Online Class Notes (Li)

Vocabulary

evolve: to change little by little 逐步发展 ；进化

eg. Did humans evolve from apes?

eg. Most languages have evolved over thousands of years.

Ireland: 爱尔兰

holy: 神圣的

eg. This place is a holy site for Muslims.

religion: 宗教

eg. Do you believe in any religion?

evil: very very bad 邪恶的，恶毒的；讨厌的

eg. These people are very evil.

eg. He believes in evil spirits.

hurt: 感到疼痛；弄伤; 伤害

eg. My back hurts, I think I might have exercised too much.

eg. She was hurt by what he said.

costumes: 服装

eg. People are dressed up in costumes on Halloween.

lantern: 灯笼

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.