Halloween Halloween _________ (1) an annual celebration, but what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? The word, "Halloween," has its origins in the Catholic Church. It __________ (2) from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ____________ (3) on October 31. One story _____________ (4) that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who ______________ (5) throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. Naturally, the still-living ____________ (6) to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who ____________ (7) to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. The Romans ____________ (8) the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, they _________ (9)any practice of sacrificing of humans in favor of burning effigies. So, although some pagan groups, cults, and Satanists may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself _____________ (10) out of evil practices. It ______________ (11)out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans.

Exercises: 1. Complete the previous text with the following verbs in the appropriate tense. They might be in the Present Simple, Past Simple or Past Perfect (active or passive voice). grow, (not) grow, say, come, die, be, end, (not) want, adopt, think, abandon. 2. Find words in the text that mean the following: (1) Separated soul from the body. (2) Inhabited and controlled by a demon or spirit. (3) Related to an evil spirit supposed to rob graves and prey on human corpses. (4) Marched in procession. (5) A post on which people were bound for execution, especially by burning. (6) Sculptured representations.