The time of the year has come to put on spooky masks and costumes and go spread a little mischief in your neighbourhood…
Halloween, a celebration observed in many countries on 31st October, is actually a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve" or, in other words, All Saints' Eve. Halloween is the prelude to the Western Christian feast in which we remember our deceased loved ones.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration.
How do you say trick-or-treat in your native language? In Spanish it is truco o trato and in Italian it is dolcetto o scherzetto :-)
Want to find out about other interesting festivities and celebrations in the EU’s 27 Member States? Filter speeches on the Speech Repository by clicking on Culture and/or Customs in the Domain section of the Repository’s search engine and practise your interpreting skills whilst you discover European folklore!
Happy practice!
Your Speech Repository Team