Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2001)
nesday, October 31, 2001 ferrifyin iradltion Halloween thrives after 2,000 years srm was th Mr. Bushonal s to improve the" i America. He is friends and has ■y loyal and del ;aid. ing to the coi iments that he he television Brown, Quaylt chat he meant»i oo. have ares| aising their cli ig to Quayle.hii ,ere misconstru a as an attack ot ers. media has a ponsibility," 1) jwever, I don't! al position that ie to time. The skeptical butu :y. Skepticism: stility and anta; er. I wish the more civil." g questions fe for many students, the day associ Quaylegavebsi d wilh hos , s and lb|ins has ► \i/ar nn ^ ^ in celebrated a.s an annual rite her than a day of historical irit. Yet, behind the pumpkin- [ving and commercializa Halloween's roots lie By Kendra Kingsley THE BATTALION war on terron).: United States for a very’ long lich there migl of success. .vetotmsttheMi ^ , •ult times. folklore and anc ' ent dition. Originating from the OO-year-old, pre-Christian Itic calendar, Halloween — m called Samhain — marked secunty mattets,* ig bipartisan ctr ' Quayle said, i in a norma/&tfe \ ft most celebrated holiday of the Celtic year. ■rtw J e Celts believed that Samhain, which was l o lives" 111 * e ^ ratec ^ ^ ov - ^ an< J marked the beginning of Vt'LnS’ inrlntW nter months, was the time of year that the mi four aren osts t * ie ^ eac * were a * :) ^ e to m i n gle with the vho peppered ia in ^ To kee P such unw elcome guests away, stions followir ^unities sacrificed animals, fruits and vegeta- isand lit bonfires to encourage unearthly visi- d the personals s to continue their journey to the afterworld, d that made him However, the Halloween of modern times is person. Seeincli t exactly an untouched Celtic tradition, ikes me realize tli After Christian missionaries attempted to alter normal guy,” i a g an ” Celtic religious practices, they renamed 'irregla-Garcia, ap Celt’s Nov. 1 holiday to a feast of All Saints as AcfcM Consol 18 honor the church’s saints. All Saints Day. also )o/. known as All Hallows, linguistically transformed [o today’s Oct. 31 celebration of Halloween, ^addition to its foundation, many Halloween iions can be traced to the Celtic heritage. One of the holiday’s most popular traditions, ici-or-treating, originates from the Celts’ in fairies. Believed to have sided with ither God nor Satan, fairies were thought to alkthe earth condemned until judgement day. rghi explained in a world-class lefit is that it alio*: ects that relate toi ts are able to study n Halloween, however, people would imitate they are facing in£|e f a i r ies and go house to house begging for ats — and played practical jokes on house- submit an applied a Graduate ; of recommend® ■ship and a profes r next year’s class! holds that failed to supply an offering. Surviving several decades, trick-or-treating is still a widely-practiced Halloween tradition. Yet, those who feel they have outgrown the cavity- inducing ritual continue to find ways to celebrate the Celtic tradition. Amy Puente, a sophomore kinesiology major, said she and her friends decided to host a costume party in an effort to rekindle the trick-or-treating experience from their childhoods. “For kids, it’s understood that Halloween is about dressing up going out trick-or-treating,” Puente said. “But when you get to a certain age, the anticipation for [Oct. 31] is gone. [My friends and 1[ thought a costume party would be the per fect excuse for people our age to get dressed up again and remember what it’s like to celebrate Halloween again.” Yet the continuation of Halloween rituals and folklore does not end with childhood traditions. exam ple, the legend of werewolf's, the metamorphosis of man into wolf, long has fascinated the public and is thought to have originated from pre-historic Europe where hunters believed wearing wolf hides would allow them to possess the same powers as their predator. Additionally, Lycanthropy — a disorder in which the victim believes he can transform himself into a wolf (tearing open raw meat, howling at the moon and attacking victims in a bloodthirsty rage) — has strengthened an inter est in werewolf folklore. Now commonly associated with Halloween, the topic of werewolfs has been publicized through popular 1980s movies such as The Howling, An American Werewolf in London and Teen Wolf. This crossover from European legend to the silverscreen plays a large role in determining what has kept ancient folklore alive for cen- RUBEN DELUNA • turies. In fact, X the battalion many students opt to experience the terror and thrill associated with Halloween with the flick of a remote. Michelle Bertino, a sophomore business major, said her customary Oct. 31 cel ebration has always included renting scary movies. “Ever