обоже.мне написали из испании. из америки.кажется из турции, я не поняла язык, но имя вроде турецкое.

я поняла одну вещь все переводчики дерьмо, вторую вещь я вооообще не знаю английского. пускай горит в аду моя 5 в году и по экзамену, я ничертаа не знаю, я даже не могу спокойно написать сообщение. у меня даже голова разболелась.я надеюсь они не подумали что я неразговорчива. лаааадно еще на англ, на испанском я вообще опасаюсь за то что я написала. такая наверно чушь.

нудаладно зато меня добавил сити, и эван. я чуть не подавилась когда увидела их там.

30 градусов даже не жары а духоты, и пух, ад просток какойто. 

я очень соскучилась по запаху моря, особенно ночью.я очень хочу на море =( и дикую жару =( конечно я хотела к инне в испанию, но изза проблем опять убогих этих не выйдет.

нашла себе институт с собеседованием, без егэ( но обучение платное. а мама нашла институт в чехии. в чехии,ЧЕХИЯЯЯ ЧЕШСКИЙ ЯЗЫК. этожебатьплясать. я конечно понимаю я когда-то намекала ей, что поступать тут я не хочу, но я имела ввиду чтото близкое к оксфорду ну или че там обычно в фильмах бывает кембридж но не к Чехии :( хотя с другой стороны я буду жить вдали от всех. и слава богу. просто беда в том. что половину всяких экономических слов я не понимаю и на русском то, не то что на чешском.

веду отшельнический образ жизни, и он мне даже начинает нравиться. уезжаю уже точно 6 числа, господи боже месяц еще, ладно время что скинуть лишнюю тонну, чтобы не распугать иностранцев. совершенно не знаю чем себя занимать, в сутках 24 часа, я делаю аэробику и учу английский по одному единственному учебнику, потому что все остальные книжки в другой квартире, а книжку, которая я заказала по интернету, неизвестно когда привезут. еще я иногда хожу на кухню, иногда потому что на днях увидела дохлую муху на столе, спасибо кошке, какбудто она не могла ее съесть, вообщем теперь я панически боюсь туда ходить, а когда ии захожу беру первыйпопавшийся продукт. а поскольку еда раньше занимала большую часть моей жизни сейчас мне совсем одиноко, появилось чувство пустоты и ненасыщенности. далее в 17 50 я смотрю мтв, моя передача идет ровно 15минут, создатели постарались и вырезали все интересные моменты, сплетни, сцены секса и так далее, но зато вставили рекламу.  все это занимает 2 часа, 2с половиной максимум из 24 часов. в интернете  я стала проводить времени намного меньше изза кошмаров по ночам, где-то неделю меня мучает бессоница часов до 3 а потом сняться сны, и в них все смешивается фильмы. которые я смотрела, люди, с которыми я сорилась в переписке, просто люди с фотографий, какието убийства, баклажаны, взрывающиеся компьютры, вообщем всеее. а сегодня с утра подойдя к окну и посмотрев на землю я неее знаю почему но 1 мысль была скорее полить пока это не сделал ктонибудь другой. молодец ты сходишь с ума но зато тебе 2 очка опыта.

господи боже у меня совсем поехали мозги, всю ночь снились какие-то дикости. ну впрочем как всегда, но один сон более менее человеческий, но он был настолько реальным, что странно вообщем. Уже не первый день, иногда мне кажется по утрам, что я лунатик, потому что я просыпаюсь с усталостью во всем теле, как будто я всю ночь ходила. Один раз еще когда в школе была, снился сон про тебя, проснулась и несколько минут или секунд даже наверное казалось, что я прям сейчас могу тебе позвонить, потом поняла, что не могу.

передо мной на стене уже год висит картинка с кукурузой, и каждый раз когда я сюда захожу, мне хочется что-нибудь про нее написать, что я люблю кукурузу, или что я бы хотела ее съесть, хотя на самом деле я ее ненавижу, а люблю только консервированную.

дожить бы до июля, и уехать, надеюсь потерять там паспорт, чтобы меня не выпустили из страны.могу скрыватья в бункере 5 лет ну или 7 или сколько там по закону, и получить гражданство.

о завтра выходит терминатор, когда-то миллион лет назад, папа ходил со мной на какую-то часть терминатора, и на матрицу ходил, и на людей в черном, попкорн покупал, хотя сам ненавидит когда рядом жуют.пф(

решила написать письмо сестре в германию, поэтому целый день сижу на немецких форумах, боже этот язык ужасен, французский правда еще хуже, почему в школе нет свободы выбора, я бы воообще учила язык глухонемых.

