"Halloween" Seen Through The Eyes of a ESL Student

Since I can remember Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays. The excitement that I felt knowing that I was going to pick out my costume filled me with great pleasure. Even to this day, now that I am an adult I still consider Halloween as one of my favorite holidays that I get to share now with my own children. I believe, the reason I feel this way is because growing up in a Spanish household Halloween was considered an American Holiday and was not celebrated within my family. As a matter of fact, in some Spanish cultures Halloween is seen as a holiday that celebrates satanic rituals and celebrating it is seen as a horrible act. Thankfully, my mother did not share that same belief and instead embraced this American holiday as something fun and positive filled with candy and pretend play.

Do you have a similar experience with this holiday?

Vocabulary

• Halloween (noun)-- October 31, the eve of All Saints' Day, celebrated by children who dress in costume and solicit candy or treats door-to-door.
• holidays (noun)--festivity or celebration
• excitement (noun)--happiness, joy
• great pleasure (noun)--feeling of happiness, enjoyment
• consider (verb)--think about, reflect 
• celebrated (adjective)—festive, something you do with your family or friends that could involve music, food, and decorations.   
•  horrible (adjective)--terrible, shocking, awful
•  belief (noun)--faith, trust
• embraced (verb)--hold, cuddle, hug, clasp

Vocabulary Exercise:
Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1. In October I love to celebrate ______________________because I get to dress up and eat candy.  
2. Ann is going to celebrate thanksgiving_________________________at her families house.
3. He had so much ___________________when he opened his birthday present.
4. My mother had ____________________seeing me graduate college.
5. Ted said he will __________________buying a car instead of a truck.
6. My grandparents ________________there 70th anniversary last summer.
7. My brother felt__________________after he received the bad news. 
8. People ________________are very different depending on their cultural background.
9. The child ______________________his mother when he saw her.

 Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that describe and modify a nouns. Utilizing the vocabulary I have provided above write a sentence describing your favorite holiday. Remember to include in your sentence the adjectives I have provided within your sentence.