since I can remember. I’ve always watched horror films on Halloween,” Bertino said. “My personal favorites are Friday the 13th movies, but I’ll watch anything that will get me in the mood to be really scared.” From frequenting haunted houses to spend ing an evening glued to a scream-worthy movie, many students will experience Oct. 31 as the Celts would have intended — continuing a haunting tradition of otherworldly proportions. O MORE CANDY, ALL GROWN UP Students hang up trick-or-treat bags, create new ways to celebrate Halloween Ca$h vrder your 'CEMENTS iting Nov. 30 lh get you ready s in one week e design miss it - v.aggidandprifitiff’' nembrance Di late Notepads dprinting-cotf 'g c.s. Kd. & Hollein® 5:30 By Bethany Brown THE BATTALION 25 Years HO! ring (lie holidays and exam peK‘ : POSTMASTER: Seni^ i'7843-1111. ersity in the Divisionols^ McDonald Building. Sf* 5 ' 1 1p://www.thebatt.«)iii entbyThe Battalion. Fit ^ ng, call 845-0569. W?! rhrough Friday. Fax: 84$' 3ntto pick up a single® >er school year,MOW] ^isa, MasterCard, Dise ? For many Aggies, Halloween used to mean going door to door essed as a witch, monster or their favorite super hero and asking r a tasty treat. But most Aggies feel they have reached the age at which they ust hang up their trick-or-treat bags and find other forms of enter- inment for Halloween. The problem is, many Aggies are not sure hat activities will be as fun as trick-or-treating used to be and ive trouble deciding what to do on Halloween. Some students will spend Halloween celebrating th their campus organizations. Student organi- itions will host such activities as haunted Rises and costume parties. Mike Hopkins, a iphomore business major, said he plans to tend Aggie Fish Club’s skate-n-date irty this Halloween. “Basically, we all dress up in our cra- est Halloween costumes to look as diculous as possible and then skate ound at Wolf Pen Creek, which we ve rented out for the night of alloween],” Hopkins said. Hopkins said he is excited about his ight of skating and said it will be the per- ct substitute for trick-or-treating. “Halloween is a fun time for everybody get together with their friends and istead of doing the old boring ‘get candy, hich equals get cavity’ we thought we would o something different,” Hopkins said. Everybody out there knows how much fun skat- tg is if all their social misconceptions are gone nd if you add a costume party to top it off, with lots fcandy — you just can’t beat that.” Other students plan to attend some of the events at bars and lubs around town, such as Shadow Canyon’s costume contest or he Blue October show at Hurricane Harry’s. Katie Lewis, a freshman business major, said she is going to the Blue October concert mainly because she just really likes the band. “Blue October is a great band, and I love going to live shows,” Lewis said. According to Lewis, seeing a band is a great way to spend Halloween. She said Halloween is pretty much like any other day to her, and she plans to just kick back and enjoy the music. AMEY BAHN • THE BATTALION “I never really do anything on Halloween, but I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than hanging out with friends and seeing a good band,” Lewis said. James Adams, a senior environmental design major, said he and his roommates will be celebrating Halloween this year by having a costume party. “It’s a good excuse to make the party more fun,” Adams said. “Halloween is a holiday, and if we aren’t going to trick-or-treat, we need to keep some kind of tradition.” Adams said what he likes most about Halloween is that it is an immediate-gratification holiday. “[I get to] eat candy, party and I don’t have to remember anything special that happened on this day,” Adams said. Josh Armstrong, a senior biomedical sci ences major, said he is going to spend his Halloween at home this year. “It’s tough when Halloween is in the middle of the week like it is this year,” Armstrong said. “I want to go out, but I know I have to worry about the tests and homework I have for the rest of the week and it would be hard to have a good time.” Armstrong said he plans to rent scary movies and invite friends over for some laid-back fun. “We decided to get a really scary movie, like The Exorcist, and just hang out here,” Armstrong said. “That way we can still celebrate by doing ‘Halloweeny’ stuff but we don’t have to put a lot of effort into it.” Armstrong also said he gets a lot trick-or- treaters in his neighborhood and that he plans to have a big bowl of candy waiting for them. “It’s kind of fun to see how excited the kids are when they come to my door,” Armstrong said. “I remember how much I use to love to go trick-or-treating and since I’m too old to do it now, it’s nice to still get to experience it in some way.”