сходила одна на фильм, который я уже просмотрела в контакте, но мама оставила деньги, которых мало но потратить их стоит. начала смотреть "турецкий для начинающих" ну и вообще мтв стало моим вторым я.мне начинает нравиться одиночество.

из фильма

2:0

и тех и тех люблю, но МЮ все-таки на капельку больше =(эххх

 Князь Василий никогда не обдумывал своих планов, но, смотря по обстоятельствам, у него складывались различные планы и соображения, в которых он сам не отдавал себе хорошенько отчета, но которые составляли весь интерес его жизни. Таких планов и соображений у него бывало в ходу десятки. При встрече с каким-нибудь человеком инстинкт в ту же минуту подсказывал ему, что он может быть ему полезен, а потому князь Василий сближался с ним, льстил, делался фамильярен. Как будто рассеянно и вместе с тем с несомненной уверенностью, что так должно быть, князь Василий делал все, что нужно было для того, чтобы женить Пьера на своей дочери. Он был одарен редким искусством ловить именно ту минуту, когда надо и можно было пользоваться людьми.Князь Василий устраивает для Пьера назначение в камер-юнкеры, увозит в Петербург и селит в своем доме. Пьер, вдруг сделавшись богачом и графом Безуховым, оказывается постоянно окруженным людьми и занятым. Все кругом убеждены в его высоких достоинствах. Даже его прежние враги становятся его обожателями. Сердитая старшая княжна раскаивается в прежних недоразумениях. Пьер берет ее за руку и просит извинения, сам не зная за что. С этого дня княжна начала вязать полосатый шарф для Пьера и совершенно изменилась к нему. Князь Василий подсовывает Пьеру на подпись вексель в тридцать тысяч в пользу княжон. Он решил таким образом отделаться от их притязаний на наследство. Простодушному Пьеру кажется естественным, что все его любят, он не мог не верить в искренность окружавших его людей. Впрочем, ему об этом просто некогда было задумываться. Он все время был центром всяческих событий, и от него все постоянно чего-то ждали. Князь Василий со смерти графа Безухо-ва не выпускал из рук Пьера и его дел. Он изображал собой обремененного делами, усталого, измученного человека, который из чистого сострадания не может оставить на произвол судьбы и плутов этого беспомощного юношу. Он устраивает карьеру Пьера, который мечтал совсем о другом, но теперь не смеет возражать. В своих хлопотах князь Василий по ходу дела обворовывает Пьера. В Петербурге Пьер не застает своей холостой компании. Гвардия ушла в поход, Долохов разжалован, Анатоль в армии, князь Андрей за границей, и потому Пьеру не удавалось хоть изредка отводить душу в беседе с ним. Все его время проходит на обедах, балах и преимущественно у князя Василия — в обществе его жены и красавицы Элен. Даже Анна Павловна Шерер, считавшая прежде неприличным все, что бы он ни сказал, изменила свое мнение и пригласила его в гости с припиской, что у нее будет прекрасная Элен. Пьер впервые почувствовал, что между ним и Элен образовалась как будто какая-то связь. Эта мысль испугала его, но и понравилась, как забавное происшествие. Анна Павловна всячески расхваливает Элен, говорит, что тот, кто женится на ней, будет счастлив. Пьер новыми глазами смотрит на прекрасную Элен, ее красота уже не кажется ему такой холодной, он чувствует, что она уже имеет власть над ним. Анна Павловна заводит речь о роскошном доме в Петербурге, который зачем-то, по настоянию архитектора, отделывается для Пьера. Ночью Пьеру не спится — он думает о том, что с ним случилось. Он понял, что женщина, которую он знал ребенком, может принадлежать ему. “Но ведь она глупа, — думает он. — Ведь это не любовь. Напротив, что-то гадкое есть в том чувстве, которое она
возбудила во мне, что-то запрещенное. Мне говорили, что ее брат Анатоль был влюблен в нее, и она влюблена в него, что была целая история и что от этого услали Анатоля. Брат ее — Ипполит. Отец ее — князь Василий. Это нехорошо ”.   В ноябре 1805 года князь Василий устраивает себе ревизионную поездку по четырем губерниям, чтобы побывать заодно в своих расстроенных имениях и, взяв из полка сына Анатоля, заехать вместе с ним к князю Николаю Андреевичу Болконскому с тем, чтобы женить сына на дочери этого богатого старика. Но до отъезда надо было покончить с Пьером, который все еще не сделал предложения Элен. Пьер все так же жил у князя Василия и с ужасом чувствовал, что людское мнение прочно связало его с Элен и, как бы это ни было ужасно, ему придется связать с нею свою судьбу. Элен обращалась к Пьеру всегда с радостной, доверчивой, к нему одному относившейся улыбкой, в которой было что-то значительнее того, что было в общей улыбке. Пьер знал, что все ждут от него только одного слова, но не находил в себе решимости сказать его. Все случилось в день именин Элен. Пьер чувствовал, что он был центром всего, и это положение и радовало и стесняло его. То вдруг ему становилось стыдно и неловко. Гости разъезжаются. Князь Василий оставляет Пьера наедине с Элен. Остальные подглядывают за дверью. Ничего не происходит. И тут князь Василий берет дело в свои руки. Он идет в маленькую гостиную скорыми шагами, радостно подходит к Пьеру. Лицо его так необыкновенно-торжественно, что Пьер испуганно встает, увидев его. “Слава Богу! — сказал он. — Жена мне все сказала! —

