I. Read and learn the following words.

bonfire	[΄bon¸faıə]	костер
hilltop		вершина холма
witch	[wıt ]	ведьма
wicked	[wikid]	злой, безнравственный
creature	[΄krıt ə]	существо
saint	[seınt]	плющ
pagan	[΄peıgən]	языческий
to supplant	[sə΄pla:nt]	вытеснять

II. Match the words with their definitions:

1. to honour	1) a person that the Christian Church recognizes as being very holy, because of the way they have lived or died
2. saint	2) to show that an event or occasion is important by doing something special or enjoyable
3. goblin	3) the spirit of a dead person that a living person believes they can see or hear
4. to celebrate	4) to show respect
5. ghost	5) a woman who is believed to have magic powers, especially to do evil things
6. secular	6) a small ugly creature in children's stories that likes to trick people
7. to supplant	7) not connected with spiritual or religious matters
8. witch	8) replace

III. Complete the table:

noun	verb	adjective
	shorten
thought
		powerful
greenery
	celebrate
		dark

IV. Read and translate the text.

Halloween (October, 31)

Since most holidays honour famous people or celebrate important events, what started this rather strange holiday that seems to "honour" witches and ghosts?

Halloween wasn't always a children's "fun" holiday. At one time, it was a very serious and rather frightening event.

Thousands of years ago, in England, Scotland, Ireland, and some other places, the day that is now November 1 was the beginning of the new year. People also thought of this day as the start of winter. They called it "Summer's End."

People believed there was a sort of war between winter, with its cold and darkness, and summer, with its bright, long days and pleasant greenery. They felt that at Summer's End, the "army" of winter – ghosts, goblins, witches, and other evil creatures – grew very strong.

The night before Summer's End, October, 31 became a frightening time. People were sure that all the wicked creatures would be out celebrating – and might attack them.

To protect themselves, people held special ceremonies. They built big bonfires on hilltops to light up the night. They put on masks and animal skins. They hoped that their strange "costumes" would keep the evil creatures from knowing who they were.

Hundreds of years later, the Christian religion came tо these countries. In the 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints' Day, originally on May 13, and in the following century, perhaps in an effort to supplant the pagan holiday with a Christian observance, it was moved to November 1. The evening before All Saints' Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve known as All Hallows' E'en (e'en is an old way of saying "evening"). After a time, it was shortened to Halloween.

Many people, especially in England, kept up some of the old Summer's End customs. Even after thousands of years had passed, people remembered that ghosts, goblins, and witches were supposed to be most powerful on Halloween. They also remembered that it was a night on which people had once put on special costumes.

As a secular holiday, Halloween has come to be associated with a number of activities. One is the practice of pulling usually harmless pranks. Celebrants wear masks and costumes for parties and for trick-or-treating, thought to have derived from the British practice of allowing the poor to beg for food, called “soul cakes.” Trick-or-treaters go from house to house with the threat that they will pull a trick if they do not receive a treat, usually candy. Halloween parties often include games such as bobbing for apples, perhaps derived from the Roman celebration of Pomona. Along with skeletons and black cats, the holiday has incorporated scary beings such as ghosts, witches, and vampires into the celebration. Another symbol is the jack-o'-lantern, a hollowed-out pumpkin, originally a turnip, carved into a demonic face and lit with a candle inside. Since the mid 20th century, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has attempted to make the collection of money for its programs a part of Halloween.