound familiar?

I know what you're saying...how does this relate to children's literacy? Well, like many holidays it is important that we, as teachers, educate our children around the history of holidays, and why they have come to existence. Why are they important? Who developed this holiday? How has it changed over the course of the past hundred or so years? These are all questions which could be posed to our students to begin to have them think about the holiday. This is the rare opportunity for us to turn the table and have a teachable moment with students around a holiday that so many of them enjoy. So, in addition to reading books like Pumpkin Eye, or the Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything, add a little history. For older grades, have them research the historical meaning of Halloween and how it has changed. Do something fun, and educational to celebrate the holiday!