A HANBOOK FOR BRITISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES

1. Halloween - A Time for Scary Fun

Every year on October 31, Halloween scenes like this occur throughout the U.S.A.
American children love to dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. If an
adult refuses to supply a treat - candy, cookies, fruit, or money - the children may
play a trick. Typical Halloween pranks are soaping windows, writing on doors
with crayons, overturning garbage cans, sticking pins into doorbells to keep them
ringing, throwing raw eggs, and spraying shaving cream on cars and friends.

1.1. The Origins of Halloween Customs

The name Halloween is a short way of saying All Hallows' Eve, which means "the
night before the Roman Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day." Although Halloween
got its name from a Christian festival, its customs are of pagan origin. They come
from two different sources: an ancient Celtic festival in honor of Samhain, lord of
death, and a Roman festival in honor of Pomona, goddess of gardens and orchards.
The Halloween colors, black and orange, suggest both ideas: death and harvest.
Masquerading, begging, and other Halloween customs are now mainly enjoyed
by children. But many hundreds of years ago, these customs were performed quite
seriously by adults as part of their religion. The scary part of Halloween comes
from the Celts, who lived in the British Isles and northern France during ancient
and medieval times. The Celts worshiped gods of nature. They feared the coming
of winter, associating it with death and evil spirits. Every year on October 31, the
last day of the year on the old pagan calendar, the Druias (Celtic priests and
teachers) built huge bonfires to scare away the bad spirits of evil and death. They
threw animals and crops into the fire as gifts for the evil spirits. The Celtic people
also dressed in ugly, scary costumes. They believed that, if they disguised
themselves, the spirits wouldn’t harm them. According to traditional beliefs,

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ghosts rose from their graves on this evening, and witches flew through the air on
broomsticks or black cats. Also, the spirits of dead relatives and friends were
expected to return to Earth for a visit. The Druids built bonfires on hilltops to
guide these spirits back home.
From the Druid religion come the custom of masquerading and the symbols of
Halloween: ghosts, skeletons, devils, witches, black cats, and owls. The jack-o'-
lantern is also of Celtic origin. It was an Irish custom to hollow out turnips and
place lighted candles inside them to scare evil spirits away from the house. In the
U.S., people now use the native pumpkin. Pumpkins grow in a great variety of
sizes, up to 1,092 pounds! To make a pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern, remove the
pulp and seeds. Then, cut holes in the hollow pumpkin to make the eyes, nose,
and mouth. Put a candle inside it, light the candle, and put the jack-o'-lantern by
the window. Why is this light called a jack-o'- lantern? An Irish story tells about
an unhappy man named Jack. He wasn't welcome in heaven because he was
stingy, and he couldn't go to hell because he had played jokes on the devil. So he
had to walk the Earth forever, carrying a lantern.
The Irish also introduced the trick-or-treat custom hundreds of years ago. Groups
of farmers would travel from house to house asking for food for the village
Halloween party. They would promise good luck to generous contributors and
threaten those who were stingy.
The Druid holiday of Samhain also celebrated the harvest. This part of the
celebration became even more significant after 55 B.C., when the Romans
invaded. England and brought with them their harvest festival of Pomona. After
that, nuts and fruit, especially apples, became part of the Samhain ceremonies.
Today, at Halloween time, Americans honor the harvest by displaying cornstalks
and pumpkins; eating nuts, autumn fruits, and pumpkin pies; and playing games
with apples. One of the most popular Halloween games is bobbing for apples. In

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this game, apples float in a large tub of water. One at a time, children bend over
the tub and try to catch an apple in their mouths without using their hands.
The Druid religion lasted longest in Ireland and Scotland, and Halloween was
most important in these two countries. In the 1840s, Irish immigrants brought their
Halloween customs with them when they came to the U.S.A.

