トリック・オア・トリート（Trick or Treat）、それとも英語？ハロウィーンがSUSにやってきた！
更新日： 2024年11月05日
今回のハロウィーン英語村では、風変わりな魔女や魔法使い、悪魔たちがハロウィーンを英語で祝うために集まりました。
ぼんやり光るパンプキンや不思議な壁画が、英語村までの道を案内しました。
不気味な単語パズルや、吸血鬼やゾンビと戦う「Bite-Me」というカードゲームなどで、いつもより長い英語村の時間もあっという間に過ぎていきました。タスクやゲームをクリアした人には、甘いご褒美が待っていました。
楽しいことに加えて、プレゼンテーションの準備も集中。
魔法の帽子の有無にかかわらず、また次回お会いしましょう！
Message from Katrina:
A Big Thank You to All the Witches, Ghosts, and Ghouls Who Joined Our Halloween Event!
We’re so glad English Village landed on the actual Halloween date this year, October 31st! When we first came to Japan over 20 years ago, few people here knew about Halloween, much less celebrated it. But in recent years, Halloween has become a popular event across Japan. Here’s a quick history of how this ancient Irish festival traveled across Europe and America to eventually find its way to Japan.
What is Halloween?
Halloween began over 2,000 years ago with the Celtic festival of Samhain (a celebration marking the end of the harvest season) in what is now Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Celts believed that on this night, the barrier (boundary) between the living and the dead became thin, allowing spirits to roam (wander) the earth. To protect themselves, people would wear costumes to disguise themselves from evil spirits, light bonfires, and leave offerings to keep ghosts away.
When Christianity spread to Europe, Samhain traditions merged with the Catholic Church’s All Hallows’ Eve (the evening before All Saints’ Day) on November 1st. Over time, it became known as Halloween, and new traditions like carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating were added. Trick-or-treating—a custom where children go door-to-door collecting treats—evolved into one of Halloween’s most popular activities.
Irish immigrants brought Halloween to America, where it became a beloved holiday. It eventually arrived in Japan through movies, pop culture, and tourism. Today, Halloween in Japan features costume parties, parades, and decorations, though trick-or-treating is less common. It’s a fun way to experience Western culture and enjoy dressing up!
Fun Question
If you needed a disguise to keep evil spirits away, would you choose:
- a) A cute costume
- b) A scary costume
Most people long ago would have chosen scary costumes to frighten spirits away! In the 1950s, Halloween grew into a family-friendly holiday, and costumes began to include cheerful themes like superheroes, cartoon characters, and animals.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Halloween’s popularity in pop culture brought even more *kawaii* (cute) styles to Japan, where adorable witches, animals, and classic characters became a fun mix of cute and spooky. Today, cute costumes are a big part of Halloween, loved by both kids and adults alike.
Thank you again for celebrating with us at English Village! We can’t wait to see you next week for more cultural learning and fun!
