Kutch, Max- History of Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated every year on the night of October 31. The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows Evening, also known as Halloween or Hallows Eve.
Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses” and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries took in the holiday in the late twentieth century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween. People would wear masks and costumes to imitate evil spirits.
Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on Halloween in which they go from house to house in costumes, asking for treats with the question, “Trick or treat?” The trick part of trick or treat is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become expected that if you live in a neighborhood with kids you should buy treats for trick-or-treaters.
Part of the history of Halloween is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of “souling,” when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of “pulling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas.”
Heres a video about the history of Halloween. http://www.history.com/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-halloween#haunted-history-of-halloween
Resources:
http://www.halloweenhistory.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Spring Break

This spring break was unforgettable.   I spent it in Houston.  I was with my church on a mission trip to the “3rd Ward.”  It was a humbling experience. The trip made me realize how good i have it with a roof over my head, fo0d to fill my stomach, and even just loving parents that are here for me.We spent time with some of the kids that lived there.  I met a 7 year-old boy that was living with a single mom who was gone all day working and with 4 younger brothers that he had to look  after.  It’s actually a sad thing, and that’s why we went, so we could spend time with the kids.  We helped them with their homework, taught them how to play games, played sports with them, and a whole lot more.  I hope we made an impact on those children.  It felt good spending time with them and I hope to go back again someday.

 

More Than Just An Eye

      Today I learned about racism. I feel very strong about racism. I believe that you shouldn’t be judged by your color. I mean you can’t control who your parents are, where you were born, what color you are, or what race your ancestors were. So why judge them. You cant judge a book by its cover. How could you truly judge them if you don’t know them on the inside. If you don’t know who they are you shouldn’t judge them. People actually kill themselves because what color they are. So think about that next time you make fun of someone because their color.