1.2. Halloween Celebrations Today

Halloween is celebrated by nearly all American children, and over 70% of adults
also participate in some Halloween activity. College students and other young
adults may attend masquerade parties or Halloween parades. Many families carve
pumpkins and decorate the outside of their homes with the traditional Halloween
symbols. Businesses get into the act, too. Store windows display jack-o’-lanterns,
scarecrows, and witches. Servers in restaurants and salespeople in supermarkets
and bookstores are often in costume. Many nightclubs and bars encourage
customers to come in costume by offering prizes for the best disguises.
Part of the fun of Halloween is to get scared out of your wits. This can easily be
done by visiting a haunted house. Supposedly, the spirits of dead people "live" in
haunted houses. These spirits try to scare away living residents or visitors so that

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the spirits can enjoy their afterlife (which really means a life after death) in peace.
Why do spirits hate the living? The living always wants to clean up and brighten
their surroundings, while ghosts and skeletons prefer dust, spiders, cobwebs, and
darkness. These days, it's hard to find a real haunted house. But every year shortly
before Halloween, many charities and communities create fake haunted houses.
They hire actors to dress up in scary costumes and hide inside. Customers pay a
few dollars each to walk through these places and have "ghosts" surprise them
with a loud "Boo!" and "skeletons" clang chains in their ears. Children usually
love these haunted houses, but sometimes their parents are scared to death! For
those who have no haunted house nearby, another way to share a good scare is to
go with friends to see a horror movie in a theater or rent one and watch it together
on Halloween night (in a dark room, of course).
Most American children have a wonderful, exciting day on Halloween. If
Halloween falls on a school day, they sometimes bring their costumes to school
and spend the last few hours of the school day with spooks instead of with books.
After school and perhaps on into the evening, they go trick-or-treating. Often,
there's a party at a friend's home or at the local community center. At most
Halloween parties, prizes are given for the best costumes. Bobbing for apples,
telling fortunes (predicting the future), playing scary games, and snacking on
caramel-covered apples, candy, apple cider, and pumpkin pie are all part of the
fun. Some communities build a bonfire, just as the Celts did. Children may sit
around the bonfire telling scary stories while roasting hot dogs or toasting
marshmallows Halloween, which began hundreds of years ago as an evening of
terror is now an occasion of great fun.
However, some words of warning are needed. Halloween is a time when children
can become overexcited and careless, and it is a time when care is especially
needed. To be sure that cars will see children after dark, parents should dress them
in light-colored costumes or put reflecting tape on their clothing. To be sure that

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the kids see the cars, parents should enlarge the eye-holes in masks by cutting
them with scissors. When trick-or-treating, children should go in groups. Younger
children should go with older children or an adult. Kids should be told never to
go inside the house or apartment of a stranger but to wait outside for their treats.
Even if no treat is given, children should be told not to damage property. Kids
should stop trick-or-treating by 8:00 p.m. When they get home with their candy,
parents should inspect it and throw out anything not wrapped and sealed. (There
have been rare incidents of harmful ingredients found in Halloween treats.)
On Halloween night, adults should be careful, too. Robbers could take advantage
of the casual, open-door Halloween spirit to gain access to strangers' homes. Note
that Mrs. Brown (the woman at the beginning of this reading) did not completely
open her door until she was sure that her uninvited visitors were children.

2. Thanksgiving and Native Americans

Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth
Thursday in November. It is a
time for big family reunions and
big dinners, a time to eat turkey,
stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce,
and pumpkin pie. But between
endless bites of food, Americans
also take time to feel grateful for
whatever is good in their lives. Some people thank God; others thank fate or their
loved ones. And most people remember the small group of English colonists who
gave Americans this delicious and meaningful holiday.
Today's Thanksgiving holiday was inspired by a harvest festival in Plymouth,
Massachusetts, almost 400 years ago. The small group of colonists, residents of
the second permanent English settlement in the New World, had very little by

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today's standards, but they were thankful for receiving what they valued most - a
good harvest and the freedom to live and worship as they pleased.
In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its
original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a
bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so
ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not
have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621.
Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird whether roasted,
baked or deep-fried on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey
Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry
sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity,
and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less
fortunate.
Most government offices, businesses, schools, universities, colleges, and other
organizations are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow
staff to have a long four-day weekend for Thanksgiving, so these offices and
businesses are also closed on the Day after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit
systems usually do not operate on their regular timetables. Thanksgiving Day is
one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and
overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can also cause
disruption to local traffic.
Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across
the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York
City’s Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some
2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous
television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate
floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon
characters.