-как дела?
-деление общества
-я тебя люблю
- ДЕЛЕНИЕ ОБЩЕСТВА
: DDD

ахахах когда я перечитываю подобное у меня случаются срывы.

ладно.сегодня футбол :) только я не определилась за кого болеть, потому что забыла составы уже команд :(

посмотрела "сумерки" 2 раза на русском, один раз на английском с субтитрами, еще один раз без. лучше даже чем порно, чем шоколад, чем моменты когда в контакте созревают баклажаны, и даже лучше когда мигает значок айсикью а там.. мда вообщем фильм очень на меня подействовал :( музыкаа из него тоже:( заказала на озон.ру все книги из этой серии :)

2 недели осталось:)

"Стоишь на берегу и чувствуешь соленый запах ветра, что веет с моря, и веришь, что свободен ты и жизнь лишь началась"
да... давно меня так фильм не цеплял, может тоже представить что мне осталось три дня и начать Жить а не заниматься тем, чем занимаюсь 16 лет уже.

когда-нибудь я рискну и открою все скрытые записи.

дерьмо собака.

простуда, еще ты, еще химия завтра. хорошо живу.

The family is very important as a unit in our society. Nothing else but family can be an emotional center of people's life, can be a transmitter of culture and raising children. Every mother feels great affection for her children and tries to bring them up in a proper way. Understanding between the members of the family and consideration for others are very important in family relationship. Tenderness, warm-heartedness and respect must always be present in the family to make it friendly. A lot of activities help members of the family to be on friendly terms: discussing all the family plans together, going on trips hikes together, visiting museums, theaters, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them, sharing the same joys and sorrows. If you think of the others in the family you show your love and attention in everyday life, you can hurt them if you are selfish, not sincere and rude. It is very important to visit relatives on holidays, on birthdays, on anniversaries and develop close relationship. We feel more affection for our relatives when we are parted from them. The proverb says, " /Absence makes the heart grow fonder". When the family is friendly, everybody has the warmed feelings of returning home where dear relatives are waiting for them. There are different opinions on how children should be treated if they disobey their parents, break the rules, do forbidden things, don't keep their words or promises. Some people think that parents should be patient, kind and understanding. The rules and children's behaviors are discussed in such families. But others believe that children ought always to obey the parents and if they won't they should be punished. From my point of view, such principles won't do a lot of good. Fear and punishment will lead to selfishness, cruelty and lies. But "love and kindness will save the world". We are the family of two. I live with my mother. We don't have such problems as misunderstanding between the members of the family. I think that it is due to the age of my parents and their character. My mother is 40 years old, she is layer. She is a kind, clever and responsible woman. My mother always ready to give me necessary information, moral support and a good advice. It is common knowledge that there is no place like a home. We are dedicated to our homes, we give them much love, care and enthusiasm. A man's house is his castle. I like my home and I want to tell you more about it. I live in Kuprijanov st. in center of our city. We moved into this flat several years ago. Now it is a place where I feel it ease and enjoy every minute of my stay there. We have a washing-machine, a vacuum cleaner, a refrigerator, a freezer, hand-mixer, computer and other things which I consider to be quite necessary as they make our life easier and help to solve a lot of problems in the shortest possible time. We have 2 rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. When you drop into our flat you come into a lobby, where you can take off your coat, shoes and hat. I'm very happy to have a room for myself, where I feel quite and comfortable. It is a place where I can relax, read a book and listen to music. There are yellow blinds and a writing table, a sofa, a bookcase where my favorite books are situated. There are a lot of things in my room which can tell about myself, about my friends and relatives. You can find frames with photos of my parents and best friends on the walls, little pictures. They remind me happy moments of my life and that is why are very dear for me. You may be surprised, but the most popular and favorite place with all of us is the kitchen. Every Sunday my mother makes a cake and we gather together, discuss our problems and make plans for the next week. Our kitchen isn't large and looks the usual modern kitchen you can see in many other homes. I can tell a lot about my home, but to make a long story short I can say, that speaking about my home, I don't mean a flat as it is , I mean people, who are dear to me, who love me and are always waiting for me. That is why, wherever I were I would always hurry home.

