Home
Halloween: A Haunted History

Name: _______________________________

Directions: What do you know about Halloween? Explore the Web site provided to learn about the history of that spooky holiday. Then use words from the Halloween word list to complete each sentence.

Web Resource: A Brief History of Halloween
http://www.dcls.org/x/archives/halloween.html

  • Samhain
  • evil spirits
  • All Saints Day
  • Anoka, Minnesota
  • All Hallow's Eve
  • Autumn Play Party
  • jack o' lanterns
  • Hall of Horrors
  • Rome, Italy
  • saints
  • Pomona
  • witches

  1. Halloween is a combination of two pagan holidays, the Celtic festival of ___________________________________and the Roman festival of ___________________________________.

  2. In the ancient festivals, villagers dressed in costumes to scare away _____________________________.

  3. To stop people from celebrating the pagan festivals, the Catholic Church created ________________________.

  4. The name Halloween, probably first used in the 1500s, means _____________________________.

  5. The first official celebration of Halloween took place in 1921 in ___________________________.

If you're looking for a bigger treat, go to The Official Halloween Safety Game at http://www.halloweenmagazine.com/play2.html and learn how to stay safe while trick-or-treating.

2001 by Education World. Education World grants users permission to reproduce this work sheet for educational purposes only.