Gordon Gazette
written and produced by Middle School students
Special Halloween edition!
issue number seven October 26th, 2011
Hot Topic
An Ancient Celebration
Halloween. Middle school. People are talking. Are you going to dress up? Go to a party? Have a horror movie marathon? The big question is: Are we too old to trick-or-treat? The answer is no.
Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago
By 43 A.D., the Romans had conquered
(sow-in). On November 1st, the Celts
centuries. Roman festivals were
Ever since you were a baby, whether you liked it or not, you have probably gone trick-or-treating in some snazzy costume. Why stop now? Face the facts: the fun of Halloween is all in putting on a costume and getting candy from strangers. When put like that, it makes the holiday sound creepy and awesome, doesn’t it? So take advantage of your childhood and get some candy.
winter- the time of year they connected
Of course, it’s always OK to celebrate Halloween in other ways, such as a party, or a movie marathon, but don’t ever let Halloween off of your radar screen. When you are older, after your glory days, when you are lugging around your giant orange pumpkin costume (with your baby inside of it) all night, you are about 94.57% likely to think back to the days when you were a youthful ball of fun. Or in your case, a moody child in that awkward “Am I at teen or a tween?” stage. You might regret the October 31sts you wasted in the basement playing video games. Or locked up in your room, working on that project. That project which is due December 23rd. So don’t have those regrets. Halloween is for fun. It is for sugar-highs. It is for changing costumes and going back to the houses that give the most candy. It is for cracking up with friends when you realize you are lost and may just have to spend the night right there, on the street. It is for parties, and candy, and costumes. And walking around your neighborhood trying to lose your parents. The point is, you only have one day a year to re-fill your candy stash. So use it well.
with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated their New Year, the end of
summer and beginning of the cold, dark with death. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st the chasm between the worlds of the living and the dead
melded and the ghosts of the dead, both
evil and kind, returned to earth. Some evil spirits could harm crops and cause other problems.
The Celts also thought that the presence of spirits made it easier for their
Druids priests to predict the future. People depending on the whims of nature for
survival found these prophecies to be a
comfort and guide during the long, dark winter. The Druid priests built sacred
bonfires, where people gathered to burn sacrifices to the Celtic gods. During the celebration, many wore costumes of
animal heads and skins and tried to tell
each other’s fortunes. When the night was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which
they had put out earlier that evening, with flame from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the winter.
most Celtic territory and ruled it for four combined with Samhain: Feralia, a day in
late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead and a day honoring Pomona, the goddess of fruit
and trees. Since Pomona’s symbol is an apple it probably explains the tradition
of “bobbing” for apples practiced today.
Eventually Christianity replaced Roman
pagan religions. By the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs.
All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the
traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later
Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into our modern, secular and communitybased celebration with child-friendly
activities such as trick-or-treating, parades and parties.
Information from: www.history.com/topics/halloween en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm