Halloween
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now known as Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
Part of the history of Halloween is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of “souling,” when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of “puling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas.”
Trick-or-treating on the prairie. Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to rechannel Halloween activities away from vandalism, nothing in the historical record supports this theory. To the contrary, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger. Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read “American Boys Don’t Beg.”
A jack-o’-lantern (sometimes also spelled Jack O’Lantern) is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday Halloween. Typically the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced. During the night, a candle is placed inside to illuminate the effect. The term is not particularly common outside North America, although the practice of carving lanterns for Halloween is.
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What Makes Lightsabers The Greatest Sci-fi Weapon?
It’s unquestionable that Star Wars altered the face of sci-fi films forever. George Lucas set the new standard for how movies were crafted. Before the Star Wars series, most people considered science fiction movies to be B movies with pathetic plots and horrible special effects. But not anymore.
Curiously another major hit that year was a nuclear apocalypse movie called Damnation Alley which was pretty seminal for its time period. But if you evaluated the special effects, script and just the overall film to the original Star Wars it’s difficult to understand or believe where 20th Century Fox expended $17 million dollars – Star Wars seems like it cost about $170 million in comparison. There were several factors behind Damnation Alley appearing so horrible in contrast and most of the damage was carried out post-production – ain’t that always the way?
But back to Star Wars before I totally wander away from the subject matter. We have seen hardly any motion pictures in the record of cinema that have had such a powerful and long lasting impact on the entertainment market. Even consider the retailing that followed the release of the movies – it took this section of motion picture promotion and company earnings to a whole new level.
And one of the biggest retailing hits were the lightsabers that entered the market to meet the requirement from kids all over the place for their own imitation lightsaber. The original endeavours were quite weak but after a lot of testing and fine-tuning Master Replicas finally got it correct whenever they mastered the Force FX lightsabers and the inexpensive knock-offs died a rapid death.
But what exactly made the lightsaber such a well-known toy? There was clearly numerous other Star Wars toys to choose from after all. What made the lightsaber unique I believe was the undeniable fact that the lightsaber evoked memories in us of the Arthurian tales and the sword Excalibur. Lucas even capitalized on that by making the Jedi an order of knights. The lightsaber took the sword to a whole new tier and presented it a whole new lease on life in the movies.
The coolness element of the lightsaber and what set it apart from any other sci-fi weapon we’d experienced prior to this was that by using the Force the lightsaber grew to be an extension of you – you and the weapon become joined; which naturally has leanings towards the legends encircling Samurai fighters. It took expertise to utilize lightsaber and in a way you almost needed to be born to use one with any kind of sophisticated level of skill.
I bet it’s hard to think of any other science fiction weapon that’s as iconic as the lightsaber. Hardly any other weapon comes close.
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The Beauty Of Stringed Instruments
Learning how to play a stringed instrument is a goal on the majority of folks to do lists. Stringed instruments have traditionally been the most attractive instruments to want to learn. Unhappily many grown ups cannot attain this dream. Inspiring your child to be educated in a stringed instrument whilst they are still of younger years will be a delightful encounter that will reap benefits for years to come. Often times they may even be able to return the favor and educate you!
A major preoccupation for parents is how can they get their offspring away from the television and video games and doing something productive and mentally stimulating instead. This is where acquiring the skill of a stringed instrument comes to the rescue. Practise creates perfect, and the the more time spent practising the more they will embrace playing their stringed instrument. It will imbue them with reserve, perseverance and discipline, and in no time you will be hearing the melodic sounds of a viola or cello flowing through your house.
Stringed instruments are a excellent choice of instrument for adolescents of all ages due to the fact they are sold in a variety of sizes to complement all. Younger ones can start on a miniature violin or viola that will simply be accomodated by their small hands, before progressing on to larger sizes as they mature into older and much stronger players. Even the grandeur of cellos and double basses can be sourced in smaller replicas, and are perfect for beginners. And the more petite the stringed instrument, the less expensive it is, ensuring that stringed instruments are a very cost effectiveinstrument. Usually you will see that each music store has various stringed instruments to suit individual budgets.
Every stringed instrument has 4 strings, making them much easier to grasp than a guitar or piano. Once they have been taught the basics of reading music their playing will improve significantly every lesson. Learning to play a stringed instrument will also make it simpler for a child to learn to play other musical instruments in future years, as the basics they have learnt can be crafted to every other instrument. Your loved one will perhaps even bloom into a maestro of all four stringed instruments, as the techniques for learning one will be the same as playing another.
