Halloween is big with kids and business

October 31st is Halloween. On that night, children around the United States will wear special

clothing and make up their faces to look like frightening creatures. These little vampires,

ghosts and witches will walk around their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and yelling

“trick or treat.” If the people in the homes do not give them a sweet treat, candy, the children

may play a trick on them.

Many homes are also dressed up for Halloween. People hang toy spiders, skeletons and other

scary decorations on trees and bushes. Pumpkins are also popular. People often empty the

pumpkins and carve frightening faces on them. Then they place a candle inside so the

pumpkin face glows in the night.

Halloween traditions developed from Celtic beliefs in ancient

Britain. The Celts believed that spirits of the dead would return to

their homes on October 31st, the day of the autumn feast. Celts

would build huge fires to frighten away evil spirits released with

the dead on that night.

People from Scotland and Ireland brought these ideas with them

when they came to America. Some believed that spirits played

tricks on people on the last night of October.

Today, Halloween is a favorite holiday among children. But

Halloween is also big business. The National Retail Federation has

reported predictions about Halloween spending for the last 11

years. It says, this year, it expects Halloween sales to total about $7.4 billion. The National

Retail Federation says the average person will spend more than $77 on Halloween goods.

And, the NRF says more Americans plan to take part in Halloween activities than last year.

The group expects 162 million people to celebrate compared to 158 million people in 2013. It

says 54 million of those people plan to hold Halloween parties.

Not all children, or adults, dress to scare on Halloween. Other popular costumes include super

heroes and Disney characters. The NRF says this year characters from two children’s movies

will be especially popular. Can you guess the movies? Of course, “Frozen” and “Teenage

Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

Alapfok

Humans will not be the only costumed creatures Halloween night. The National Retail

Federation says about 23 million people plan to dress up their animals. The top two popular

pet costumes are pumpkins and hot dogs.

Words in this Story

vampire – n. a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of

living people

ghost – n. the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as

appearing to living people

witch – n. a woman who is thought to have magic powers

candy – n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

costume – n. the clothes that are worn by someone (such as an actor) who is trying to

look like a different person or thing

(forrás: VOA English)

http://www.dont-panic.hu/

Reading Harry Potter in English

Have you read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series? Let me ask this again. Have you read the

Harry Potter series in English? Many English learners on MyEC name Harry Potter as their

favourite book. The 7 part fantasy series has attracted millions of readers of all ages from all

over the world.

Why do so many people love Harry Potter?

Harry is an orphan. Many popular tales start out with the main character losing one or

both parents. Think of all of the popular Disney movies. Most of them start this way!

Harry is loveable. For a book to be successful, the main character has to be adored by

the readers. The average human can relate to Harry Potter despite his abnormal life.

Harry is magic. Humans love to read about worlds of wonder. Perhaps this is a form of

escape from our own reality.

Harry has his fair share of trouble. Conflict is the key to a good story. The Harry

Potter books are page turners. Once you are hooked you can’t put them down.

The Harry Potter books are available in over 60 languages. However, if Harry Potter is truly

your “favourite book” why not read it in English? Reading a translation is not the same as

reading the original. In fact, it is a little bit like watching a movie adaptation. You lose part of

the author’s true vision for the book.

Will you accept the challenge to read Harry Potter in English? You can use the comments

below to motivate each other. You can also ask questions about vocabulary from the books.

Why not start a Harry Potter reading group on MyEC?

Wordchecker:

orphan: a child whose parents have died

relate to: understand because it is familiar

fair share: as much or more than the average person

középfok

page turner: a book that you can’t stop reading

hooked: convinced to continue reading (or using)

vision: a plan in one’s imagination

(forrás: https://edition.englishclub.com/esl-magazine/harrypotter)