October 31, 2004
The History of Hallow'een
I knew about the Celtic origins of Hallow'een but there is another ancient holiday that has lent many traditions to our modern Halloween celebration; Pamona. Following the Roman invasion of the Celts, the Roman festivals of Feralia and Pamona were incorporated into the Celtic celebration of Samhain.
Over the ages Christian influences tried to get rid of this festival, as well as all things pagan. Church zealots hunted down witches in the 1400's but the holiday was too popular to abolish and persisted to cross the ocean and land in America.
Here the Protestants who has abolished all things related the the rest of the Christian traditions focused on the Salem witch trials but in Virginia where there was a Catholic influence, it was the birthplace of Halloween in America.
Halloween's biggest boost was the large swell of Irish immigrants in the 1800's and in the early 1900's it became a children's holiday in the United States. And the tradition of pranks caused new problems.
Here are some fun facts:
Anoka, Minnesta calls itself the Halloween Capital of the World.
New York City hosted the 31st Annual Halloween Parade.
What's next? Catapulting pumpkins?
Posted by photocartoonist at 9:43 PM
October 30, 2004
Hallow Weenies
Give us something Good to Eat
The history of Halloween is fascinating, particularly its Christian connection. The origins of this holiday lie with the ancient Celtic tribes. According to AmericanCatholic.org, "For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead."
Pope Gregory IV, made November 1st the celebration of all the martyrs, which became known later as All Saints Day. The night before became known as "All Hallow's Even" or Holy Evening. Eventually the name was shortened to Hallow'een.
The Sacrificial Pumpkin
Again the history of this tradition can be traced back to the Celts. PumpkinCarving101.com states "On this magical night, glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set on porches and in windows to welcome deceased loved ones, but also to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles."
The Irish brought this tradition to the new world and found that the pumpkin was perfect for the jack-o-lantern. According to an old Irish legend a man named Stingy Jack who was too mean to get into heaven and had played too many tricks on the devil to go to hell. When he died, he had to walk the earth, carrying a lantern made out of a turnip with a burning coal inside. Stingy jack became known as "Jack of the Lantern," or "Jack-o'-lantern".
The Frankenstein Files
A new Halloween music CD for children has been released by Neeka records. It is reminiscient of those good old scary horror flicks; campy and catchy. Check it out!
Posted by photocartoonist at 7:17 PM
October 27, 2004
The Scariest Time of the Year
Ghouls and monsters...And I don't mean Halloween!
Halloween, The Days of the Dead, and Election Day; is it just a coincidence that these all come together? As the US election threatens boldly, it gets scarier and scarier. I imagine troops of trick-or-treaters all wearing Dick Cheney masks ringing my bell. Talk about terrorism!
Is it just me or has John Kerry already started wearing his Halloween mask? The man has definitely done something to his face and this does NOT instill confidence in this one voter. But alas vote I must and vote I shall...maybe if they gave candy out at the voting booths it would somehow all pay off.
Posted by photocartoonist at 8:32 AM
October 22, 2004
Don't Fight for Peace
Don't Fight...for peace
"You don't FIGHT FOR peace," a wise man once said, " You DON'T FIGHT for peace." Interesting words; interesting concept. Peace. Is peace even possible?
Posted by photocartoonist at 2:29 PM | Comments (2)
October 18, 2004
What are they thinking?
Today I was talking to someone I really respect and they told me that they are going to vote for George Bush...because they are a Republican. Well that is not really a reason to vote for George Bush in my opinion, but okay. They added that they don't like John Kerry. And in my opinion that's not really a reason not to vote for John Kerry!
Help!
Posted by photocartoonist at 10:03 PM
October 15, 2004
Sweets for the Sweetest
Does Sending Love Really Need a Reason?
Happy Sweetest Day!
Celebrated the third Saturday in October every year, Sweetest Day originated in Cleveland, Ohio in 1922. Another holiday originated in the Midwest! Herbert Birch Kingston wanted to bring some happiness into the lives of those who were forgotten. With the help of friends, he began to distribute candy and small gifts to orphans and shut-ins.
Sweetest Day has developed into a day to celebrate romantic love too and it still is a big holiday in the Midwest and parts of the Northeast in the United States.
Posted by photocartoonist at 10:09 PM
October 14, 2004
National Bosses Day October 16th
This year Bosses Day falls on a Saturday, so it is celebrated today, Friday October 15. It was started in 1958 in Illinois. It seems like the US Midwest is the center of the greeting card universe. I'm from the Midwest and I'm ready to celebrate any and all holidays.
I think you will enjoy the little animations my studio produced in honor of the hard working bosses we want to celebrate with today.
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:40 PM
October 10, 2004
We need a Little Christmas right this Very Minute
We need a little Christmas NOW
I was surprised to discover that my holiday site, Christmas Kookies was already seeing an increase in traffic over the past two weeks. I am deep into holiday production and worried as I found out today that I only have 75 days left until Christmas!
Year round I surround myself with Christmas ornaments and paper Christmas cards. It is my inspiration. It was Christmas cards that got me into greeting cards in the first place.
I'll never forget selling Christmas cards for my Catholic school and when I was 8 years old I was attacked by Diane Cassada, who sat on me on the church steps and took my Christmas cards. Diane, wherever you are, thank you! You made Christmas cards important to me!
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:47 PM
October 5, 2004
Everything I Need to Know I learned from My Cat
Watching the vice-presidential debates tonight reminded me of this photocartoon and I pondered, "What if cats ran the world?"
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:45 PM
October 2, 2004
It's going to be one of those days!
I woke up today and said to myself, "Self, it's going to be one of those days." Oh you know 'em. A day after one of those weeks, when you are just a bit too tired to be rested from sleeping in late. Saturday is sometimes just not enough reason to relax.
September was just one of those months. The Season is upon us and I mean THE season; Christmas. Now that I am working on e-cards as well as paper greeting cards I am hit by each holiday at least twice; three time if you count the actual holiday!
Add to this the effects of the business of bringing JOY in people's lives, and well sometimes a gal just needs a rest. I spent the week dealing with contracts and agreements (and disagreements) and no matter how much my attorneys explained the "realities" to me I found myself just wishing that people really understood what I got to go through to make the best greeting cards!
Anyway this is not a time for laying down on the job. I am working on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and I've added Durga Puja, Navaratri, and Boss' Day to October's MUST SEE greeting cards. We got Halloween to finish too and then there's Hanukkah and Christmas and Kwanzaa and New Year coming fast.
I think there should be a day when we celebrate the greeting card designers. I think that day should be today.
Posted by photocartoonist at 3:07 PM
October 1, 2004
Testing Testing...
Is anybody out there?
Posted by photocartoonist at 9:22 PM