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3. The Winter Holiday Season

3.1. Merry Christmas
Santa Claus, snowmen, bright lights, colorful decorations, bells, and traditional
songs - all these help to make December the most festive month of the year. As
the month progresses toward the winter solstice (December 21), the daylight hours
grow shorter and shorter. In the northern part of the U.S., winter weather can be
(as one seasonal song says) ‘frightful’. Even winter snowstorms cannot bury that
contagious feeling of festivity. Why does almost everybody feel so good? It's gift-
giving time, party time, and vacation time. Students from elementary school
through college have about 2 weeks' vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas
and ending soon after New Year's Day. Many families go away for the holidays
to visit relatives in another state, ski in the mountains, or sunbathe on the beaches
in the South. But those who stay home have fun, too. Parties abound to celebrate
the birth of Christ and the arrival of the new year. Even the workplace is festive,
thanks to the traditions of office parties and holiday (or end-of-the-year) bonuses
(extra money given to employees).
Christianity, the major religious faith in the U.S., the Western Hemisphere, and
the world, is based upon the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. There are about 2
billion Christians worldwide. They believe in Jesus's ideas of equality, caring for
the weak and needy, generosity, forgiveness, and love and kindness to all. They
also believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born to the Virgin Mary, and that
he was sent to Earth to save the human race. The word Jesus means "savior" or
"help of God." The word Christ means "anointed one," someone set apart for
special honor.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in ancient Judea. The year A.D. 1, from which most
modern calendars are dated, is supposed to be the year of his birth. However, Jesus
was actually born several years earlier. No one knows the exact year or day, but
Christians have celebrated his birth on December 25 since the fourth century. This

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date was probably selected so that Christmas would replace pagan celebrations of
the beginning of winter.
In the U.S., the spirit of Christmas arrives at least a month before the holiday
itself. Starting in November, street lights and store windows begin to display the
traditional Christmas colors, red and green. Santa Claus, shepherds, angels, and
Nativity scenes appear in shop windows. Winter scenes with snowmen, sleds,
skaters, and skiers decorate greeting cards and store windows.
The manufacture and sale of Christmas items is big business. Stores depend on
Christmas shoppers for about one-fourth of their annual sales. Smart shoppers buy
their gifts far in advance, before the Christmas rush makes shopping a chore.
Some shop on the Internet to avoid crowds. Christmas is often very expensive. To
earn extra money for gifts, in December many Americans get part-time jobs
delivering mail or selling gifts, trees, ornaments, or greeting cards.
Since 86% of Americans are Christian, December 25 is both a religious and a
legal holiday. Most businesses are closed on Christmas Day. Although all
Americans can enjoy the commercial aspects of Christmas, for Christians, the
most meaningful parts of the holiday occur at home and in church. Many families
go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. After services, they gather
around the tree and open their gifts. Then they enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner
turkey or ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. Dessert is usually
fruit cake, plum pudding, or mince pie.
Most of the Christmas customs that Americans enjoy today are variations of
traditions brought here by European immigrants. Some go back to ancient times.
Exchanging Gifts. The first Christmas gifts were birthday gifts that the three Wise
Men brought to the infant Jesus. In the U.S., it is customary to exchange gifts with
family members and close friends. Both children and adults get Christmas
presents, although children usually get many more.

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Receiving Toys from Santa Claus: Many American children believe that on
Christmas Eve, Santa Claus (a fat, jolly man who wears a red suit and has a long
white beard) slides down their chimney to bring them gifts. According to the story,
Santa Claus flies through the air in a sleigh (a fancy sled) pulled by eight reindeer.
Several days or weeks before Christmas, children tell Santa what toys they want
by writing him letters or visiting him in a local department store. Then, on
Christmas Eve, many youngsters lie awake listening for Santa and his sleigh.
Some children even leave him a snack of milk and cookies.
Where did this legend come from? Santa Claus is the American name for St.
Nicholas, a generous fourth-century bishop who lived in what is now Turkey. It
was his custom to go out at night and bring gifts to the poor. After his death, his
fame spread throughout Europe. Dutch immigrants brought the idea of St.
Nicholas, whom they called Sinter Klaas, to the U.S., where the name was
mispronounced and finally changed to Santa Claus. Then, nineteenth-century
American artists and authors changed St. Nick's appearance and created the roly-
poly man in red that we know today. Santa's sleigh and reindeer came from an old
Norse legend. So, today's Santa Claus is a blend of several different cultures.
Hanging Stockings: As in Great Britain, American children hang stockings hoping
that Santa will fill them with candy and toys. Traditionally, stockings were hung
near the fireplace, but today children hang them wherever they think Santa will
see them!
Decorating the Home with Holiday Plants: The winter custom of decorating
homes and churches with evergreens began in ancient times. Branches of fir or
spruce were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring. The
early Germans believed that in winter, evil spirits killed plants and trees and
caused green leaves and flowers to disappear. Bringing evergreens into their
homes was supposed to protect them from death. Now, at Christmastime,
decorated trees stand in about two-thirds of American homes. Every year,

