Halloween!

The Story of Halloween

2,000 years ago, the Celts lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. Every year they celebrated New Year's Eve on October 31st with a festival called "Samhain". The Celts dressed in animal heads and skins for this festival, and their priests, the Druids, built huge bonfires. October 31st marked the end of the summer and the beginning of winter and the Celts believed that on that day, the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. The Celts thoudh that the Ghosts helped the Druids to predict the future.

In about 43 AD, after the Romans conquered the Celts, two Roman festivals, Feralia and Pomona Day were combined with the Celtic Samhain festival. Later in the 7th century, when Christianity reached the land of the Celts, the Pope made November 1st All Saint's Day. This celebration is also called All Hallows or Hallowmas. The night before it became known as All Hallow's Eve, which later changed to Halloween.

In the United States, in England and many other places around the world, people have lots of fun on Halloween. They make Jack-o-lanterns (pumpkin heads). How? They make a scary face on a pumpkin, put a candle inside and put it in the window. Children dress up as wiches and ghosts and go trick-ortreating. Some of them knock on their neigkbours' door and run away. Others stay and get a treat. Children also go to parties and play lots of games, like "apple bobbing" or treasure hunt. Moreover, the people decorate their houses with black cats, ghosts and skeletons.

So, Halloween is a thrilling mixture of fun and fear!

Halloween! ;P

Halloween!

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday, which is held on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows Day.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?". In Scotland and Ireland, Guising — children disguise in costume going from door to door for food or coins.

Children dress as supernatural figures such as monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection started to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses.

There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween. One of them is dunking or apple bobbing, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant of dunking involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drop the fork into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up sweets and candy by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string,.

Another game/superstition that was enjoyed in the early 1900s involved walnut shells. People would write fortunes in milk on white paper. After drying, the paper was folded and placed in walnut shells. When the shell was warmed, milk would turn brown therefore the writing would appear on what looked like blank paper. Folks would also play fortune teller. In order to play this game, symbols were cut out of paper and placed on a platter. Someone would enter a dark room and was ordered to put her hand on a piece of ice then lay it on a platter. Her "fortune" would stick to the hand.

The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are very common on Halloween. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before the holiday, while new horror films are often released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere.

PET Writing...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Last Saturday, I saw a film called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was pretty nice.

It is based on a book. The main character in the film is Charlie Bucket who is a kind loving child growing up in a very poor family. He lives with his mother, father (who was recently laid off from his job at a toothpaste factory), and his four grandparents directly down the street from the famous chocolate factory.Many years ago, the owner of the factory, Willy Wonka, had decided to close it because other chocolate factories had been stealing his ideas.That led him to fire all his employees, among them Charlie's Grandpa Joe. One day, Wonka informs the world of a contest in which five Golden Tickets have been placed in five random Wonka Bars worldwide and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. One ticket holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour.

It was a great movie. The special effects were fantastic and the plot was so exciting and original. The music was also excellent! I loved the Oompa Loompas! I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes fairy-tales and magic!

Source: Wikipedia.

Email to Nick and Anna

Dear Nick & Anna,

Hi, my name is Rafaela. I am 13 years old & I live in Heraklion Crete.  I'm the girl who was not there when you visited our school. I have a brother who is 12.

I'm a plump girl of medium height. I'm good-looking with shoulder-length straight brown hair. I'm honest responsible ,cheerful and kind . I live with my parents and my little brother in a big house.

What about you? How old are you? Are you twins? Are you from New Zealand ?

I am looking forward to your reply.

Best wishes,
Rafaela

PET's exercise

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

A month ago I saw this movie and since then it has become one of my fondest! Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams is an action, adventure film which has also a sense of humour so we can present it as a comedy too. It's a movie for all the family featuring spies and science fantasy elements. In addition, we can say that it's a mystery film with lots of suspense.

It's about two young heroes, Juni and Carmen Cortez (Daryl Sabara & Alexa Vega), who must travel to a mysterious island in search of a "Transmooker", a device capable of controlling all electronic devises. Here they meet a quirky geneticist, named Romero (Steve Buscemi) and find themselves going head-to-head against a rival team of Spy Kids (Matt O'Leary & Emily Osment). Meanwhile, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez (Antonio Banderas & Carla Gugino) attempt to find their kids, all while dealing with Ingrid's parents (Ricardo Montalban & Holland Taylor).

I'm mad about this film because in my view, it's completely amazing and the plot is perfect. Moreover, it's very exciting since the main actors are young so we can understand how the act and why they make some specific decisions and the special effects are brilliant. Furthermore, I definitely recommend it to all the kids in my age as it's a very adventurous and intriguing film.

I took most of the higher information from the next web page: http://uk.bluray.ign.com/articles/118/1185982pl.html

A letter to our new e-pals

Dear Anna & Nick,

How are you? I hope you're well and everything is fine there in New Zealand. What the weather like in your country? Is it hot, warm or cold? Here in the mornings is really cold but then is being hotter and hotter. However, in the afternoon is warm again and we have to wear jackets.

Well, let's talk about school for a bit. As I have already told you-but you may don't remember-I'm in the second grade of Junior High School. My class is on the 1st floor of our building and it's very hot but it's perfect. Maybe is the best class. Also our teachers are very good. My favourite subject is Ancient Greek, because we're very close with the teacher and I like the way she teaches us. I always have a good time. What's your favourite subject?

Have you attended to an after-school club? If so, what kind of club is like? If you ask me, I haven't joined one, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. A few years ago, I had take part in a painting club which was every Saturday. I used to go there with my best friend named Alithia but now she lives in Athens. I'm so sad.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to hearing your news.

Best wishes,
Christina

Email to Nick and Anna

Hi Nick and Anna!

How are you? I hope you are fine! I'm Nassia, one of the girls you met when you visited our English school. I'm 13 years old and I'm from Heraklion, Greece, but I'm sure you already know that... I would like to tell you more about my life.

In my free time, I like playing the keyboards. I love music, especially pop and rock, but I'm not a very good dancer or singer..:P! My favourite singer is Avril Lavigne. I don't really like sports, but I'm into volleyball.I usually play volleyball with my dad at the weekends. I like spending time with my family, although both my brother and sister live and study in Athens...

My sister's name is Helen. She is 21 years old and she studies in the university. My brother's name is John. He is 25 years old and he works for a company.I've got three pets, two dogs named Lara and Charlie and a cat named Kazabooboo(:D).

What about you? Write back soon and tell me more about your country, your hobbies and your family!

Best wishes!Nassia