Tackling the gay marriage debate pg. 3
THE COUNTRYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
U P
ent er
C
3000 S.R. 580
TV
Friday, October 30, 2009 - VOLUME 31, Issue 2 www.cnmcountryside.com
History of Horror josieLIND-HAWK
staff writer People everywhere celebrate Halloween in a plethora of different ways, and of course, some don’t celebrate Halloween at all. I am here to expose the truth about the “Hallowday” most of us have come to love. Falling on the 31st of every October, Halloween has become a favorite of children and adolescents who love to dress up as ghouls, warlocks and witches... with the occasional princess. Halloween is a night of trick-or-treating, bonfires, carving pumpkins, parties, and horror films on your favorite television channel. How did Halloween first start? How did it morph into what it is today, and why do we celebrate it? The green face, the large nose with a wart on it, ghouls and ghosts; what’s more appealing than Halloween? Back when Halloween was first introduced, it was frequently called “All Hallows Eve,” due to the fact that Halloween originated in the Catholic Church. November 1st was considered “All Saints Day,” a Catholic holiday in honor of saints. The old story of All Hallows Eve states that on this day, all of the dead spirits from the previous year would return to find a new living body to possess for one more year. Many believed it was the spirit’s only hope of an afterlife.Obviously, nobody wanted to be possessed. They wanted October 31st to be miserable for any spirits wanting to take their bodies, so they’d make their houses cold with fire extinguishers, dress up in ugly disguises and run around their town making loud noises and causing chaos. Another thing that is said is that when there were a lot of hungry, desperate people who lacked a home, the Catholic Church allowed beggars to go “souling,” where they would go door to door asking for food in exchange for a prayer. The prayers were believed to help the already dead spirits gain entrance into Heaven. Of course, over time things get distorted and
newer, more modern versions are created, where we dress up and get handed candy for no real reason. Halloween isn’t all fun and games, though. In 2005, in Delaware, a woman chose to hang herself on Halloween. Many, many people drove past her, thinking it was just an expert Halloween decoration. There have also been many teenagers who have “pretended” to hang
themselves as a prank on Halloween, who ended up accidentally hanging themselves. Many popular television shows have also found a way to cash in on Halloween. Everyone loves a “HallowHorror” every now and then. Almost every seasonal television show, like The Simpsons and Hannah Montana, have aired a Halloween episode each season. Adding a little creep to their series. Opinions vary about which spooky movie is the all-time best. “Even though it’s not particularly a Halloween movie, Psycho is one of my favorites to watch on Halloween,” says senior, Kenneth Marshall. Speaking of Halloween media, children aren’t the only people interested in scary movies. Mothers around the globe love to sit down with their kids and watch things like ‘It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.’ Freshman, Jasmin Rasor, defends the movie, saying, “I have loved that movie ever since I was, like, four.” Halloween is also used as an excuse to invite twohundred of your closest friends to a party, staying out all night in costumes. Junior, Kim Danilla filled us in on her photo credit DevilzMoon & Nicole Bolton
continued on page 4
PAW
PR I
T
Halloween movies reviewed pg. 5
C
N
Howl-O-Scream re-cap pg. 4
www.cnmcountryside.com
di for New Me
a
IN THIS ISSUE...
Clearwater, FL 33761
Why Halloween isn’t so scary rachelLUBITZ
editor As with most historical beginnings, Halloween’s past has been blurred by falsified tales. The beginning of the tradition on October 31 started with the Celtic festival, Samhain. Samhain was the beginning of the harvest season and the day before that was the day where two worlds collided, the living and the dead. Several cultures have come to embrace the idea of two worlds coming together on the last day of October but it is the religious aspect that created a tailspin. When Christianity was trying to dominate the world as we know it, a mixture began to take place. Paganism was practiced through certain parts of southern Europe and when Christianity began to spread, a more influential date was cast. October 31st was supposed to be All Saints Day but with the curious mixture, it became Halloween. The religious aspect sprouted from the start. November 1st was the beginning of harvest and the day before was when the deaths of saints was to be celebrated. Pagans today see Halloween as a day to honor the dead, not as dead people but as living and protecting spirits. The trick or treat origin may have come from Samhain, where the spirits would come to their old houses and the people would try to ward them off with fruits and nuts. The pumpkin was a sign of a dead soul, and were used to frighten off evil spirits in the front of homes. The fear of nocturnal animals was also rooted in religion. People feared that since the animals were most active at night, they could communicate with the dead. Religion has taken a stronghold on the haunted holiday and is still holding on strong. Our most vivid traditions and visions of Halloween are rooted in Celtic and Pagan rituals and ideas. October 31st is not all witches and pumpkins for nothing. Every tradition, ritual, and song may have its past in an ancient life that has since faded away.
Jack brings out the Halloween spirit krystalCASEY
editor-in-chief
Pumpkin season has flourished and many pumpkin patched are popping up in the area. Every year, during the month of October, about eighty percent of pumpkins are supplied in the United States. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word “pepon” which means large melon. “Pepon” became known as pumpkin when the French changed “pepon” to “pompon”. Later the English changed “pompon” to “pumpion.” Finally, the American colonist changed “pumpion” into “pumpkin.” Pumpkins are believed to have originated somewhere in the Americas around 7000 B.C. They are a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers. Pumpkins are about ninety percent water and contain potassium and vitamin A. Not only are pumpkins orange, but they are also white, gray, blue, red and green. The average pumpkin weighs between 5 to 20 pounds. The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,502 pounds.
Today, many pumpkins are used for canned preparations. About 85% are canned, leaving 15% for Jack O’ Lanterns and other uses. Jack-o-lanterns, the symbol of Halloween, are based on
photo credit Scott Beck
an old Irish Legend about Jack, an Irish blacksmith, who loved to play tricks on everyone. One night, Jack crosses paths with the Devil at a Pub. Not wanting to pay for any of his drinks, Jack tricks the Devil by convincing him to turn himself into a coin that he could use to buy their drinks. So the Devil turned himself
into a coin. Instead of buying the drinks, Jack decides to keep the money. He puts it into his pocket next to a silver cross, preventing the Devil from changing back into his original form. Eventually, Jack frees the Devil, with the understanding that the Devil would not bother Jack for one year. After that, if Jack should die, he would not be able to claim his soul. A year later, Jack and the Devil stumble upon each other. Jack, being the mischievous person he is, tricks the Devil into climbing up a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While up in the tree, he carves a cross into its bark, leaving the Devil stranded until promises not to bother Jack for ten more years. Soon after, Jack dies. The Devil, upset by the tricks Jack had played on him, kept his word, and did not claim his soul. He sends Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack puts the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” or as many know it to be, “Jack O’Lantern.” Many of the Irish and Scottish people began making their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away the wandering evil spirits.