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is a free- spirited boy who has adorned Bengali and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of
literature with the projections of his whimsical the Halloween season. Halloween has evolved
mind and the corresponding manifested over the centuries and has transformed from a
pranks. A major riddle to the narrator, he is pagan ritual to a day of parties, costumes, jack-o-
the protagonist of several of Ray’s stories. The lanterns and trick-or-treating for kids and adults.
stories, being set in and around school, include a Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for
majority of the pranks being played on teachers children on Halloween. Children go in costume
as they are the favourite adversaries of school from house to house, asking for treats such as
children all over the world. Dashu’s way with candy or sometimes money, with the question,
words make it almost impossible for anyone to ‘Trick or treat?’ The word ‘trick’ implies a ‘threat’
punish him in a manner more severe than hitting to perform mischief on the homeowners or their
his head or boxing his ears. Pagla Dashu was first property if no treat is given. Halloween costumes
published in 1940. are traditionally modelled after supernatural
figures such as vampires, monsters, ghosts,
16. The Canterville Ghost skeletons, witches, and devils. Dressing up in
Halloween is a celebration observed in several costumes and going ‘guising’ was prevalent in
countries on 31 October. Every October, carved Scotland and Ireland at Halloween by the late
pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps 19th century. Over time, in the United States, the
in the United States and other parts of the world. costume selection extended to include popular
These orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic
archetypes such as ninjas and princesses.
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