When I was growing up Halloween was all about going Trick or Treating and dressing up in costume; I think that's what many people still associate it with.
Is that what you think of too?
So often many of us only know the "modern" meaning given holidays, terms, and events usually including some type of consumerism. In the process we lose cultural understanding and historical context. For example if you went to the grocery store in the last 4 weeks you would have seen all Halloween candy for sale. I don't know about you but it felt like I was being told I had to buy it (I haven't) and if I didn't then somehow I didn't like children.
There is more to Halloween than you might know and here is a link to Wikipedia so you can learn more about it and its origins. What you might not know is Jack-o'-lanterns were originally carved using turnips not pumpkins. Below is from Wikipedia:
In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween,[103][104] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip.[103] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837[105] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.[106
Do you want to see some turnip carvings? Here's a link to an article urging Brits to start using turnips not pumpkins for Halloween that includes the turnips! And if you're in the area next year consider seeing the Pumpkin Carving contest in Chadds Ford, PA ; it is amazing!
In case you're interested here's a seminar being offered by a colleague just in time for Halloween----Who Ghosts Really Are: Connecting with the Other Side and Ancestors, or Halloween, Seventh Academy, look below for more details. It's being held this Thursday so if you're interested you'll need to pre-register asap!
I thought I'd add that here's something else you might not know depending upon how old you are: the origins of Cut and Paste. Before computers were used to create word documents people (me included) actually cut paper with text or a picture on it and then pasted it on another piece of paper with another set of text or picture to create the document we ultimately wanted. But we weren't done yet! The next step was to use White Out along the edges of the pasted paper to eliminate the lines that would appear when you used a photo copier to make a finished copy (sometimes you'd need to use more White Out and make another copy) so the end result was a page that looked like it was created all in one step.
Beth
Is that what you think of too?
So often many of us only know the "modern" meaning given holidays, terms, and events usually including some type of consumerism. In the process we lose cultural understanding and historical context. For example if you went to the grocery store in the last 4 weeks you would have seen all Halloween candy for sale. I don't know about you but it felt like I was being told I had to buy it (I haven't) and if I didn't then somehow I didn't like children.
There is more to Halloween than you might know and here is a link to Wikipedia so you can learn more about it and its origins. What you might not know is Jack-o'-lanterns were originally carved using turnips not pumpkins. Below is from Wikipedia:
In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween,[103][104] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip.[103] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837[105] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.[106
Do you want to see some turnip carvings? Here's a link to an article urging Brits to start using turnips not pumpkins for Halloween that includes the turnips! And if you're in the area next year consider seeing the Pumpkin Carving contest in Chadds Ford, PA ; it is amazing!
In case you're interested here's a seminar being offered by a colleague just in time for Halloween----Who Ghosts Really Are: Connecting with the Other Side and Ancestors, or Halloween, Seventh Academy, look below for more details. It's being held this Thursday so if you're interested you'll need to pre-register asap!
I thought I'd add that here's something else you might not know depending upon how old you are: the origins of Cut and Paste. Before computers were used to create word documents people (me included) actually cut paper with text or a picture on it and then pasted it on another piece of paper with another set of text or picture to create the document we ultimately wanted. But we weren't done yet! The next step was to use White Out along the edges of the pasted paper to eliminate the lines that would appear when you used a photo copier to make a finished copy (sometimes you'd need to use more White Out and make another copy) so the end result was a page that looked like it was created all in one step.
Beth
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