halloween
part of speech
noun (Halloween — a proper noun, with a capital letter)
meaning for a pupil
1) A festival held in the evening at the very end of October, when children dress up in costumes, carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating. tree →
2) Its old meaning: the evening before All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Eve). tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand it means costumes, jack-o'-lanterns, spooky stories and sweets. It started from old Celtic and Irish traditions (Samhain). In safety lessons: trick-or-treat with an adult or group, carry a torch, wear bright or reflective costumes, check sweets with an adult, and only visit houses you know. Phrases: Halloween costume, trick or treat, jack-o'-lantern, Halloween party, spooky.
examples
- We carved a pumpkin for Halloween. tree →
- At Halloween I dressed up as a witch. tree →
- Children go trick-or-treating on Halloween night. tree →
- Carry a torch when you go out at Halloween. tree →
- Halloween began long ago in Ireland and Scotland. tree →
- Our class had a Halloween party with apple bobbing. tree →
- Only knock on doors with a pumpkin or lights on. tree →
note
Write with a capital H: Halloween (older spelling Hallowe'en). In Australia and New Zealand it falls in spring and is less traditional but growing. «Trick or treat» = give me a treat or I'll play a trick (in fun).
In the corpora
- Some Christians enjoy Halloween, while some churches hold «light parties» instead.
- Halloween on 31 October grew from Samhain, an old Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter.
- Halloween on 31 October grew from Samhain, an old Celtic festival at the end of the harvest.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «halloween» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.