CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter
Newslette r November,
November , 201
20 1 7No

doubt you’ve heard ofHalloween, where children dress up incostumes and go from house-to-house saying,“trick-or-treat!” In exchange for this, thehomeowners give the children candy. If you
were anywhere near Okaido on Halloween
during the evening, you probably also saw
many people dressed in costumes walking up
and down the mall. But where does thistradition come from?
Halloween comes from a few different
sources. One is the Christian tradition of All
Hallow’s Eve, which begins a three-day
observance dedicated to remembering the dead,including saints (or hallows), martyrs, and all
the faithful departed. It was also believed byCatholics that this was the time when souls
were freed from Purgatory and would walk
across the Earth during their approach toHeaven. This was the last chance for theElla deadto exact vengeance on their enemies who still
lived and in order to hide from spirits, people
wouldJanis don costumes and masks.
But Halloween also has roots in a Celtic
festival called Samhain (pronounced sahween). Samhain marked the end of the harvest
season, signaling the beginning of winter orthe “darker half” of the year. It was believedthat this period was when the barrier between
this world and the spirit world was at its
weakest, which allowed the Aos Si(pronounced ees-shee), or spirits or fairies, tocome more easily come into our world.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Try this quiz about Halloween:
http://www.5minuteenglish.com/oct29.htm

It was believed by observersof Samhain that the Aos Si
had to be appeased in orderto ensure their livestock survived the winter.
To do so, people left out offerings of food anddrink for the Aos Si. In addition to the Aos Si,
it was believed that the souls of the deadwould revisit their former homes, seeking
hospitality. The idea of trick-or-treating could
also have come from the tradition of people
dressing as Aos Si and going from door-todoor asking for food.
One of the most famous symbols ofHalloween is the Jack-o’-Lantern, whichcomes from Irish Christian folklore. The storydescribes a man named Jack, who after anight of drinking, encountered the Devil. Jack
tricked the Devil into climbing a tree and thencarved a cross, trapping the Devil in the tree.
Jack offered the Devil a deal—if Jack
removed the cross, the Devil couldn’t claim hissoul once he died and the Devil agreed. Years
later, Jack died after a life of drinking andsinning and was denied entry into Heaven.
The Devil refused to allow him into Hell andthrew a coal straight from the fires of the pit
at him. It was a cold night, so Jack took thecoal and put it inside a hollowed-out turnip.
Ever since then, Jack has wandered theEarth, seeking a place to rest.
Over time, these traditions have evolved,
and now they’ve lost their religious
connotations, instead becoming fun activities
for people to do on Halloween.

Article by PerryJoshua Says: There are no mistakes on the road to success. Or put anotherway, the mistakes that you make along the way are not only part of thesuccess you will finally attain, but without them you may not even succeed atall! Try to keep this in mind when next you hold back in your lesson.
Junko Says: Our new semester will start from December. We are moving closer
and closer to the year 2020. For people in various business fields, as well as thosein education, the ability to use English is becoming a much weightier issue than it
has been in the past. I hope this coming year will become a turning point for those
who really feel English is our 2nd language. I also hope English becomes a part ofeveryone’s life, not something people don’t learn because they have no need for it.
Perry Says: Even though I’m from Chicago, I hate the cold. So far,we’ve been fortunate that the weather has remained pretty mild, ifnot even very warm during the daytime. On the one hand, it’s been
nice to not have to bundle up when going outside. On the otherhand, it does have me concerned about global warming.
Darrin Says: Having had a keen interest in rugby since I was a child, I was excited to hearthat the Australian Rugby team, the Wallabies, were coming to Japan to play against the Japaneseside, the Brave Blossoms. No way was I going to miss it! So on November 4, I was at Nissen
Stadium in Yokohama to watch the game. There was a really great atmosphere and I wasparticularly moved when the Japanese sang their anthem. Almost 50,000 people proudly singing.
It gave me goose-bumps listening to it. While the Wallabies ended up being the comfortablewinners, the loudest cheers were reserved for when the Brave Blossoms scored their tries.

Mandcy dit: Ovide disait à propos du vin : « plus on boit, plus on asoif ». Cela tombe bien ! car en ce jolie mois de novembre, nousaccueillons avec délice le beaujolais nouveau. Saviez-vous que leJapon était le premier pays à commencer à en boire dans le monde ?
Un vin convivial et modeste, qui réchauffera notre coeur, enattendant l’hiver. A déguster avec modération .... ou pas.
ACROSS
3 a place where the dead are temporarily tormented and tortured
5 make peace with, gain favor with
8 followers or believers
9 visit again
6
11 an implied or suggested idea
813 dead
14 refuse to accept
15 unintentionally be in the same place
16 a formal event on a special occasion
DOWN
1 people who suffer (even die) for a cause
2 put on clothing
14
4 searching for6 the unwritten stories, etc, of a culture
7 committed to a cause, ideal or purpose
10 taking revenge, retaliation
12 make certain of something (print version here)
www.CrosswordWeaver.com

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TRAVEL WORLD
Exploring Kinosaki-Onsen – the final installment
That’s me!

by SP5’s Noriko Ikeda(continued from last month)....

Attractive and Wonderful scenes
The Kinosaki-onsen area changes its face completely season by season. Sakura
season offers the beauty of the cherry blossoms. In the summer we can escape theheat and relax with the deep green. Firework displays are held every weekday inthe evening from the end of July until the end of August. The brilliant colors ofgold and red leaves in autumn are amazing. Winter must be the most attractive
season to visit. We can see a picturesque white world. The town is covered withpure white snow as far as we can see. One of the hotel staff strongly
recommended to us to visit again in the winter season.
Conclusion
Wonderful dream times always come to an end. In getting away from the hustle
and bustle of daily life, we can enjoy a peaceful and comfortable time to the fullest. And I was impressed by Japanesehospitality until the end of my stay.
Before we departed in the morning, I enjoyed a final hot spring bath. Then we left our room. When we were at thefront desk, a foreigner next to us was also checking out. He spoke to the receptionist in English. He asked her for some
information about nearby tourist spots. Her English wasn’t very fluent but she made herself understood in English.
She looked very, very cool. I thought that I wanted to be like her.
During this trip, I experienced something international in a traditional Japanese environment. I think it’s useful for
English learners to visit some international tourist spots in our homeland and to feel something international and have achance to exchange cultures.
How about going to Kinosaki-onsen on your next trip?
It would seem from these photos that some of our furry friends wereenjoying Halloween last month also.....

E N C O U R A G I N GAUCE R A D I C A T E DCRU
D E P R E S S I N GMMRNAUETE M I S S I O N SLVLAAAAYLTTLNM E A S L E S
C O N S E R V A T I O NE
DNUTTT R A S HUIRD I S A S T E R SMHOC O N C L U D EI
D R A S T I C A L L Y

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 helping confidence, giving hope
4 completely destroyed
5 causing sad feelings
8 released, caused to flow forth
10 a highly contagious viral disease
11 careful management of theenvironment
13 worthless material
14 great losses or misfortunes
15 decide by reason
16 extremely

DOWN
2 at this time, of now
3 gathered together, collected
6 most frequent, very common
7 a water dwelling mammal
9 insufficient quality or quantityof food
12 violent disturbance

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.