HALLOWEEN

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

HALLOWEEN SUPERTITIONS

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are often depicted as more fearsome and malevolent, and our customs and superstitions are scarier too. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into cats. We try not to walk under ladders for the same reason. This superstition may have come from the ancient Egyptians, who believed that triangles were sacred; it also may have something to do with the fact that walking under a leaning ladder tends to be fairly unsafe. And around Halloween, especially, we try to avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt.

But what about the Halloween traditions and beliefs that today's trick-or-treaters have forgotten all about? Many of these obsolete rituals focused on the future instead of the past and the living instead of the dead. In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday—with luck, by next Halloween—be married. In 18th-century Ireland, a matchmaking cook might bury a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night, hoping to bring true love to the diner who found it. In Scotland, fortune-tellers recommended that an eligible young woman name a hazelnut for each of her suitors and then toss the nuts into the fireplace. The nut that burned to ashes rather than popping or exploding, the story went, represented the girl's future husband. (In some versions of this legend, confusingly, the opposite was true: The nut that burned away symbolized a love that would not last.) Another tale had it that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband. Young women tossed apple-peels over their shoulders, hoping that the peels would fall on the floor in the shape of their future husbands' initials; tried to learn about their futures by peering at egg yolks floating in a bowl of water; and stood in front of mirrors in darkened rooms, holding candles and looking over their shoulders for their husbands' faces. Other rituals were more competitive. At some Halloween parties, the first guest to find a burr on a chestnut-hunt would be the first to marry; at others, the first successful apple-bobber would be the first down the aisle.

Of course, whether we're asking for romantic advice or trying to avoid seven years of bad luck, each one of these Halloween superstitions relies on the good will of the very same "spirits" whose presence the early Celts felt so keenly.

HISTORY OF JACK THE LANTERN

The Devil, who heard the rumor as black soul, went to check if it was indeed an opponent of this caliber. Disguised as a normal man he came to town and started drinking with him for hours, revealing his identity after seeing that it was indeed a real evil. When Lucifer said he came to take him to pay for his sins, asked Jack one more round together as last will. The Devil gave him leave to go pay but neither had money, so Jack Lucifer challenged to become a coin to pay the round and demonstrate his powers. Satan did, but instead of paying with coin Jack put it in his pocket, where he had a silver crucifix. Unable to get out the Devil ordered the farmer to let him free, but Jack would not return unless he promised not to bother to hell for a year.

After this time, the devil appeared again at Jack's house to take him back to the underworld but Jack asked one last wish, in this case the Devil cogiera an apple placed on the top of a tree in order to have your last meal before their torment. Lucifer agreed, but when he was in the tree Jack carved a cross into the trunk so he could not escape. This time Jack asked not to be disturbed in ten years, plus another condition: that he could never claim his soul to the underworld. Satan agreed and Jack was free of the threat.

His fate was no better: after dying (long before those ten years agreed), Jack was preparing to go to heaven but was stopped at the gates of San Pedro, preventing him over because they could not accept him for his bad past life, being sent to hell. Unfortunately for him there could not accept it because of the treatment he had made with the devil, and he was expelled from his kingdom and sentenced him to wander the roads with a hollow turnip with a burning coal inside and only light to guide his eternal wandering between realms of good and evil. Over time Stingy Jack was known as Jack of the Lantern or "Jack of the Lantern", the name was shortened definitive "Jack O'Lantern." This is the reason for using turnips (and later pumpkins, to be larger and easier to carve) to light the way to the dead on Halloween, and also the reason for decorating homes with these horrendous figures (to prevent Jack called at the door of the house and propose Trick or Treat).

THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Some time ago I made a trip to the forests of Mexico City, we were on the road, when suddenly the car they were traveling my cousin Angela and I stopped for no reason, I had rented and we had secured everything was fine, so we decided to get out of the car and ask for help, and as women who were inexperienced in mechanics, do not even try to fix it, we were afraid of damaging it more than it already was.

We put the two on the side of the road waiting for a car to pass and help us, was about five in the afternoon, and as it was in November and it was getting dark, we begin to feel fear and insecurity, we in open road and alone.

But our luck changed in minutes and my friend Angela managed to stop a car, was a handsome young man, and asked us what we did not know was going to explain exactly the problem I had the car, the young man lifted the hood and looked to see if the car had any damage, but as it was getting dark and we had no flashlight suggested the young:

- Look, I live near here, in a small house, very humble, I live with my grandparents, but gladly offer my house early morning and go to the nearest town and we seek help, and if there is something serious to me I can help you with no obligation .. what say?

Angela and I looked and thought it was worse to stay alone on the road, we accept the proposal of the young.

We hide the car between the trees and headed into the forest to the youth's home, was actually not far from the road, when we entered the house, they were a nice couple of old ladies sitting in a wooden rocking chairs, very quiet, Grandma just smiled at us, we answered the salute and immediately took the young man to what would be our fourth.

At night, Angela and I could not sleep so much noise we heard, we decided to go out to see what was happening, and saw that the girl's room had the light on, and listened as cheering desperately to God for forgiveness repeatedly .. ., but we did not know

why, Angela approached the railing of the stairs and said:

- Look! ...

We were under the two rocking chairs moving as if something or someone was sitting there, rocking, there was no wind or anything that moved, we both looked frightened and ran to lock ourselves in our room, when daylight had neither been sleep. When we left the room there was a dead silence, which so frightened, we were so scared they decided to leave the house and get the car, in the end we would walk not much.

When we got to the car, which would be a surprise, which started at the first, without any fault and we get out of that mysterious place which caused us fear.

We arrived at a restaurant the first people we meet, we were very hungry, a policeman who was sitting near us asked:

- Is that car you outside?

- Yes. - We replied. - Official Why?.

- I thought seeing him on the roadside.

_ Ah yes, what happens is that we were in a house that is near the place, and

our car was stopped and could not start it.

_ Where say they were?

_ In a house that is nearby.

_ The only home that is near there is the of Mr. Sanchez.

- A living with a young man?

- They will say, lived, died long ago grandparents, apparently have the

Young killed them and then killed himself. They found the bodies of grandparents without

life sitting in their chairs and the young hung in his room.

- Can not be official, it may be another family that you tell us, because we were in that house, and there were the grandparents and the young, Grandma

until we smiled and gave us a room young.

- For girls who knows, maybe I'm wrong, may be some other cottage place I do not know, but I think not, this town is very small and I live here since I was born, and believe me, according to me, the only detached house the forest is that, but

to find out for sure, why not go to where you say you stayed overnight?.

We decided to take the officer to the house, maybe because we wanted to listen to his words, actually, we had made a mistake and we would stay quiet.

But when we reached the place, the official said that the house was actually murdered grandparents and the young man who had committed suicide. We believed that the house was no longer the same, when we entered, it was a house totally abandoned, homeless, with cobwebs, there were two single chairs and ceiling of the room of the young, even hung the rope with which he had been hanged.

                        

Creado por:
Daniel Stiven Herrera Vélez
Santiago Herrera Londoño
Juan Felipe Florez

Grado: 902

Institución Educativa San José del Citará