Another benefit of learning to play a stringed instrument is the convenience of transportation. It is easy for children to carry their instrument to school with them for lessons and band practise. They will find it easy to accommodate it on the school bus with them! Most schools offer a tutoring program with the ability for your child to take part in an orchestra or band, allowing them to remain inspired to master their instrument and also giving a fun opportunity to socialise and be a team player. Attending the performances of these orchestras and bands will also allow you to assess how well your child is progressing with their learning of the instrument.
Playing a stringed instrument can also stimulate your young ones creative ability, mathematical nous and self-belief important development factors for young children. It is an instrument that they will can easily manipulate, due to its comfortable size and the volume that it will produce. Stringed instruments are unquestionably quieter than percussion instruments, and in the majority of times do not need any amplifiers or electrical plug-ins to allow them to work.
Pieces for stringed instruments are always included in music as it is such a traditional instrument. Orchestral compositions are the most prominent but many modern day rock bands also employ the the sweet sounds of a violin or double bass in their tunes, making this sort of instrument attractive to older children or adolescents. The versatility of a stringed instrument is one of its most redeeming qualities, and your blessed one will forever have a wide range of musical styles to play, from Mozart symphonies to Irish jigs. This will inspire your loved one to enhance their self-belief. If your child is serious about learning a strineg musical instrument there are various private tutors available in each city to give them a masters edge and a stronger playing ability.
Getting your child taught to play a stringed musical instrument will be a joyous and valuable experience for all involved. Your child will not only learn to love their instrument but will become confident in their musical ability. The monetary cost of the process is variable, but the benefits that you and your child receive are timeless.
Learn more about stringed instruments. Stop by Sean Ryder’s site where you can find out all about your local music store and what they can do for you!
Five Classic Horror Movies Guaranteed To Make You Jump
There has always been something about a scary story that has excited its audience, no matter the medium. No matter if its horror movies, ghost stories, or chilling novels by the likes of Stephen King or Dean Koontz, or the Grimm brothers for that matter, there is something about being scared that people really seem to enjoy a lot.
Of course when it comes to films, the genre is wide and diverse, with horrors ranging from the wacky and silly, to gory blood feasts, to psychological thrillers and so much more.
It is almost impossible to compare horror movies, especially those on different sides of the scary spectrum. A movie like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is so different to something like A Nightmare on Elm Street, except for the fact that they will both give you goosebumps. The five movies below though are a good broad selection of classic horror that everyone who loves the genre should see.
The first I have just mentioned, Psycho, perhaps the most eerie of all Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is absolutely brilliant, and to this day, this classic piece of cinema will scare almost everyone. It is nerve-wracking and the tension is unbearable throughout, and while it may not be as scandalous as it was in 1960, it remains one the iconic horror movies of all time. Who will ever forget that shower scene.
In 1973 The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and starring Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow and Linda Blair, hit the screens and scared the world like never before. This was the movie that caused many sleepless nights for its audience, as the scary story of a young girl, played by Blair, is possessed by a demon, and we follow the story of the priests who try to exorcise the demon out of her. It is still as disturbing today, and should not be watched alone, unless you are very brave.
The next classic in this list of horror movies was directed by Hollywood royalty. Jaws, from the one and only Steven Spielberg, remains a leader in its sub-genre. It is the movie that stopped millions of people from swimming carefree in the sea, and humming the theme music at the beach is enough to stop quite a few people from even dipping the toes in the water.
When it comes to slasher horror movies, there are many to consider for the top spot, with Friday theThirteenth’s Jason and Elm Street’s Freddie Kruger close contenders. But it is Michael Myers in the 1978 original Halloween that tops the list. Perhaps it was Jamie Lee Curtis’ scream, or Donald Pleasance’s creepy psychiatrist, or the fact that it was directed by a true master of suspense, the one and only John Carpenter. Carpenter’s The Thing and The Fog are two other great scary choices.
Another Steven Spielberg film finishes the list, though this time he was only credited as the producer, though he did cast the movie, direct the actors and do all the storyboards. Toby Hooper was the director though of the classic ghost story, Poltergeist. Starring Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams, this 1982 classic story of a family home haunting remains one of the best ghost horror movies ever made.
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