Halloween Lesson Time
By Professor Merryman from http://wiki.cyprischat.org
Here is an example of one of the many lessons we have available on the wiki here at Cypris Chat. Feel free to copy and paste this lesson in a notecard to use with your group in your virtual world. Let’s celebrate the scariest time of the year! MWAHAHAHA!!
Warm-up
Halloween falls on October 31st each year in North America and other parts of the world. What do you know about Halloween? Do you celebrate it in your country?
My story
When I was a kid, around 10 years old, my parents would help me get dressed up in a costume so I could go out with my friends and go trick-or-treating. It was so much fun. Why? Well, it all starts in the morning actually. In elementary school we dress up in costumes for school. At school, every classroom was decorated. Some classrooms would be scary, some cute, some stupid. It was really fun to see what every classroom did. After lunch we had a school carnival. We bobbed for apples, carved pumpkins, and ate candied apples. But my favorite thing to do was the witches cauldron. I’ll never forget it. Mrs. Anderson, who had long black hair and looked like a witch anyway, creapy, made a cauldron of soapy spaghetti noodles. It had a lid on it with a hole. We had to reach down in the cauldron and find an object inside and tell her what it was. Someitmes it would be an apple, but other times it would be two grapes, or the worse one…boiled eggs. They felt so slimy and gross. Nobody knew what they were until someone squeezed it. Yuk. I love Halloween.
Vocabulary
to evolve (v)- to change little by little
spirit (n)- ghost, some people believe the spirit and body separate when a person dies
holy (adj)- sacred, very good, related to religion. Hallow comes from the word holy.
saint (n)- an honored, holy person
evil (adj)- very, very bad
lantern (n)- lamp or enclosed light that can be carried around
http://www.fsc.gov.im/lib/images/mnh/news/turnip.jpg
turnip (n)- a purple and white vegetable that grows in the ground
http://oldstersview.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/turnip2.jpg
Group Reading
Like many other holidays, Halloween has evolved and changed throughout history. Over 2,000 years ago people called the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. November 1 was their New Year’s Day. They believed that the night before the New Year (October 31) was a time when the living and the dead came together.
More than a thousand years ago the Christian church named November 1 All Saints Day (also called All Hallows.) This was a special holy day to honor the saints and other people who died for their religion. The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve. Later the name was changed to Halloween.
Like the Celts, the Europeans of that time also believed that the spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. They worried that evil spirits would cause problems or hurt them. So on that night people wore costumes that looked like ghosts or other evil creatures. They thought if they dressed like that, the spirits would think they were also dead and not harm them.
The tradition of Halloween was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. Some of the traditions changed a little, though. For example, on Halloween in Europe some people would carry lanterns made from turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common. So people began putting candles inside them and using them as lanterns. That is why you see Jack ‘o lanterns today.
These days Halloween is not usually considered a religious holiday. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say “trick or treat.” The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treater.
What’s your story about Halloween or something similar? Do you have a scary story?
Further Understanding
Videos to help you understand more about Halloween:
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/the-history-of-halloween.html
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_2412_understanding-history-halloween.html
http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-About-the-History-of-Halloween-26656183
http://vimeo.com/2275499
Travel Time Conversation
Let’s go to a scary Halloween island and have some while we talk about Halloween. Take pictures, video, and write about your experience on you blog at http://cyprischat.org
If you would like to share your photos with group, take a snapshot and then Send as Postcard to our Flickr account: wills37make@photos.flickr.com
We had a lot of fun this year at Cypris for Halloween. Many people from around the world celebrated what normally isn’t a popular holiday in most countries. Some of our members experienced Halloween for the first time. I spoke to one member from Saudi Arabia who said she was able to feel what it might be like to celebrate Halloween in a country like America. Second Life and the Cypris Chat community make experiencing life and language something unique and meaningful. I’m so proud to be a part of this community. Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time to donate items, build, promote, and oversee the event. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.
