Tag Archives: halloween

Halloween Ghost Jug Decorations

spirit-jugs-halloween-craft-photo-260-FF1007TREATA13

Stationed on a walkway or porch, these homemade lanterns will extend a ghostly greeting and good-bye to all your holiday visitors.

Materials
  • Clean plastic gallon milk jugs
  • Black permanent marker
  • Craft knife
  • String of 50 clear low-wattage holiday lights
Instructions
  1. Draw ghost eyes and mouths on the jugs. Tip: Leave the caps on while you do this, so the jugs don’t dent.
  2. Use the craft knife to cut a half-dollar-size hole in the back of each jug (a parent’s job).
  3. Arrange the ghosts near each other and string the lights between them, stuffing several bulbs into each of the jugs.

Carmel Apples

 

Make some caramel apples with your kids to get into the carnival vibe and enjoy some yummy treats.

applesAll you need are apples, cubes of caramel, and milk!

  1. Remove the stem from each apple and press a craft stick into the top.
  2. Butter a baking sheet
  3. Place caramels and milk into a microwave bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
  4. Roll each apple with caramel sauce and place on sheet to set.

PS – You can use treats like nuts, cookies, etc. to add some extra flavor! (Always check for allergies before serving)

It’s time for Goblins and Ghosts….

Going trick-or-treating?

Below are tips to help make the festivities fun and safe for trick-or-treaters

Alphabet letter S Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.
Alphabet letter A Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
Alphabet letter F Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
Alphabet letter E Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
Alphabet letter H Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you. Always WALK and don’t run from house to house.
Alphabet letter A Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent possible skin and eye irritation.
Alphabet letter L Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
Alphabet letter L Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.
Alphabet letter O Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
Alphabet letter W Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
Alphabet letter E Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.
Alphabet letter E Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult.
Alphabet letter N Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.


OCTOBER NEWS 2010

October 11- Columbus Day The day commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.” October 15 -National Pizza Month Pizza is easy and fun to make and can be a nutritious meal for the children and is easy to make at home.  You will need a ready-made pizza dough or a ready-made crust, shredded mozzarella cheese and a jar of pizza sauce. Add your favorite toppings – i.e. mushrooms, chicken, onions, or brocoli .  First the dough or crust goes on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Then spread the sauce, add the other toppings, and last of all, sprinkle the cheese. Bake as directed for the crust. Be careful, and keep the children away from the oven as the oven must be very hot to make a nice crusty pizza. October 17– National Stamp Collecting Month –Collecting stamps is a fun and easy introduction to geography, history, art and nature. Help your children start a stamp collection by sharing stamps from your letters from home. Ask your au pair friends for stamps from their countries. October 24 – United Nations Day – This is the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations in 1947, which is committed to peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. Teach your children something about your country today – a song, a story, game, a new food or a national tradition. October 31-Halloween This is the day children dress up in costumes and, in many communities, go door-to-door to ask for candy. Safety on Halloween is extremely important – don’t take our eyes off the children and don’t let them eat unwrapped candy.

Major League Baseball

Baseball is called the “National Pastime” of the United States because it is so popular. There are thirty teams spread across the country, and many people have their own favorite “home team.” The game is played by two teams. When one team is in the field, the other team takes turns at bat. A baseball player first bats at the ball and then runs around the bases in an effort to score. Points, called “runs,” are scored when a player on the batting team touches all the bases (including home plate) without being tagged or put “out” by a player on the fielding team. The team scoring the greater number of runs in nine “innings” wins the game. Each inning is divided into two halves: top and bottom. Both teams are allowed three outs per half inning. Each team is part of a league. There are two leagues, the American League and the National League. Each team tries to win the most games in their league. The teams that win each league championship will play each other in the “World Series.” * note* date may change October 27 – Baseball World Series – In baseball, the World Series is the championship games of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winners of the American and  National Leagues. The Series winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, meaning that the first team to win four games wins the series. The World Series has been an annual event since 1903.  It is played at the baseball stadiums of the two teams in the series.  Baseball is so popular that it is sometimes called the “national pastime.” The word “ballgame” in the United States almost always refers to a game of baseball, and “ballpark” to a baseball field.  The rules of baseball can be found here http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/baseball.asp

