October 31 - Halloween! (aka All Hallows' Eve)

 Posted on October 31, 2021


This is an update of my post published on October 31, 2010:




The “Hallows” part of the name "All Hallows' Eve" means “Saints.” The origin of the holiday is a commemoration of the end of summer and the beginning of the darker half of the year. 

Ancient Celts believed that the wall between life and afterlife became thin at this time, and so spirits both good and evil could cross over to the normal world. The idea of wearing costumes and masks was intended to ward off the harmful spirits. People also carved faces into hollowed-out turnips, which were lit from inside with candles and placed in windows—again to keep harmful spirits away. Bonfires were often used during the festivities.


As is always the case, the holiday changed and evolved. In North America, pumpkins were easier to find than were turnips—and pumpkins are of course much larger and easier to carve as well!


Trick-or-treating started with the custom of poor people going from door to door, getting gifts of food, on November 1. Although some of these ritual “begging” customs date all the back to the Middle Ages, American children in costumes going from shop to shop or door to door only started in the early 1900s.



Many of the symbols of Halloween come from the Day-of-the-Dead (All Saints' Day) imagery of skeletons. Others come from popular monster lore such as Frankenstein and Dracula, and of course many decorations and themes are related to harvest time (scarecrows, apple bobbing, pumpkins, corn mazes, hayrides).







Modern Halloween practices in the U.S. often include “haunted” attractions such as haunted houses, theme parks remade into scary mazes, and more. In some cases high levels of special effects are used, and scaring people has become big business. Where I live, in Southern California, people have SO many choices, including the famous Knott's Scary Farm, but also Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Shipwreck at the Queen Mary, Castle Dark (at Riverside's Castle Park), Fearplex Haunt (at Pomona's Fairplex)—and many, many more. (Hmmm...I like the names Coffin Creek and the Scream Zone—haven't heard of those ones before...)





The Spread of Halloween

This holiday started with ancient Celtic peoples in the British Isles, and is still celebrated by many in England, Scotland, and Ireland, but it boomed in a big way in the United States and Canada, while the Day of the Dead blossomed in Mexico. Nowadays much of the North American-style celebrations seems to be spreading to other parts of the world, including South America, Europe, Australia, and Japan.



Probably much of the spread of Halloween is because of depictions in Hollywood movies and on television. In my childhood, Halloween was for kids; nowadays it is for everybody!

Check out more Halloween posts below!










October 30 - War of the Worlds!

 Posted on October 30, 2021


This is an update of my post published on October 30, 2010:




On this date in 1938, Martians invaded the Earth, frightening thousands of people...

—— Wait! Martians didn't attack us! As a matter of fact, there are no Martians!

What actually happened on October 30, 1938, was the broadcast of an Orson Welles radio show based on H. G. Wells's book The War of the Worlds.



The fictional show was done in a non-fiction style—in the style of news bulletins that seemed to break into another show. There were only three announcements during the 60-minute program that this was just fiction—once each at the beginning and end, and once at the 40-minute mark. This kind of story-presented-as-news had never been done before, and people were used to trusting news flashes and bulletins, so there was understandably some fear and confusion among people who tuned into the show while it was already underway.

In other words, some of the listeners who missed the announcement that this was fiction were unsure—was this really happening?

Remember, back in 1938, there was no Twitter or Facebook. As a matter of fact, there was no internet, only a very few people had television, and many people still did not even have telephones! Some people literally went door to door asking their neighbors what was going on. Some even drove to the spot that the aliens were supposed to have landed—Van Nest Park, Grover's Mill, New Jersey!

Pictured here is that very spot, today marked by a historic plaque:


There was some panic, but the amount of panic was exaggerated by the newspapers of the time. More people got mad than scared, actually—mad at Welles, and mad at CBS, who broadcast the show. Still, War of the Worlds made Orson Welles famous.





By the way, several film versions of H. G. Wells's book have been made, including a somewhat recent version filmed in 2005.

October 29 - Creole Day in Dominica

(Last Friday of October)

 Posted on October 29, 2021


This is an update of my post published on October 29 2010:







Today is the day to wear, speak, and celebrate Creole culture!

On this day the Caribbean-island nation of Dominica takes joy in traditional dancing, folklore, food and music.


Dominica is not to be confused with the much larger Caribbean-island nation of the Dominican Republic.


 



Dominica is nicknamed “the Nature Isle” of the Caribbean, because its natural beauty is quite unspoiled by development. It is actually the youngest island in its island group (the Lesser Antilles), and geothermal activity is still shaping the land. You can tell it's still “active” because there is a huge boiling lake—the second largest in the world!


Most of the island is covered with lush jungle and tons of wildlife, and 365 rivers rush to the sea. Speaking of “sea,” apparently the volcanic formations make a great habitat for all sorts of marine life, so the snorkeling is great there!




So...what's Creole?

A creole language is a stable language that forms when groups of children learn pidgin (simplified) language (or languages) from their parents. In the case of Dominica, the creole language is based on French. The official language of Dominica is English, by the way.

Madras, a colorful plaid fabric, is part of the National Dress
of Dominica and is often worn on Creole Day.

There are variations of spelling in the wish "Happy Creole Day!"
and in the term "Creole Day" itself. According to Wikipedia,
the correct label for the day is apparently Jounen Kwéyòl.




Check it out!

Click here to learn more about Dominica.

And here is a YouTube video that promises “the whole of Dominica in just over a minute.”