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Russ’s Really Scary Halloween Recycle Bin<br><br>You won’t be afraid to dress up once you know where Halloween actually came from...<br>

Dressing up can be easy, so don’t use that as an excuse. A small amount of washable makeup or a few creatively cut pieces of cardboard can transform anyone into a totally different persona.

For ideas, watch some television, surf the web, do some shopping at local department stores or — what do ya know — ask your kids. Can’t think of anything off the top of your head? Look around your house or office and you might be surprised.

Tape a bunch of kitchen utensils to your clothes and — whala! — you’re a messy kitchen drawer. Do the same with a bunch of Post-It notes, and — shazam! — you’re an office memo board.

But enough about the ease of getting into the spirit (no pun intended). Let’s review this whole thing called Halloween.

Did you know it is one of the oldest holidays on Earth, spanning back thousands of years?

Halloween originally began with the ancient Celts, who inhabited what we now know as England, Ireland, Scotland, and parts of France. The Celts were very earthy people whose religion and lifestyles were based on the seasons and the bounty of the crops. For them, November 1 marked the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one, coinciding with harvest time. The night before, the Celts honored the dearly departed by celebrating the festival of Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”), the Lord of the Dead. During this festival, it was believed, all time and space would be suspended to allow the spirits of the dead to mingle with the living.

Some say the Celtic priests would burn sacrifices, make charms and spells to keep the evil spirits — as with everything, some were good spirits, some not — from possessing the living. Other sources tell accounts of the Celts wearing scary masks and lighting bonfires for the same reason.

Later on, when the Romans conquered the Celts, they added some of their own to the tradition, such as centerpieces of apples and nuts to appease Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. They also bobbed for apples and drank cider.

Even later still, when Christianity became the religion of choice, Pope Gregory IV, noticing the stubbornness of the tradition, compromised and moved the church’s celebration for all martyrs, or all saints, from May 13 to Nov. 1 around 835 A.D. The church dubbed the night before All Hallows Even. It eventually became Halloween.

The tradition of trick-or-treating was brought over from the Irish, who would go door to door asking for donations of food for the village feast. Those who donated were promised prosperity while those that didn’t were cursed with bad luck. Other scholars say the tradition came from early Christians asking for “soul cakes.” The more cakes one gave, the more prayers would be said for their departed relatives.

Pumpkin carving also came from the Irish. Villagers would carve out turnips and put a lit candle inside to ward off evil spirits. When the Irish migrated to the United States, they discovered pumpkins as a better, larger alternative to the small turnip.

Finally, there’s good old Jack O’Lantern. Where did he come from? Well, this is yet another Irish tale (those nutty Irish!) about a man named Jack — a lazy swindler/gambler who never did anything for anyone else but himself.

One day, later on in his life, Halloween came and it was his time to die. The devil appeared, but Jack swindled Satan into giving him another year of life. This trickery of Jack’s against the devil went on for quite some time until death caught up to him. Heaven wouldn’t take Jack because of his rotten life. But when he went down to the gates of Hell, the devil was still so mad at him for tricking the beast so many times, that he wouldn’t let him into Hell, either.

Jack asked the devil, “Where am I to go? How will my soul find its way in the darkness?”

The devil put a lit piece of coal into a pumpkin, gave it to Jack and sent him on his way. Now, Jack O’Lantern wanders in eternity with only the pumpkin to light his path.

So, that’s Halloween and many of the traditions that go with it. Isn’t it interesting how man’s influence has changed things over time? I wonder what Columbus Day will be like in a thousand years.


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