History of Halloween - An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan #: AELP-SSH0201

The History of Halloween

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Tiffany Bender
Email: tiffanybender2002@yahoo.com
School/University/Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Endorsed by: Bernard J. Poole
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Date: January 23, 2002

Grade Level: 6, 7, 8, 9

Subject(s):

Social Studies/Holidays/Specific Holidays

Duration: 45 minutes

Description: Students will discover how the contemporary traditions of Halloween have evolved over the centuries, while experiencing some of the fun first hand!

Goal: Students will learn about the origins of the Halloween holiday.

Objectives:

Students will be able to explain how the Halloween holiday originated.
Students will be able to identify their own concepts of Halloween.
Students will be able to identify modern figures of the concepts of Halloween and how Halloween has evolved to a consumer holiday.

Materials:

plastic caldron or large bowl
Halloween stuffed animals and figures
peeled grapes
a head of cabbage
cooked spaghetti
pretzel sticks
a big carrot
five medium sized bowls
Halloween candy
scary Halloween music and a stereo to play it from
American Heritage Halloween article (see Internet site below)
History of Halloween Flowchart
Ghost Story
Handouts in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click the icon to obtain the free Reader.

Vocabulary:

Relic - Remains of a sacred object, event, or person.
Secular - Things not spiritual, religious, or holy.

Procedure:
Begin by reading the opening paragraph of the American Heritage Halloween article (see Internet site below). Ask students to close their eyes and picture Halloween. Ask them to think of the one thing that stands out the most. Have students open their eyes and share their thoughts. Write students' comments on the chalkboard. [ Author's Note: If students' comments matched the stuffed animals and figures that I had brought in, such as a ghost, witch, pumpkin, candy, or Frankenstein, I would show them to the class at that time. If they hadn't mentioned the items that I brought in, I would share with them my concept of Halloween and show the rest of my props.]

Pass out the "History of Halloween Flowchart." Explain to the class that they will learn how the present day celebration of Halloween has historically evolved. Historical information that teachers may want to provide about Halloween include (taken from American Heritage article by Ellen Feldman):

For the Celts of Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern France, November 1 was the end of the harvest and the start of the New Year. October 31 was the last night of the old year where spirits of the deceased were thought to roam the land visiting their loved ones, looking for eternal rest, or raising heck. The living either welcomed the spirits home with food and drink, or they lit bonfires and carried lanterns made from hollowed-out turnips carved into faces to keep spirits away.
By the 1st Century A.D., Rome had conquered Celtic lands, and the Romans and the Celts lived side by side in small villages. In the 8th Century, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints Day from May 13 to November 1. The night before became Allhallows Eve, or Hallowe’en. Instead of appeasing spirits with food and wine, villagers gave “soul cakes” to poor people who promised to pray for departed relatives. Instead of dressing up as animals or spirits to frighten away the dead, parishioners of churches that couldn’t afford genuine relics dressed up as saints.
Even during the Protestant Reformation when they abolished All Saints’ Day, the celebration of Allhallows Eve didn’t stop. It carried over from the old world to the new world in the colonies. It did not catch on as rapidly in New England, but as the new nation grew its citizens sought occasions for community celebrations. In the fall they had “play parties” where they told stories, gossiped, and danced. It did not occur on any particular night, but they kept alive certain Halloween traditions.
Due to the famine of 1820 and harsh devastation in 1846, a million Irish Catholics moved to the urban areas of North America. They celebrated All Saints Day and the eve before. Irish girls peeled apples, roasted nuts, stared into mirrors, dipped their hands into a series of bowls while blindfolded, and played with fire to find out whether and whom they would marry. They carved pumpkins instead of turnips and dressed up in secular costumes, going house-to-house looking for handouts instead of dressing like saints begging for soul cakes. Boys roamed the countryside looking for fun. On November 1 farmers would find wagons on barn roofs, front gates hanging from trees, and cows in neighbors' pastures. Any prank having to do with an outhouse was especially hilarious.
As Halloween entered the 20th century, Allentown, PA sponsored the first annual Halloween parade, and Anoka, MN held the first citywide party. In the 1920’s costumed children began going from door to door to Trick or Treat. The traditions turned a bit mischievous and many city councils and schools emphasized that the pranks were not funny and appropriate during the time of WWII. In 1950 a Philadelphia-area Sunday school sent $17 to the United Nations Children’s Fund that they collected Trick or Treating, and a new tradition of lending a helping hand to less fortunate peoples around the world began.
In the present, Halloween has commercialized. Of the six billion dollars raked in on the holiday, almost two billion go towards sweets. Costumes account for between a billion and a billion and a half. The remaining buys decorations, food, and drinks for friends. They sell orange and black Rice Krispies and put orange cream in the middle of Oreos. The movie industry also takes advantage of this time of year. And the malls have specialty stores and dress up regular stores and invite children in to celebrate.

Next, have students sit in a circle. Turn off the lights, and ask students to close their eyes. Have some scary music playing in the background. Explain to the class that you will be reading a story and passing around bowls -- students are to put their hands in the bowls and then quickly pass them along. Read the "Ghost Story" (see Materials ). Pass out the bowls filled with food items at the appropriate times during the story. (Depending on the size of the class, you might want to have two bowls of the same thing and pass it both to your left and your right.)

Turn off the music. On the space provided on the History of Halloween Flowchart, have the students write down the one thing that interested them the most. Collect students' flowcharts when they are finished. If time remains, ask students if their families celebrate any traditions on Halloween.

Assessment: Read over the flowcharts to see the most interesting thing each student wrote down to determine if they had an interest and/or a liking in the lesson. Teachers may want to informally quiz students the next day about the origins of the Halloween holiday.

Useful Internet Resources:
* American Heritage article: Halloween (by Ellen Feldman)
http://www.americanheritage.com/AMHER/2001/07/halloween.shtml

* Halloween History (from the History Channel)
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/hallowmas.html

Special Comments: You can make up your own ghost story or add additional information from the Internet resources depending on your class.