Thursday, October 31, 2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN



From Halloween-website.com

Halloween History: Origin
Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today. It's one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. While millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing its origins and myths, the history and facts of Halloween make the holiday more fascinating.

Some people view Halloween as a time for fun, putting on costumes, trick-or-treating, and having theme parties. Others view it as a time of superstitions, ghosts, goblins and evil spirits that should be avoided at all costs.

As the Christian debate goes on, celebrating Halloween is a preference that is not always viewed as participating in an evil holiday. Halloween is often celebrated with no reference to pagan rituals or the occult.

Halloween History
Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

All Hallows Eve is the evening before All Saints Day, which was created by Christians to convert pagans, and is celebrated on November 1st. The Catholic church honored saints on this designated day.

Origin of Halloween
While there are many versions of the origins and old customs of Halloween, some remain consistent by all accounts. Different cultures view Halloween somewhat differently but traditional Halloween practices remain the same.

Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Roots lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the dead.

Samhain signifies "summers end" or November. Samhain was a harvest festival with huge sacred bonfires, marking the end of the Celtic year and beginning of a new one. Many of the practices involved in this celebration were fed on superstition.

The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

PARTY

My friends got married...


We threw a party!


Everyone was there...


No one was tardy!


The beer was cold, the food was great.


They even had a wedding dress cake!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

~  A prairie dog, a guinea pig, and groundhog have something in common.  They are all rodents, though misnamed - there is not a dog, pig or hog among them.


~  In military jargon, an NBC suit is personal protective clothing designed to be worn in the event of a Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical attack.


~ There are only three sports films that have won Best Picture Oscars - Rocky (1976), Chariots of Fire (1981) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).


~  If you are suffering from amusia you are tone deaf - you have the inability to recognize or reproduce musical sounds.


~  Ice must be at least 2 feet thick so support a pod of walruses.