It's difficult to overestimate the role of science and technology in our life. They accelerate the development of civilization and help us in our co-operation with nature. Scientists investigate the laws of the universe, discover the secrets of nature, and apply their knowledge in practice improving the life of people.

Let's compare our life nowadays with the life of people at the 'beginning of the 20th century. It has changed beyond recognition. Our ancestors hadn't the slightest idea of the trivial things created by the scientific progress that we use in our every day life. I mean refrigerators, TV sets, computers, microwave ovens, radio telephones, what not. They would seem miracle to them that made our life easy, comfortable and pleasant. On the other hand, the great inventions of the beginning of the 20th century, I mean radio, aeroplanes, combustion and jet engines have become usual things and we can't imagine our life without them.

A century is a long period for scientific and technological progress, as it's rather rapid. Millions of investigations, the endless number of outstanding discoveries have been made. Our century has had several names that were connected with a certain era in science and technology. At first it was called the atomic age due to the discovery of the splitting of the atom. Then it became the age of the conquest of space when for the first time in the history of mankind a man overcame the gravity and entered the Universe. And now we live in the information era when the computer network embraces the globe and connects not only the countries and space stations but a lot of people all over the world. All these things prove the power and the greatest progressive role of science in our life.

But every medal has its reverse. And the rapid scientific progress has aroused a number of problems that are a matter of our great concern. These are ecological problems, the safety of nuclear power stations, the nuclear war threat, and the responsibility of a scientist.

But still we are grateful to the outstanding men of the past and the present who have courage and patience to disclose the secrets of the Universe.

People can associate with each other talking on their own language. But it’s too hard to understand people all over the world because they are speaking different languages. But there is one way that always gives possibility to understand each other. It’s art. Moreover it can tell more in every genre of it than if you say in words. The art have borned with human. And it is known from the ancient times when everybody was dressed in skin and was living in caves. As we know they draw on the walls of the caves also tried to be dressed in a better skin and made the things they need from different material they could find. But the centuries passed. And with the development of human creative qualities appeared more genres of art. In my opinion the art is consisted of simple things in which human can see and then show something marvelous, interesting, unique and also put a part of himself in it. There are a lot of genres of art: painting, music, architecture, cinema and others. But I would like to tell you about painting. This genre of art is one of the most ancient. In other words it connects us with past centuries. Artists show the things they see and how do they see it and then express it on their pictures. Moreover their pictures are often connected with the time they live. Because in every part of time people have different minds and it develops, so the art doesn’t stay on one point. And in every part of time art has it’s own name and have differences among others. Some of the genres become popular some not. There are a lot of genres of painting: portrait, landscape, still life and others. And looking at the picture it’s not hard to say in what century this picture was painted. This year in English we talked a lot about English painting. So I want to tell you about it and some of the greatest painters of 17th-19th centuries. This time is really important because of the number of great painters. They were greatly influenced by foreign painters. And of coarse we cannot forget about such artist like Van Dyck the father of English portrait, William Hogarth who raised pictorial art to a high level, Joshua Reynolds the most outstanding portraitist of 18th century and Thomas Gainsborough portraitist and landscape painter. But I’d like to tell you more about Thomas Gainsborough one of the greatest masters of English school. One of the most famous works is the portrait of the Duches of Beufort. His portraits were painted in clear tones. He influenced greatly the English school of landscape. He painted his native land and he was one of the first English painters who did it. And his paintings “Sunset” and “The Bridge” are one of his works painted on this theme. He was so poetic by his nature and we can feel it looking at his paintings. No doubt he was more landscape painter then portraitist. In conclusion I want to say that everybody has to try to feel the art. Because I don’t believe that there is no genre of art that cannot touch the heart of human because everybody can feel.

