SKELETON DANCE. HALLOWEEN

 

THE SKELETON DANCE VOCABULARY

bone  /bon/

bone n	(part of a skeleton)	hueso nm
	Some dinosaur bones were discovered near the river.
bones npl	(human body, skeleton)	huesos nmpl esqueleto nm
	My bones ache after that long hike.
bone n as adj	(made of bone)	de hueso loc adj

 

knee  /niː/

knee n	(body)	rodilla nf
	Harold had a pain in his knee, and had to go to the doctor.
knee n	(of trousers)	rodilla nf
	Brad tore a hole in the knee of his pants.
knee vtr	(hit with knee)	dar un rodillazo loc verb

 

thigh  /θaɪ/

thigh n	(upper leg)	muslo nm
	The jeans fit tightly around Rick's thighs.
thigh n	(poultry: leg portion)	muslo nm muslito nm
	Tamsin lifted the thigh from her plate and bit into it.

 

hip  /hɪp/

hip n	(anatomy: thigh joint)	cadera nf
	Martha broke her hip when she fell down the stairs.

 

shake  /ʃeɪk/

shake [sth] vtr	(agitate)	agitar⇒ vtr
	Shake the medicine to mix it. Agite la medicina para mezclarla
shake vi	(vibrate)	sacudir⇒ vtr
		temblar⇒ vi
	The building shook in the earthquake. El edificio tembló durante el terremoto El terremoto sacudió el edificio.

 

wiggle  /ˈwɪɡ^əl/

wiggle n	(wriggling movement)	contoneo nm
	With a wiggle of her hips, Carol walked onto the dance floor.
wiggle vi	(move back and forth)	serpentear⇒ vi contonearse v
	The worm was wiggling across the soil.
wiggle, wiggle [sth] vtr	(move [sth] back and forth)	contonear⇒ vtr
	Glenn wiggled his nose to make the small child laugh.

 

THE SKELETON DANCE LYRICS

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Doin' the skeleton dance.
The foot bone's connected to the leg bone.
The leg bone's connected to the knee bone.
The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone.
Doin' the skeleton dance.
The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone.
The hip bone's connected to the backbone.
The backbone's connected to the neck bone.
Doin' the skeleton dance.
Shake your hands to the left.
Shake your hands to the right.
Put your hands in the air.
Put your hands out of sight.
Shake your hands to the left.
Shake your hands to the right.
Put your hands in the air.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,
Wiggle, wiggle... wiggle your knees.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones.
Doin' the skeleton dance.

ALL ABOUT HALLOWEEN | PRACTICE ENGLISH WITH SPOTLIGHT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBzlPuQ6noo

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid. / And I’m Bruce Gulland. / Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.

It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

 

Every October 31st children all across the United States do something strange.

They imagine they are someone or something else.

They put on strange clothes. They may even paint their faces or wear false hair. They walk around from house to house.

They knock on the door of the house. When someone opens the door all the children say the same thing: Trick or treat!

The person in the house gives them a sweet candy treat!

The children do this again and again for one house to the next. This is the holiday of Halloween.

 

Today’s Spotlight is on Halloween - and other holidays like it.

The tradition of Halloween is very old. In fact, people who study history believe that  Halloween traditions began as long as 2,500 years ago. They believe these traditions started in ancient Ireland, with the Celtic people.

The Celts of Ireland counted two parts of the year. The bright half of the year was summer. And the dark half was winter. They believed that the bright half of the year ended around October 31. After this day, winter was coming.

The Celtic people called this change in season Samhain, which means the ‘end of summer.’ Samhain was a special time. It was both a celebration of the end of summer, or life, and the beginning of winter, or death. So it was also a frightening time.

The Celts believed that there was a natural barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead. But, at Samhain, the barrier disappeared. They believed that spirits could rise from the dead and come among the living.

 

Historians say that during the celebration of Samhain the Celts dressed themselves in different clothes. They walked through their villages making lots of noise. And they caused disorder in the village. They believed that this frightened the spirits away. Some historians also believe that the Celts sacrificed humans or animals during this celebration as a warning to the spirits.

 

Other people groups in other parts of the world also celebrated similar holidays.

Around the year 400, Christians came to Ireland. They began to celebrate Christian holidays at the same time the Celts celebrated their holidays. For many years the Christians had a celebration in  honour of saints - special people in the Church. They called this celebration ‘All Saints Day,’ or ‘All Hallows Day.’ It was a day to celebrate these special saints, or ‘holy,’ people. They celebrated ‘All Hallows Day’ on November 1st.

 

The night before a special day is called an “eve”. After a time, people began calling the  Samhain celebration ‘All Hallows Eve. ’ Since language is always changing, people soon shortened the name.

Instead of ‘All Hallows Eve’, they called it ‘Halloween’, and that is what we call it today!

 

In the 16th century, another tradition began. In the days leading up to the Samhain celebration, the people of Ireland and Britain dressed in different clothes. They went house to house. At each house, they sang songs to the dead. Then the people of the house  gave them small sweet cakes.

 

Irish settlers brought Halloween traditions to the United States in the middle 1800s. But people there did not really celebrate Halloween until almost 100 years later - during the early 1900s.

For most children today in the US, Canada, the UK and other places, Halloween is about candy and fun clothes.

But other people have a day like this to celebrate the people who have lived and died before us.

