Halloween History

There or Their?

Use there to refer to a place or to the existence of something: “I keep my shoes over there” or “There were many dogs at the park.” Use their to show that something belongs to someone: “The students are proud of their project.”

Is there/their anything more symbolic of Halloween than carving pumpkins? The tradition likely comes from Ireland. Centuries ago, people there/their carved scary faces into hollowed-out turnips or potatoes and placed candles or pieces of burning coal inside. They set there/their glowing vegetables in windows to scare off wandering spirits.

In the 1800s, Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, where people began using pumpkins instead—probably because they are easier to carve.

Every Halloween, we put on vampire teeth, superhero capes, wacky wigs, and other fun costumes. Where did this tradition originate? Thousands of years ago, Celtic warriors believed that on October 31, the boundary between the living and the dead disappeared. They wore costumes made of animal skins and animal heads to protect themselves from any spirits that happened to cross there/their paths.

Thankfully, we don’t wear animal heads anymore. But we do love to dress up. What do you think the most popular costumes will be this year?