Halloween History

A Brief History of Halloween in America

posted by Hellion | 10/9/2007 6:49:45 PM | Permalink | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

By Hellion

Of all the holidays, Halloween stands out as the best example of the quintessential American “melting pot,” that is, a melange of beliefs, rituals, or traditions, both religious or pagan, that stem from all cultures living in America.

October 31 marks the observation of Halloween or Hallowe’en, a short variation of All-hallow-even, the evening before All Hallows Day or All Saints Day, on November 1. After the Romans conquered the Celts in 43AD, they adopted many of their festivals and incorporated them into their own religious celebrations. All Hallows Day was one such example. Originally the day that celebrated numerous pagan festivals, but Pope Gregory III would eventually designate November 1 to mark the Christian feast of All Saints Day, which had moved from May 13. According to the Church, a day started at sunset, which is why celebrations typically started on October 31, the eve of the holiday, All Hallows Day.

Halloween’s Celtic Origins
Jack O LanternsOne of most poignant pagan celebrations was Samhain (pronounced “Sow-en,”) a Celtic holiday, which marked the end of the harvest and the end of summer. Samhain is sometimes also regarded as the “Celtic New Year.” Celts believed this was a very important day to celebrate, as this was the day when two worlds, the living and the dead, came together. Spirits were believed to be mischievous and caused trouble, sometimes damaging crops. So the Celts would leave food, gather together and set huge bonfires of burning crops, believing the light would drive away evil spirits away. Sometimes they lit candles or carved lanterns out of vegetables such as squash to light the way for good spirits. In the Americas, those lanterns would be carved out of pumpkins, also known as Jack O’Lanterns. There are also some accounts of people making animal sacrifices to Celtic deities and even dressing in costumes made of animal hides to fool evil spirits. These days, Samhain is celebrated more has a harvest festival but still uses many of the same rituals.

Halloween Traditions in the 1800s
European immigrants brought their rituals and customs with them to America. There are actually few accounts of Halloween in colonial American history due in part to the large Protestant presences in the Northern colonies and their strict religious beliefs. However, down in the Southern colonies where larger, more mixed European communities had settled, there are some accounts of Halloween celebrations mixing with Native American harvest celebrations.

In the mid 1800s, nearly two million Irish immigrants fleeing potato famine helped shape Halloween into an even more widely celebrated event. Scottish immigrants celebrated with fireworks, telling ghost stories, playing games and making mischief. There were games such as bobbing for apples, dooking, the dropping of forks on apples without using hands, and Puicini, an Irish fortune-telling game using saucers. Young women were frequently told if they sat in dark rooms and gazed into a mirror, the face of their future husbands would appear, however, if a skull appeared, the poor girl would be destined to die before marriage. The English observation of Guy Fawkes Day on November 5 had also become intertwined with Halloween. Most pranks and mischief were the work of naughty children rather than spirits as once believed.

Halloween As A Communal Celebration
By the 1900s, the focus had shifted from a religious holiday to a more communal celebration. “Guising” was actually a practice dating back to the middle ages, when the poor would go around asking for food or money. Borrowing from the English and Irish traditions, children adopted the practice of guising and would dress up in costumes, but there are only isolated references to children actually going door to door asking for food or money during Halloween. Instead parties were held and had a more festive atmosphere with colorful costumes. The frightening and superstitious aspects of Halloween had diminished somewhat, and Halloween in America was slowly shedding some of the old European traditions favoring more light-hearted celebrations.