 

Many countries have a celebration to remember people who have died. Some celebrations are at different times of the year. They do not always call these celebrations ‘Halloween’. But the celebrations have similar meanings. So, how do you celebrate Halloween?

 

On Halloween in Belgium, there are parades and scary decorations like spiders and ghosts. But people also light candles. These candles help people remember their dead relatives.

In the Czech Republic they celebrate Dusicky. People visit the place where a family member is buried.

 

In China, people do not celebrate Halloween. But they have a very similar celebration called ‘Yue Lan’. It is the ‘Festival of the Hungry Ghosts.’ The people there believe that spirits visit the world for 24 hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money. They believe that the spirits can see these burned pictures. And the burned pictures bring calm and peace to the ghosts. This celebration is not a time for games or dressing up. Instead, it is a day to remember and respect the memory of dead ancestors.

 

In Mexico, the people celebrate ‘Dia  De Muertos’ - ‘the day of the dead.’ Some other Latin American countries also celebrate this holiday. It is not a scary day. It is a time to remember friends and family members who have died. A three-day celebration begins on October 31. During this time, families make special places in their homes to honour their dead friends and family. They place candy, photographs, fresh water, flowers, and food and drink in this special place. They burn candles and strong smelling incense to help spirits find their way home. The last day of the celebration  is called ‘All Soul’s Day’. On this day, living family members eat a meal at the gravesite where dead friends and family are buried. They tell stories and remember good times of when the person was alive.

 

And the tradition of Halloween is still popular in Ireland too! Today, on Halloween, Irish boys and girls dress like ghosts, witches, or other frightening creatures. They light big fires. Many children go around to different houses. They ask for fruits, nuts, or sweets.

 

Halloween can be a lot of fun for children. But it is also a good time to remember someone you loved who has died.

Do you celebrate Halloween? Do you have a tradition that helps you remember people who have died? Tell us about your experiences. You can leave a comment on our website.Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. You can also comment on Facebook at Facebook.com/spotlightradio.

The writers of this program were Liz Waid and Adam Navis.

The producer was Michio Ozaki.

The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom.

You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net.

This program is called, ‘All About Halloween’.

Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices.

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

 

VOCABULARY

Hallow  UK:*/ˈhæləʊ/  US:/ˈhæloʊ/  hallow [sth]⇒ vtr    (make holy)  santificar⇒ vtr  consagrar⇒ vtr  The ceremony is intended to hallow the ground near the church.  La ceremonia tiene como finalidad santificar el terreno cerca de la iglesia. hallow [sth] vtr        (consider holy)  santificar⇒ vtr  reverenciar⇒ vtr  The Lord's Prayer begins: "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name".  El Padre Nuestro dice: "Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo, santificado sea tu nombre." hallow n  archaic (saint)  santo, santa nm, nf

eve  UK:*'eve', 'Eve': /ˈiːv/  US:/iv/ , eve n  (night before)  víspera nf  It was the eve of her job interview, so Maria decided to get an early night. eve n  (day before)  víspera nf  Harry spent the eve of his birthday in a state of excitement. the eve of [sth] n  figurative (period prior to [sth]) (figurado)       la víspera de nf + prep  justo antes de loc adv  The eve of war was a time of fear and anticipation.  La víspera de la guerra fue un tiempo de miedo y anticipación. eve n   literary (evening)  crepúsculo nm  anochecer nm  noche nm  The young man worked from morning to eve, without stopping for a moment.

Bury   UK:*/ˈbɛri/ US:/ˈbɛri/  Inflections of 'bury' (n): npl: buries Inflections of 'bury' (v): (⇒ conjugate) buries v 3rd person singular/ burying v pres p/ buried v past/ buried v past p bury [sth]⇒ vtr          (put [sth] under the earth)                enterrar⇒ vtr  The teacher buried the time capsule while the students watched.  El profesor enterró la cápsula del tiempo mientras los estudiantes miraban. bury [sb/sth]⇒ vtr     (person, animal: inter)                     enterrar⇒ vtr   sepultar⇒ vtr  We buried my grandmother on a rainy day.  Enterramos a mi abuela en un día lluvioso. bury [sb/sth] vtr         (snow, debris: cover [sb], [sth])        cubrir⇒ vtr  Snow buried the road.  La nueve cubría la carretera. bury [sth]⇒ vtr          figurative (feelings: suppress)          reprimir⇒ vtr  esconder⇒ vtr ocultar⇒ vtr  After failing the interview, the applicant buried her disappointment and tried to be positive.  Tras fracasar en la entrevista, la candidata reprimió su decepción e intentó ser positiva. bury [sth] vtr              figurative (secret, bad news: hide)   esconder⇒ vtr  ocultar⇒ vtr  tapar⇒ vtr  The government used coverage of the earthquake to bury the news about their tax increases.  El gobierno usó la cobertura del terremoto para esconder la noticia sobre el aumento de impuestos. bury yourself in [sth] v expr  figurative (engross yourself in [sth])   perderse en /  hundirse en  sumergirse en   On rainy days, the best thing to do is bury yourself in a good book.  Los días lluviosos lo mejor es perderse en un buen libro. bury [sth] in [sth] vtr + prep    clavar en vtr + prep   incrustar en vtr + prep The nail was buried firmly in the wall.  El clavo estaba firmemente clavado en la pared.