Informative Speech Outline
Introduction
1. Who doesn’t love Halloween?
2. Halloween is such a misunderstood holiday. Many cultures around the world celebrate it, but in different ways.
3. In order to avoid certain misconception of the holiday I will discuss its history, how it got to America and some of the superstitions behind it by using some facts.
Body
1. First of all, Halloween has a long history.
A. For example according to journalist Smith, Natalie, Halloween dates back to about 2000 years ago to a festival called Samhain which was celebrated by the Celts.
B. Also because of the Celts being believers of the death, it was a much respected celebration that had a serious meaning behind it.
C. Furthermore with the expansion of Christianity
Halloween is the point at which you cut Jack o' Lanterns out of pumpkins, design the house with a ghoulish topic, parties, and go trap or treating way to entryway wearing ensembles. Halloween is praised by both kids and grown-ups. Kids spruce up in
Introduction: Patrons of the season of Halloween spend over $2.5 billion dollars every year on candy, costumes, and decorations. Every year millions of kids get dressed up, knock on doors, and beg for candy. Have you ever wondered where this strange tradition originated? The three most important points of Halloween can be summed up by looking at its origins, how it came to include jack-o-lanterns and bobbing for apples, and how it is celebrated today with trick-or-treating and haunted houses.
Preview: Now let’s take a look at the Origin and description of Mardi Gras, and why it’s culturally important.”
These traditions were connected with the lower class at the time and so they were also connected with crime, rowdy behavior and other stereotypes the upper class believed about the poor. Of course people who were part of the upper class did not like this and by the 1870s they had turned Halloween into a holiday to make children into “good American citizens.” Halloween was now targeted towards children and because of that families were encouraged to celebrate it at home where food, games and other entertainment would have adult supervision. By doing this children were expected to understand the values society holds, while also learning about their proper gender roles. At this point we are able to start to see how Halloween became so heavily influenced by gender roles/stereotypes and how that led to the over-sexualized holiday it is now. Trick or treating and wearing Halloween costumes became popular in America around the 1920s and by the 1950s children’s costumes were extremely reflective of their sex. (Bannatyne.) Girls were dressed as princesses and angels while boys were army men, hobos and so on. However, as cute and adorable as this is or may have been, this creates a very thick line between genders. When that line is present it is alluding to children that
Halloween is believed to come from Celtic rituals. The Celts lived over 2000 years ago, and were found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France. The Celts celebrated
C. Thesis Statement: Going from what the meaning of Halloween is in America today and looking back at it’s roots, it has evolved dramatically. And just recently we have been seeing a comeback from one of those roots, but do we know it’s real cultural significance?
The catholic, mexican holiday, Day of the Dead and the very westernized holiday Halloween may seem very alike with their traditions and themes, but in retrospect, they are very different and have very different origins. Halloween and Day of the Dead happen at the same time, end of October and beginning of November. The background of these two holidays are very spiritual and they have an interesting story of how the Halloween and day of the dead was created. In this essay, I will be talking about the how Halloween and Day of the Dead are celebrated , the origins of Day of the Dead and Halloween, and decorations and celebrations of Day of the Dead and Halloween. Both Day of the Dead and Halloween deal with spooky traditions but they are very different than the stereotypical thought that they are just weird, scary holidays but after reading some background to these two holidays, many people realize there is a lot more to Halloween and Day of the Dead.
In early American history, Halloween was not celebrated due to the strong Christian heritage. Initially, it was practiced only in small Irish population, until thousands of Irish migrated to American soil and brought their tradition with them. Some regard Halloween as an Irish holiday with history in the Celtic festival. Traditional Halloween symbols we often see such as witches, fairies, pumpkins, black cats masks, batman, parties and pranks appeared in United States during the late 1800's. In 1848, millions of Irish emigrants poured into America as a result of the potato famine.
Transition: With all holidays come celebrations, let’s talk about the festivities that helped shape Halloween today.
Every year millions of kids get dressed up, knock on doors, and beg for candy. With Halloween just around the corner, you all are probably wondering where this strange tradition came from. Every year I have experienced this holiday and have done research on this topic. According to a 2014 Smithsonian.com article, stated by Natasha Geiling, in just one year Americans spent over six billion dollars on candy, costumes, and ghoulish decor in anticipation for Halloween. Many people think all Halloween is about dressing up and going trick or treating but there's more to it than that. The roots and variations from all around are what makes Halloween what it is today. In order to understand this holiday, we will go into the history of Halloween, how it's celebrated around the world, and superstitions revolving it.
The catholic holiday, Day of the Dead and the holiday Halloween may seem very alike with their traditions and themes, but, they are very different and have very different origins. Halloween and Day of the Dead happen at the same time, end of October and beginning of November. The background of these two holidays are very spiritual and they have an interesting story of how the Halloween and day of the dead was created. In this essay, I will be talking about the how Halloween and Day of the Dead are celebrated , the origins of Day of the Dead and Halloween, and decorations and celebrations of Day of the Dead and Halloween. Both Day of the Dead and Halloween deal with spooky traditions but they are very different than the stereotypical thought that they are just weird, scary holidays but after reading some background to these two holidays, many people realize there is a lot more to Halloween and Day of the Dead.
Halloween is a widely celebrated holiday in America where kids dress up in costumes and go door to door around their neighborhood asking for candy. People tell stories about supernatural creatures, watch horror movies, and adorn their houses with jack-o-lanterns and skeletons. But Halloween was not always celebrated how it is today, and it has seen many changes in traditions throughout the years. Although many aspects of Halloween have changed from its origins to the celebrations today, the differences in the trick-or-treating process and its perseverance throughout the years show its relevance and importance to the holiday. To the Celtic people, Halloween was known as Samhain and was a festival to celebrate the end of summer, the coming of
There has been a lot of dispute over the years on the origins of the holiday. Since Halloween is considered a melting pot of different traditions and themes, it is hard to pinpoint where the whole holiday started. Historians have found that the first documentation of Halloween like celebrations occurred at least 2,000 years ago in Northern Europe. The original Halloween belonged to the Celts, and it is unclear if Halloween existed before 2,000 years ago, but with the Celtic people inhabiting the region around 5th century BC, it is entirely possible that Halloween is much older than historians originally calculated.
Furthermore, there are many traditional rituals and superstitions associated with Halloween. Since the ancient Celts thought the nonliving roamed the earth, they created costumes out of animal pelts to ward off evil spirits. Fortunetelling and the utilization of large bonfires for sacrifices and purification were also early customs. After the Christianization of the holiday to commemorate saints and martyrs, the same festivities, bonfires, and guising remained, but October 31st was renamed All-Hallows Eve. This inevitably turned into Halloween. Similar to European traditions, America’s Halloween has also evolved throughout the years. Halloween’s recognition was originally restricted in colonial America due to its non-Christian beliefs and practices, and it was practiced at a more local level. According to an online source, “The first celebrations included ‘play parties,’ public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead and tell each other’s fortunes, dance, and sing” (“History of Halloween”). Festivities were akin to European traditions, but also included ghost stories and pranking. Beginning in the twentieth century, Halloween
Halloween, a holiday many of us know and love. A day when we celebrate together with our friends, family, neighbors and community. We go from door to door collecting candy, sweets and much more, racing on who can approach the most houses or who can collect the most candy in the group. It is all fun and games when trick or treating, and it has evolved into so much more than from the past. As years pass by, we celebrate this holiday annually, but of everything we’ve taken in from being children through our teen and adult years, do we truly know the background of Halloween Day?