How Halloween Was Created - By: Joseph Dempsey

Seeing as today is Halloween and in class we have been writing about the origin of specific traditions, I figured I would connect the two.

Believe it or not, the genesis of Halloween took place nearly 2000 years ago in Ireland. On November 1st, the Celtics celebrated a holiday known as "Samhain" (Sow-In). This day would be named by the church as "All Hallows Day", a day for honoring the Saints.However, the night before (modern day Halloween) the Celtics believed that the dead became ghosts. Because of this, the people would leave food and wine on their doorsteps in order to keep the ghost away. People would also wear a mask to trick the ghosts into thinking the person was one of them when they left the house. This day would be named "All Hallows Eve". The names "All Hallows Day" and "All Hallows Eve" would form the name "Halloween". However, the tradition of trick or treating did not originate from Ireland, but from Medieval England. In an act called guising, kids would dress up and go to peoples houses and sing, tell jokes, and recite poetry in exchange for money and or food. However, it wasn't until the early 19th century when Scottish and Irish immigrants to North America revived these traditions, that trick or treating actually became a thing. Although, up until 1950, it was more tricks than treats.

Here are a website and a video that has more information on the origin of Halloween and also where I got most of this information.
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween 
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-halloween

The Value Behind Creation Myths: By Briana Cotten

A creation myth is a symbolic narrative based on the creation of the world. These myths reveal how people of past cultures see the world and try to understand it. In today’s society, we value creation myths as a means of learning about different cultures which overall affects a person’s frame of reference. Myths influence the way people perceive the world, allowing one to draw their own conclusion explaining how the world came to be.

    While many creation myths are drastically divergent, there are a few common characteristics shared between them all. To start, a Supreme Being appears in almost every myth. The Supreme Being either creates the world them self and/or is the catalyst to trigger the events. In addition, one should be able to connect each creation myth to at least one of Joseph Campbell’s four functions of a myth principles. Campbell’s four functions of a myth are…

1. Mystical:  to instill a sense of awe toward the mystery of the universe
2. Cosmological:  to explain the workings of the natural world
3. Sociological:  to support and validate social customs
4. Pedagogical:  to guide people through the trials of living

      Overall, it is human nature to question the unknown and search for meaning and answers. By conducting research on the given creation myth of a culture, one can learn a lot of information. In today’s world, creation myths are still forming and evolving based upon scientific theories and laws.