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Americans spend about $460 million buying Christmas trees. The modern
American tree is usually covered with colored glass balls and strings of colored
lights. The star on top represents the star in the East that guided the three Wise
Men to Bethlehem.
In ancient times, mistletoe was hung over doorways for good luck. Today the
custom continues, but now it is for fun. Anyone standing under the mistletoe is
supposed to get kissed.
Going Caroling: In the early days of the Christian Church, the bishops sang carols
on Christmas Day Now, soloists and choirs on the radio, on TV, in church, and in
school all help fill the winter air with beautiful music. Copying an old English
custom, many Americans go caroling - walking with friends from house to house
singing the traditional holiday songs.
Attending Traditional Christmas Theatrical Productions: Americans of all
religions enjoy performances of three traditional Christmas works. One of these
is Messiah, an oratorio written by the German composer George Frederick Handel
and performed by a chorus, orchestra, and solo singers. Finally, there is A
Christmas Carol, a story written by the nineteenth- century English author Charles
Dickens. It is traditionally performed as a play and tells the tale of a mean old man
named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is selfish, lonely, and rich. With the help of
ghosts from his past, present, and future life, he regains the spirit of Christmas -
the ability to care about others and enjoy helping them.

3.2. Happy Hanukkah!

While Christians brighten winter with Christmas color and lights, Jews throughout
the world celebrate their Festival of Lights - Hanukkah. This holiday celebrates
the triumph of religious freedom. In 168 B.C„ the Syrian king conquered Judea
and tried to force the Jews to worship pagan gods. Three years later, a small group
of Jews defeated the powerful Syrian armies.

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When the Jews recaptured Jerusalem and

rededicated their holy temple, they relit
the eternal lamp. They had only one day's
supply of the special oil needed for that
lamp. But miraculously, the light burned
for eight days, until fresh oil was
available. In memory of this miracle,
Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days and light candles in a special holder called
a menorah. The date of Hanukkah is determined by the Hebrew calendar but the
holiday always occurs in December. So, for Americans of both the Christian and
Jewish faiths, the year ends in a spirit of joy.

3.3. An African Festival

During the winter holiday period, African-Americans, along with Africans in
many other countries, celebrate Kwanza. This holiday was developed in the
U.S.A. in 1966 but is based in part upon a traditional African harvest festival. The
name Kwanza means "first fruits of the harvest" in Swahili, an East African
language. The festival begins on December 26 and lasts for 7 days. Each day is
dedicated to discussion of one of these principles: unity, self-determination,
collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Kwanza customs include lighting candles and exchanging gifts, especially
handmade ones.
On December 31, community members dress in African clothing and share a feast
of traditional African foods. This celebration includes musical and dance
performances, an assessment of the past year, and commitments for the coming
year.
Kwanza provides an opportunity for African-Americans to reestablish their links
to an African past and their connections to their contemporary community. It is

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celebrated by about 5 million African-Americans and about 10 million others in

Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, and parts of Europe.

3.4. Happy New Year!

"Ring out the old, ring in the new," wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the nineteenth-
century English poet. And that's exactly what Americans do every December 31.
New Year's Eve is a time for noise and fun. At home or in restaurants, most
Americans drink and dine with friends. One popular New Year's Eve drink is
eggnog, made with eggs, milk or cream, nutmeg, and sugar. Throughout the
Christmas season, eggnog is a popular party beverage. Another is, of course,
champagne - the drink that symbolizes a celebration. At midnight on New Year's
Eve, bells ring, horns blow, and friends toast each other with champagne. It's also
customary to exchange kisses. Everyone celebrates the disappearance of old
Father Time, replaced by the baby New Year. New Year's Eve festivities often
continue until two or three o'clock in the morning. Many people travel from one
party to another to celebrate with several different groups of friends.
The country's most crowded New Year’s
Eve celebration takes place in New York
City's Times Square. Since 1907, the
famous ball-lowering ceremony has been a
holiday highlight. To celebrate the arrival
of the year 2000, an estimated 2 million
people crowded into Times Square, and
hundreds of millions viewed the scene on
TV. The huge, 1,070- pound lighted crystal
ball began its descent from a 77-foot
flagpole at 11:59 P.M. and reached the
bottom at exactly midnight. Confetti,

