It's Halloween Time!

Let's celebrate Halloween one more year. Have your pumkins ready and costumes,too.
Beware of bats and spiders, have a bag for sweets and  tricks!

The History and Origin of Halloween

Back in the old days, or once upon a time, in the tradition of fairy tales, there were the Celtic people and their Druid priests. The Druids were believed to have the ability, among other skills, to commune with the dead. Their powers, it was rumored, were much more powerful on the day of Samhain (pronounced sow-en), which was the last day of the year in the Celtic calendar. But, before believing that the Halloween celebration came directly from Samhain, a day mistakenly attributed directly to the Wiccans rather than to the Celts, you must understand that it is a blend of Hallowmas, a celebration of Catholic origins, as well as the Roman festival called Feralia.
On the day of Samhain, the Celtic people would all extinguish their home’s hearth fire. They would gather in front of a blessed bonfire and would sing, dance and listen to the stories that were told during the celebration. At the end of the evening, each person would take some of the bonfire home to relight their heart fire in hopes of ensuring good fortune to their home and family for the coming year. It is said that if your hearth fire would not light from the sacred bonfire, misfortune, even death, would befall someone in the house that very year.

More info in:   http://www.halloween.com
Vocabulary games: http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/trick-or-treat/trick-or-treat-halloween-reading.html

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/category/topics/halloween

Halloween Awakening

Charles Dickens

This year is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth (Portsmouth, February 7, 1812) .
The books of Charles Dickens have sold in the millions, and have also been adapted into countless theatre and cinematic productions.

Did you Know?


Charles Dickens had a pet raven named Grip. When the bird died in 1841 he had it stuffed and it is now in the Free Library of Philadelphia.
As a young man Charles Dickens worked for nearly four years as a newspaper reporter working on court cases and legal proceedings. This experience found its way into many of his books.

Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine had ten children. Many of them were named after famous writers.
Many of Charles Dickens' books were printed in magazines in serial form before being published in book format. Unlike other authors who finished their stories before the magazines printed them, Dickens often wrote each episode as they were being serialized. This meant that his stories had a rhythm which kept the reader looking forward to the next episode, just like a modern day TV series.
One of Charles Dickens' daughters was named Dora after the character in his book David Copperfield. The real Dora died tragically of an illness just like the Dora in the book.


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