Halloween Newsletter 2016

Halloween Newsletter 2016
Editor: Snow Princess Megan Rose
Assistant Editor: Angel

Hello Everyone. Angel and I have been doing newsletters for years but we just do them at Halloween and Christmas now. We decided to do a Halloween Newsletter. We are going to write about some myths of Halloween and how it was started. We hope you will enjoy this issue. Think of Halloween as a fun holiday. Let's get started.

Halloween is also known as All Hallows Eve or All Sainte Eve. It is celebrated in a number of countries. It is believed to be a holiday to remember the dead, martyrs and all the faithful departed.

It is believed that Halloween traditions originated from the Celtic harvest which may have pagan roots, particularly the Galeic festival Samhain which means summer's end and this festival was termed Halloween. Some say Halloween is a Christian holiday. The Celtic had the Goddess Brigid who blessed the harvest and was the Goddess of fertility.

Halloween as been called "The Roman Feast Of The Goddess". Some say it was a tradition of the Irish. Halloween was also believed that if people dressed up, placed candles on the graves, this would keep evil spirits away. The Celtics are given credit for starting Halloween but other countries beg to differ.

Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning or darker half of the year. This was like a boundary between this world and the Otherworld. This means the spirits of fairies could enter the world. They believed this took the place of ancient Gods. The souls of the dead were also believed to revisit at Halloween. Bonfires were lit and believed to have cleaning powers to keep the dead spirits at bay.

From the 16th century, the festival had people in disguises going from house to house for food. If the people of the house donated, they could expect good things. Hobby horses were set outside to ward off bad spirits. Lanterns and Jack O'Lanterns were used to keep the bad spirits away as well. Lit candles are believed to help the dead go back to their graves. These were called soul lights. Baking soul cakes for all Christian souls is said to be the start of Trick er Treating. Dressing in costumes was done at Masquerade Balls as well as Halloween.

I found this information interesting and how ever you celebrate Halloween, keep it fun, not as a dark, depressing holiday. I found this info on Wikipedia.

Angel has this to say about Halloween.

Happy Halloween, my Friends. Stat safe.

Early national attention to trick-er-treating was given in October 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Childrens activities and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Shohallowen in America and The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948. The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952 when Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick-er-Treat or Treat, Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-er-treaters on an episode of their television show and UNICEF first conducted a national campaign to raise funds for the charity while trick-er-treating.

Trick-er-treating on the prairie. Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-er-treating as an adult intervention to re-channel Halloween activities away from vandalism, nothing in the historical record supports this theory. To the contrary, adults as reported in newspapers from the mid 1930's to the mid 1950's typically saw it as a form of extortion with reactions ranging from the bemused indulgence to anger. Like wise as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what is trick-er-treating was to puzzled adults and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested for Halloween 1984, members of Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read American Boys Don't Beg.

Thank you Angel for sharing this information.

A Halloween Poem By: Megan

The night is chilly.
The moon is bright.
Kids and adults all dressed up-
cute and silly.
Holding bags for candy and carrying flashlights.

On one porch are pumpkins and black cats.
Children ring the bell or knock on the door.
Watch out! Look out for the flying bat!
The bat has left. Little children smile as they collect more candy.

A witch answers the door at one house.
She isn't really a witch. She's the kids teacher.
Her cat watches her as she passes out candy
and wishes for a mouse.
When the witch gets done passing out candy,
she will go back to watching her spooky movie.

The children to to other houses and pass the woods-
they hear an eerie howl which is scary.
They are scared but a husky dog runs out to greet the kids.
He wags his tail and is happy to see them. The children are done.

The dog follows his human owner Timmy. Halloween is over.
The children are home eating their candy. Do witches and goblins
really come out at midnight? The little children head for bed.
Ghosts and goblins won't bother them and give them a fright.

Pumpkins. Scarecrows. Ghosts and witches. It's Halloween Night.
A wagon loaded with scary imitation Halloween creatures, sitting on the hay.
All the Halloween decorations! What a delightful sight!
Tomorrow, Halloween will be over. Time to start a new month and a new beginning November Day!

We hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. Angel and I loved writing this.

Beautiful Sigs done by Angel!