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balloons, and fireworks simultaneously brightened the night sky. It was the
biggest public event ever held in the city.
The new year arrives earlier in the East than in other parts of the country. When
midnight comes to New York, it is 11 P.M. in Chicago, 10 P.M. in Denver, and
only 9 P.M. in Los Angeles. The contiguous (connected) 48 states span four time
zones: Alaska and Hawaii add two more.
What do Americans do on New Year's Day? Many sleep late because they stayed
up all night long. Many watch TV, which offers spectacular parades and football
games between champion college teams. From ancient times to the present, New
Year's customs have been connected with saying good-bye to the past and looking
forward to a better future. Therefore, New Year's Day often inspires people to
start new programs and give up bad habits. Some people make New Year’s
resolutions, promises to themselves to improve their behavior. People talk about
"turning over a new leaf," referring to a clean, blank page or a fresh start. Typical
New Year’s resolutions are to spend less money, give up smoking, begin a diet,
or be nicer to others. It's safe to assume that about half of them are forgotten by
January 31!

3.5. Chinese and Jewish New Year’s Holidays

Many Chinese-Americans celebrate the New Year holiday established by China’s
ancient lunar calendar more than 4,000 years ago. The 15-day Chinese New Year
begins with Yuan Tan and concludes with the Festival of Lanterns, held at the
time of the full moon between January 21 and February 19. During this period,
Chinatown sections in major American cities look very festive, with paper and
glass lanterns decorating the houses and colorful marchers parading in the streets.
Rosh Hashanah (which means "head of the year") is the traditional Jewish New
Year. It occurs in September or October. Rosh Hashanah is a very solemn holiday,
marking the beginning of 10 days set aside for self-appraisal, repentance, and
promises to be a better person in the coming year.

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In most cultures, the closing of one calendar year and the opening of another is a
happy, yet serious, occasion. To Americans, it is a time for fun and reflection, a
time to look both ways, to review the past with nostalgia and look forward to the
future with hope.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What are the two main themes and colors of Halloween? Why were the children given
candy?
2. When is Thanksgiving Day? What foods are served at a traditional American
Thanksgiving feast?
3. What event does Christmas celebrate?
4. How does gift-giving relate to the birth of Christ and the spirit of Christmas?
5. What does Hanukkah celebrate? Why are lights important?
6. What is the major theme of the New Year’s holiday? How do Americans celebrate?

Exercise 1.
Put a check (√) in the column if the custom is associated with that holiday.
Some customs may be traditional on both holidays.
Customs Christmas New Year’s
1. exchanging gifts around a tree
2. kissing under the mistletoe
3. promising to improve oneself
4. helping the poor
5. going caroling
6. attending church services
7. watching the ball drop on TV
8. drinking champagne at midnight
9. blowing horns

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10. talking or writing to Santa Claus

11. sending season’s greetings cards
12. watching the Bowl games on TV

Exercise 2.
Put a check (√) in the column
1. Most American Christmas customs originated in_________.
a. the U.S.
b. other countries
c. Bethlehem
2. Christ was actually born _________ .
a. on December 25, A.D.1
b. several years before A.D.1
c. in the fourth century A.D.
3. Christmas is celebrated by_________.
a. all Americans
b. Christians everywhere
c. Christians and Jews everywhere
4. Which would not be a good New Year’s resolution? _________.
a. I’ll spend more time with my family
b. I’ll stop smoking
c. I’ll buy some groceries
5. The year A.D. 500 was about_________.
a. 1,500 years ago
b. 500 years ago
c. 2,500 years ago

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Exercise 3.
Match each word in column 1 with its definition in column 2 by writing the
correct numbers on the lines.
1. self-evident rightful
2. secure obvious; easy to see
3. endowed given
4. instituted getting
5. deriving protect and keep
6. just created; established

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