Halloween has religious roots
I nek or treat.
It’s the time of the year when
leaves fall. The pumpkins are
carved and ready to be lit. Ghosts
and goblins will be waiting on your
doorstep with pillow sacks full of
candy. Tis the time to be filled
with the Halloween spirit.
Merry Halloween!
Every Christmas season,
somebody writes a column about
the true meaning of the holiday.
This has become a tradition similar
to age-old customs such as decorat
ing an evergreen tree. A reminder
of the true meaning of Dec. 25 and
eggnog go hand in hand.
What about the true meaning of
Halloween? Many children, myself
included, were misled to believe
that Linus from the Peanuts gang
knew the answer. We wanted to
believe the real meaning of Hallow
een was indeed that the Great
Pumpkin visited children in
pumpkin patches.
Most know the story about Jesus
lying in a manger, but we still are
ignorant about why on Oct. 31
people are allowed to dress up in
silly costumes and grab for wet
apples with their teeth.
Halloween began more than
2,000 years ago with the Celts in
Ireland and France. To explain the
change of the warm summer season
to a cold and bitter winter, the Celts
made up a fable.
The Celts believed in a sun god
who would shine on their crops and
cause them to grow. Each year, the
sun god was attacked and held
prisoner for six months by
Samhain, the god of the dead.
While the sun god was held
prisoner, Samhain caused the days
to become darker and colder.
The Celts held festivals for the
sun god and Samhain on Nov. 1.
When we know why a certain day
is a holiday, our knowledge brings
more meaning to our actions. ...
The Celtic superstitions about
Samhain are the reason we cel
ebrate Halloween today.
This day also was the Celtic New
Year.
On Oct. 31, the Celtic priests,
called Druids, held a ceremony to
honor Samhain’s triumph over the
sun god. The Druids sacrificed and
burned animals, crops and people
in a huge bonfire. During this
celebration the people wore
costumes made of animal heads and
skins to ward off any evil spirits.
The Celtic people feared Oct. 31
because they believed evil spirits
lurked everywhere. They believed if
they kept fires in their homes, evil
spirits would leave them alone.
Samhain was believed to have
conjured up dead people on this day
and turn them into other forms,
especially cats.
When the Romans conquered
Britain and France, they added
their own festivals. The Romans
had autumn festivals called Feralia
and Pomona Day. Feralia was to
honor the dead. On Pomona Day,
thanks was given for a good harvest
by spreading out apples and nuts.
This is where the custom of
bobbing for apples comes from.
The festival of the dead gradu
ally was incorporated into Christian
ritual by the Catholic Church. On
Nov. 1, a festival known as All
Hallows, or All Saints* Day,
honored the souls of the dead. The
souls of those who had died the
year before were especially hon
ored. Thus, Oct. 31 became known
as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween.
Jack-o'-lanterns came about -
from an Old Irish legend. The
legend is about a stingy man named
Jack. He was forced to wander the
earth after he died because of all the
sins he had committed in his life.
Jack was searching for a resting
place.
The devil offered Jack a piece of
burning coal. Jack stuffed the coal
into a turnip, creating a lantern to
help him light his way. Irish
children used to carve smiling faces
in turnips on Halloween night to
scare witches away. When the Irish
came to America, they replaced
carved turnips with pumpkins.
Holidays come and go. Often we
celebrate these days because of
mindless tradition. When we know
why a certain day is a holiday, our
knowledge brings more meaning to
our actions. Today, we may not
believe in Samhain like the Celts,
but the Celtic superstitions about
Samhain are the reason we cel
ebrate Halloween today.
BOO!
Slock In ■ Junior secondary education
major and a Dally Nebraskan columnist.
Teachers, parents cooperate
This past summer, my 14-year
old nephew Michael came to visit
for three weeks, and he’s been here
ever since. My wife and I figured,
“Why notr
We’ve worked hard raising
another teen-ager, 16-year-old
Rhea, since last winter. Things
have been going well for him, so
why not try the same with Michael?
We’ve concentrated a lot of
effort in developing a good relation
ship with the public school system.
We feel our relationship, especially
with his teachers, is important. In
the short time we’ve been involved
with the school system, we have
seen some remarkable things done
with Rhea.
Michael and I recently attended
parent-teacher conferences. Chi the
way there he asked, “Why do I have
togo7”
“I need you to help me under
stand what your teachers need from
you.”
I could tell by the look on his
face that he didn’t believe me, so I
tried again.
“I want you to see how I operate.
You and I need to work together,” I
said. He seemed to be kind of
listening, so I kept talking.
“We need to make sure your
teachers have what they need in
order to help you. We expect them
to bring out your best efforts.
“We need your input. What you
have to say is very important. We
need you there to tell us what you
want,” I said.
Any time you tell a teen-ager
something about getting what they
want, they’ll listen. But I still
wasn't sure if he was OK with
g3ing, so I tried one more thing.
I explained how property taxes
paid for the school district and that
as they rose, so did my expectations
of the school system.
“... And since taxes went up
What we “expect ” is that any child
will be challenged to reach for
higher goals. We consider ourselves
partners of the school system in this
effort.
again, 1 want to make sure I'm
getting my money’s worth... so
that’s why you’re going,” I said.
Michael seems to understand the
value of money more than most
teen-agers. I was pretty sure the
property-tax angle convinced him
this was extremely important. So, I
quit while I was ahead.
We’ve hoped school officials
always would see our efforts as an
earnest commitment toward helping
them educate. Perhaps most school
officials find it unusual, if not hard
to believe, that as parents we would
give ourselves to them.
Rhea is in high school, and
Michael is in the eighth grade. We
figured that what worked for Rhea
as a ninth-grader would work for
Michael now. But Michael is in a
different school, so we are trying to
develop a relationship with a new
school. Unfortunately, our zealous
ness may have backfired.
1 think at least one of Michael’s
teachers thinks that because we’ve
said “C’s and D’s are unacceptable”
at home, we are hard disciplinarian
types who whack their kids on the
heads for getting low grades.
One teacher actually warned me
not to punish Michael for low
grades. 1 thought: What a bizarre
concept. We wouldn’t do that. Low
grades have natural consequences
that take their own course. This
same teacher also implied that a C
was all we might be able to expect.
I wanted to scream!
What we “expect” is that any
child will be challenged to reach for
higher goals. We consider ourselves
partners of the school system in this
effort. During one rough period, we
went to Rhea’s school every day,
helping to ensure that both the
school’s needs and Rhea’s needs
were met.
Several weeks ago, I sent a note
to Michael’s teachers stating that
“C’s and D’s are unacceptable...”
In retrospect, the word “unaccept
able” may have given some teachers
the wrong impression. But I also
stated that “I have time to help
Michael” with his school work.
Just as we had done for Rhea, we
were letting the school know that
they had our help. While meeting
with Michael’s teachers, 1 reiterated
that the school system had our
complete support. I repeated “C’s
and D’s are unacceptable.”
As they described his progress, I
was pleased to hear mostly good
things. If his grade was a C, I asked
specifically what help they wanted
from us to raise it above that level.
This is something we will do no
matter how high our property taxes
go up.
P
Shanks Is a graduate stadent and a Dally
Ncbraakaa cohimntat.
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