For some people there is nothing so exciting as traveling, and I'm not an exception. And I'm happy that I have traveled a lot and I hope that my first journey wasn't the last one. First I bought a ticket for plane. Many people think, that nothing can be compared with traveling by air, because it is the most comfortable, and, of course, the quickest way of moving. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train of another to streamer and then to another train. But booking tickets in summer is a problem. The air-fare is quite expensive and not all people can afford it. Then I continued my way by the train. This kind of transport has also many advantages. With a train you have a comfort and speed combined. From a comfortable corner seat of a railway carriage you have a splendid view of a countryside. If you are hungry you can have a meal in the dinning-car and if the journey is long one can have a bed in a sleeper. But I believe that there is no travel so fine as by ship. It's wonderful to feel the deck of the ship under the feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves, to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in the face, hear the cry of the sea-gulls. Of course, the voyage isn't exciting for those who are sea-sick when the sea is a little bit rough. Many people say: . And it is not surprising. The walker leaves the dull, broad highway and goes along little winding lanes where cars can't go. He takes mountain paths through the heather, he wonders by the side of quiet lakes and through the shades of woods. He sees the real country, the wild flowers, the young birds in their nests, the deer in the forest, he feels the quietness and calm of nature. And besides, you are saving a lot of money by traveling on foot. No one can deny that walking is the cheapest method of traveling.

There are many holidays in our country. They are: New Year's Day, Christmas, Women's Day, Victory Day, May Day and others.

I like New Year's Day, it is my favourite holiday. The 1st of January is a winter holiday and now it is the first day of the New Year.

Peter the First changed the Russian calendar in 1699. He made the 31st of December, 1699 the last day of the year. The first of January 1700 became New Year's Day.

The 1st of January is in the middle of winter. The weather is usually fine and there is a lot of snow everywhere. As the 1st of January is a holiday I don't go to school and my parents don't go to work.

We usually have got a very interesting New Year's party at school. We have got it on the 28th or 29th of December.

Our family prepares for this holiday beforehand. My father buys and brings home a beautiful New Year's tree at the end of December. Our family has a tradition to buy it. I like to decorate the New Year's tree with toys, little coloured lights, sweets and a beautiful star on the top.

My mother and grandmother prepare our holiday supper and lay the table. I make a cake.

All the members of our family clean the flat before this nice holiday and then each of us try to dress well. We like to see the New Year in at home with our relatives. They come to see us at 11 o'clock in the evening.

At 12 o'clock we are sitting at the table and we are glad to see the New Year in. We say, "Best wishes for the New Year!"

I hope that next year will be better than the last one.

The New Year's Day is always connected with our new hopes and dreams.

It is a pleasant moment to get presents on the New Year's Eve.

I usually get many nice useful things from my parents and relatives.

My parents put their presents under the New Year's tree.

We don't go to bed till morning, we watch TV, dance, eat tasty things and make jokes.

I enjoy this holiday very much.

Russia is a country that can rightfully boast its artistic and cultural traditions, its art galleries attract huge crowds of tourists from all over the world. St. Petersburg is a precious stone in the crown of Russian cities. The Hermitage is famous all over the world for its valuable rare collections of canvases and other art objects covering a span of about seven hundreds years and comprising masterpieces of by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Rubens. The collections illustrate the art of Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, France, Britain, and Sweden. The West - European Department also includes a fine collection of European Sculpture. People come to admire the collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivory, pottery, porcelain and furniture as well.

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Russian Museum should be mentioned by all means. This picture gallery was founded by a Russian merchant and a connoisseur of art Pavel Tretyakov in the 19th century. He was especially fond of the works of Peredvizhniki or Wanders- the artists who belonged to the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions such as Kramskoy, Perov, Ghe and other great Russian painters. The Tretyakov Gallery reflects the whole history of Russian Art. It has a rich collection of early Russian painting including famous icon. The world famous "The Trinity" by Andrey Rublev is exhibited in the gallery.

Speaking about art one should not forget about music, especially classic music. Outstanding Russian composers make the whole world admire their music. One can find a man, who does not know Pyotr Ilyich Tchaicovsky, Michail Glinka, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - the prominent composers of 19th century, and Sergey Rachmaninov, Sergey Prokofiev and Dmitriy Shostakovich.

It was Glinka (1804-1857) who laid the foundation for modern Russian music; his music expressed the temperament of Russian people. His two best known operas "Ivan Susanin" and "Ruslan and Ludmila" were based on Russian folklore and historical legends.

The most famous ballets "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker" and not less famous operas "The Queen of Spades", "Eugene Onegin" are still excellently staged and performed not only in Russian but in many greatest theatres in the world.

