On this Veteran’s Day I want to take a minute to say Thank You to all that serve. To those in the armed forces who keep this country safe.
And to those on the home front, those Police, Firemen, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers…all those who run toward danger instead of away to keep us safe.
May God Bless you all and may you carry an Angel on your Shoulder each and every day.
Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows’ Evening also known as Hallowe’en or All Hallows’ Eve.
Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses” and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as of Australia and New Zealand.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.
Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.
Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, “Trick or treat?” The “trick” part of “trick or treat” is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters.
The history of Halloween has evolved. The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. The most significant growth and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the “trick” element. In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal “tricks” and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.
reprinted from HalloweenHistory.org
Now that you know a little of the history, remember that there are those people or individuals who take Halloween to a more sinister level. They use the pagan roots of the holiday as an excuse to torture and maim small animals, commonly black cats but also dogs, birds, rabbits and any other household pets. Please, to keep your pets safe, keep them indoors tonight, especially your black cats. Be a responsible pet owner and provide the safe haven they need.
From Woman’s World Magazine
It isn’t even Halloween! We still have to get through Thanksgiving! But Taunton, the Christmas City, is already beginning to prepare for the big display on the Taunton Green.
In a way I can forgive them. They do go all out when they decorate and often they have to build some of the displays to avoid repeating too many from the past. They try to make it new and different each year.
I think Taunton usually has a “lighting Ceremony” the first week in December but more and more surrounding communities are lighting up in mid- November, even before Thanksgiving!
Last year was the first time I noticed the way the display seemed to grow. Before I never paid any attention. I’d just be driving home one night and there it was, all lit up… Just like magic !
They are building something around the fountain again but the design is different. This green and white thing showed up Friday. I’m making guesses in my head as to what this will be. Maybe a drum? Will they build another Jack-in-the- box?
Last year I had my doubts as I watched this huge box get built in the middle of the green. I really thought it was going to be ugly. In the end it wasn’t bad at all.
I don’t think it was as nice as the year they surrounded the fountain with angel heralds but that’s just my opinion.
Now that I’m working from home I’ll be able to sneak down to check on the progress better than in years past.
It’s going to be fun watching the scene unfold.
Here it is, Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, the last day to wear white, a day of parties and cook outs and barbeques.
I looked for something new to say about Labor Day but it’s all pretty much the same thing.
The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on September 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.
By 1893, more than half the states were observing a “Labor Day” on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.
We’ve all heard that many times. Whenever you google Labor Day that same history comes up. I wanted something new. I may have found it in the 2010 census. I know , a bit out of date but it was the most recent I could find. So here goes, a few facts you might not have known about Labor and/or Labor Day.
So now you have some numbers to chew on over your burgers and wings. I hope everyone enjoys the day.
