Halloween in the United States

Вступление от редакции. Дорогие друзья, более пяти лет мы публикуем обучающий материал, связанный с английским языком, чтобы у вас была возможность самостоятельно совершенствовать свои навыки владения английским. До сегодняшнего дня мы публиковали статьи, написанные только на русском языке нашими русскоязычными преподавателями. И вот мы решили положить конец такой несправедливости, ведь нашим преподавателям родом из США и Великобритании тоже есть что сказать! :-)

Наш преподаватель-носитель языка Scott родился и вырос в штате Wisconsin, USA. Он захотел лично рассказать вам об особенностях празднования Halloween в его родном городе. О результате его трудов судите сами! В конце статьи мы приведем список из самых сложных слов, которые могут понадобиться при прочтении. Enjoy!

As a kid, I looked forward to Halloween each and every year. To an extent, I still look forward to Halloween every year. Even after my 29th birthday, I can’t help but feel the same way I did when I was a devilishly good looking little boy. Around Halloween time is when the leaves change, the weather gets cold and winter is just around the corner. I get excited for it every year, eagerly anticipating the first snowfall.

“Scott, Halloween, 1992”

What is it about Halloween in America that makes other nations also adopt it and start celebrating it? Why do people like to be scared? What is it about putting on hideous masks and running around and subjecting oneself to horror films and whatever other monstrosities just for the sake of being scared? Why is it fun to be scared? Answering all of those questions could take years and really is beyond the scope of this text… so how do kids and adults celebrate Halloween in America?

For most kids, Halloween is all about the candy. Candy, candy, candy! You get the biggest bag possible so that you can get the most candy possible. If you’re really clever, you’ll even have two different costumes so that you can hit each house twice! The tradition is to dress up on Halloween night and stalk the streets, knocking on doors of houses and screaming, “Trick or treat!” while looking into your bag as they drop candy into it. Almost always, it will become a contest of who can get to the most houses and get the most amount of candy. That’s really it for kids. Rather simple, isn’t it?

Typical costumes for children are ghosts, ghouls, devils, witches, Batman, Superman… even actors and actresses!

Halloween for adults is a whole different story. While some people use it as an excuse to dress up as sexy French maids, or hold Halloween theme parties, the grand majority of adults don’t really care about Halloween because it’s not a holiday that grants a day off of work. It could even been seen as a stressful event for adults who have children. Adults who enjoy the darker side of life will load up some classic horror films, decorate their house with scary imagery, and bask in the glory of darkness.

As with almost all holidays in America, the traditional ideas or reasons for each holiday has more or less disappeared and Halloween is even seen by some as an indication to start preparing for Thanksgiving… you know some stores in America even start stocking Christmas items at the end of Halloween!

So, with that, you now know a little bit more about how an average American celebrates Halloween!

Даже если с первого раза вы испытали трудности с чтением, не стоит отчаиваться. Внимательно прочитайте предложение еще раз, выпишите незнакомое слово, разберитесь с главными словами в предложении, — все это поможет понять смысл предложения. А если все равно возникнут вопросы, то вы всегда можете оставлять их в поле для комментариев!