Trick or Treat
Despite the good natures of some people, Halloween pranks and mischief had become a huge problem in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly because the pranks often turned into vandalism, property damage and even physical assaults. Bad kids and even organizations such as the KKK, used the Halloween as an excuse to engage in criminal activity. Schools and communities did the best they could to curb vandalism by encouraging the “trick or treat” concept. The Boy Scouts got into the act by organizing safe events like school carnivals and local neighborhood trick or treat outings for children, hoping this would stir troublemakers away. But the Trick or Treat idea did face some controversy, as some parents and community leaders would take a stance that Trick or Treat was along the same lines as extortion, either the homes gave children “treats” or the families would be maliciously targeted with “tricks” for not complying. Regardless, by the late 30s, vandalism was decreasing as more and more children opted to partake in Trick or Treat.

Trick or TreatThe earliest known print of the words “Trick or Treat” did not occur until 1934, when a Portland, Oregon newspaper ran an article about how Halloween pranks kept local police officers on their toes. There would be sporadic instances of the phrase “Trick or Treat” used in the media during the 1930s, eventually making its way onto Halloween cards. But the practice we see today, children dressed in costume, going house to house saying “Trick or Treat” did not really come about until the mid 1940s. Today, those original vintage Halloween cards depicting the “Trick or Treat” words are collector’s items.

The First Halloween Celebrations
Anoka, Minnesota, a.k.a the “Halloween Capital of the World,” was the first city in America to officially hold a Halloween celebration, in an effort to divert kids from pulling pranks like tipping outhouses and letting cows loose to run around on Main Street. The town organized a parade and spent the weeks prior planning and making costumes. Treats of popcorn, peanuts and candy to any children who participated in the parade, followed by a huge bonfire in the town square. The event grew over time and has been held every year since 1920 except 1942 and 1943 when festivities were cancelled due to World War II. These days Anoka, holds elaborate Halloween festivals with a parade, carnivals, costume contests, house decorating, and other community celebrations, living up to its self-proclaimed title of “Halloween Capital of the World.” Salem, Massachusetts, associated mostly with witches due in part to its long and sometimes torrid history, also lays claim to the title. Many historians quietly back away from that debate leaving the two cities to duke it out for themselves.

Halloween in Modern America
The popularity of Halloween has increased year after year. Television, movies, and other media outlets have helped Halloween grow into America’s second largest commercial holiday, which brings in an estimated $6.9 billion dollars annually. Watching horror movies and visiting haunted attractions, real haunts or haunted theme parks is a popular modern way to celebrate the evening. Just as it was in the colonial times, Halloween in America is a melting pot of everything that is Halloween. There is no correct way to celebrate the holiday. Overzealous religious and social organizations have unsuccessfully tried to squash the holiday by spreading lies or rumors hoping to tarnish the image of Halloween by associating it with evil. The truth is there are many unsubstantiated reports and rare attacks on ordinary citizens in the way of razorblades in apples or kidnappings and killings for Satanic rituals. Most myths are created to simply prey on human fears, sometimes for fun and sometimes to railroad thoughts and beliefs to serve the purpose of a select few.

The biggest challenge facing today’s 38 million trick or treaters is staying safe in a world where the criminal types use Halloween as an excuse to act on deviant behavior. Many school and local communities will organize trick or treating in shopping malls, especially in neighborhoods where gang activity is prevalent. Parent worries in even the safe neighborhoods have adopted this practice as well. It saves money in the long run and is safe for all those involved and is slowly becoming the preferred way to celebrate in these volatile times.

Some have argued that Halloween has lost its spiritual meaning due to all the corporate and media influences. In this technology driven world, it’s important to remember that along with society, even holidays are subject to evolution. No matter what people choose to do, no matter what cultural, spiritual or material way, as long as people celebrate in a safe and happy way, the spirit of Halloween in America will endure for ages. But it’s always nice to take a look back at history and learn how it all began.

Mailing List

Subscribe to receive bi-weekly updates.

Name:
Email:

CafePress Store

Other Sites