Russia is world famous for its literature. The "golden age" of Russian literature began in the 19th century when such outstanding masters of letters such as Alexander Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, and Dostoyevsky created their immortal masterpieces.

Alexander Pushkin, the father of Russian Literature was the authors of more than 700 lyrical poems. He wrote also the volumes of dramatic works, short stories, made adaptations of Russian fairy-tales.

Russia is famous for its architecture. The real jewel of architecture is the Moscow Kremlin with its cathedrals, towers and red brick walls. Just outside the Kremlin walls stands St. Basil's Cathedral, one of the world most astonishing buildings with 8 domes of different designs and colors.

St. Petersburg has great number of real masterpieces of architecture of different styles and is definitely worth visiting and being admired.

Russia is rich also in young talents, new Russian culture is forming. It will appear on the basis of the old one, but its essence will be new. We can hear new voices in music and poetry, new canvases of modern artists, great actors and film directors.

All of them will make their contribution into Russian Culture and Art.

There are a number of holidays in the USA which are celebrated every year. Here are some of them. The 1st of January is New Year's Day. People do not go to bed until after midnight on December 31.  Memorial Day, or Decoration Day, is dedicated to those who fought in the War of Independence.The 4th of July is Independence Day. It is the biggest national holiday in the USA. The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, when the American colonies were fighting for independence against England. On the 11th of November there is Veteran's Day. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November. In the autumn of 1621, the Pilgrim Fathers celebrated their first harvest festival in America and called it Thanksgiving Day. Since that time it has been celebrated every year. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December. People usually stay at home at Christmas time, and spend the day with their families.

Halloween is a holiday that comes from several mysterious religions that blended together. Europeans brought these traditions to America.

One Halloween tradition comes from the Druids of England, Scotland and Ireland. The Druids were priests who taught a religion of many gods. One of their chief gods was named Saman. The Druids said that Saman would tell the spirits of dead people to visit the Earth on October 31st, the last day of the year according to their calendar. The Druids said that autumn was a time of dying, and that winter was a season of death. Therefore they believed that the earth and the spirit world were very close to each other, especially during the night of October 31st – their New Year’s Eve. On that night they believed these dead people would visit people on Earth.

To keep the evil spirits away from people, the Druids told them to make an animal sacrifice on Druid altars. The priests used the organs of these dead animals to do two things. First, they foretold the future. Second, they helped make peace with angry, evil spirits nearby. Happy spirits would leave them alone. Later the dead animals were burned in bonfires. The priests fore told the people that fire scared away the evil spirits that didn’t like all the light coming from the flames.

Other customs grew over the years. If the spirits caused no problems for a family, that family celebrated later that night. Parents sent the children out to collect food from friends and neighbours. To help them keep away from evil spirits, parents dressed up their children as ghosts and other figures that looked like evil spirits, trying to scare away real spirits! When children were outside, they heard what people said the evil spirits were doing – kicking over garbage cans, taking gates off fences, letting farm animals loose and throwing paint on houses. So they began doing these things themselves. They would visit a house and call out: Trick or Treat! If they did not receive what they wanted (a treat), they would cause problems for that family (the trick). Some families cut out scary faces in large turnips and put them around the edge of their property. They thought this would help keep evil spirits away.

Another event was “bobbing” for apples. People thought the apple was a sign of protection. They would bring a large bucket into their home, fill it with water, and put the apples into the water. Then one by one, each person would try to pick up a floating apple using only their teeth. They believed that those who got an apple with their teeth were safe from the evil spirits that night.

American Halloween customs also came from central Europe. Hundreds of years ago many people there believed in witchcraft, a religion of evil power. This is also called Black Magic. Witches (females) and warlocks (males) usually wore black clothing and acted like priests for the Devil. In the Bible the Devil is God’s enemy and the centre of all evil in the world. Black represents darkness and death to these priests. People were very afraid of witches and warlocks because they talked with the Devil and used his power. They believed these evil priests could change themselves into black cats, bats and spiders. They also thought witches could fly on brooms.

Witches have several days of the year that are their special religious days. One of them is May 1st, a day called May Day in many countries. Another special day of the calendar year for witches is October 31st. They believe that any spell they had made earlier in the year that had not yet occurred would occur that night. Because of this, witches and warlocks celebrate on this day with feasts and noisy partying. Part of the celebration is cutting out pumpkins with scary faces that look like the evil spirits they contact.

Halloween celebrations also have a connection to the Roman Catholic Church