Opinion: What I Like About Halloween
Rachel: Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, just because it’s a fun, playful holiday, and it’s really the only time when you can feel totally comfortable walking around outside in a crazy costume.
Rachel: In my city, there’s a big Halloween parade every year, and anyone of any age can march. It’s mostly adults, but you’ll see families, too, and people even bring their dogs in costume, so that’s cute.
Rachel: There are all kinds of costumes, from the traditional to the obscure. There are spooky ghosts and zombies, cute animal costumes, political costumes, and silly, absurd costumes like sandwiches, or race cars, or slices of pizza.
Rachel: People can be really creative. And there are a lot of other Halloween traditions in America, too. People decorate their houses to look gloomy with cobwebs and jack-o-lanterns.
Rachel: And, of course, there’s trick-or-treating. That’s when children go from door to door, asking their neighbors for candy.
Rachel: They can really collect a lot of candy, so after the holiday, parents might want to monitor the amount of candy that their children eat every day.
Rachel: If you let kids go out alone on Hallo- on Halloween, they can really be really naughty, sometimes! They like to play tricks on people, like cover people’s trees in toilet paper.
Rachel: And when I was young, I remember kids used to throw raw eggs at the windows of my school bus.
Rachel: So, I think it’s probably better for parents to go along with their kids just to make sure that they don’t cause trouble, and to inspect their candy, just to make sure that everything looks safe to eat.
Rachel: But anyway, um, Halloween really is a great holiday, and it can be a lot of fun for people of all ages.
Vocabulary:
totally comfortable – feeling completely relaxed and not worried or embarrassed, “She feels totally comfortable speaking in front of her class.”
anyone of any age – people who are young, old, or anywhere in between; everyone, “This board game is fun for anyone of any age.”
traditional to the obscure – ranging from things that are normal and well-known to things that are strange and rare, “The shop sells music from the traditional to the obscure.”
absurd costumes – very silly, strange, or ridiculous clothes worn for fun, “They wore absurd costumes like giant bananas to the party.”
trick-or-treating – a Halloween activity where children dress up and go to houses to get candy, “The kids went trick-or-treating until their bags were full.”
monitor the amount – to watch or check how much of something is being used or eaten, “You should monitor the amount of sugar you put in your coffee.”
play tricks on – to do funny or sneaky things to fool someone as a joke, “The two brothers love to play tricks on each other.”
cause trouble – to do things that make problems, mess, or difficulties, “The loud dogs started to cause trouble in the neighborhood.”
inspect their candy – to look at the sweets very carefully to make sure they are safe, “Parents always inspect their candy before the children eat it.”