It was believed ____ the Celts that on the night of 31st October, ghosts of their dead ____ returned to this world of the ____ and large ____ were ____ in each village in ____ to scare away any evil spirits that may also be walking around. Celtic priests, ____ as Druids, ____ the Samhain celebrations. The Druids also ensured that the ____ fire of each house was re-lit from the glowing embers of the ____ bonfire, in order to help ____ the people and keep them warm through the long, dark winter months. Originally celebrated on 13th May, Pope Gregory moved the date of the ____ All Hallows’ feast to 1st November sometime in the 8th century. It is thought that in doing ____, he was ____ to ____ the Celtic Samhain festival of the ____ with a Christian celebration. The night or evening of Samhain therefore ____ known as All-Hallows-Evening then Hallow Evening, still later Hallowe’en and then of ____ Halloween. ____ in eastern Ireland, Halloween has traditionally ____ celebrated with ____ games such as bobbing for apples, ____ ghost stories and the carving of faces into ____ swedes and turnips. These faces were usually ____ from within by a candle and the lanterns ____ displayed on window ____ to keep away any evil spirits. These carved turnips were known as Jack O' Lanterns. In the 1870s, hundreds ____ thousands of Irish moved to America to ____ the famine. They ____ the Halloween traditions with them where they were embraced and ____-sized by Americans. Using a pumpkin instead of a turnip is an American ____

Halloween Intermediate

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