Today is the day that some get all fuzzy about....Halloween. But why do we get thusly?
First let's start with the 'why'......
Halloween season is in full swing, with people subjecting themselves to haunted houses, scary movies, and ghoulish costumes. And why? Not to take all the fun out of the festivities, but two researchers in Scientific American have two words to explain this fascination with—and even embrace of—horror: predator inspection. The principle is familiar to researchers in the animal kingdom, and it serves an evolutionary purpose, write Athena Aktipis and Coltan Scrivner. "Morbid curiosity is a powerful way for animals to gain information about the most dangerous things in their environment," they write. "It also gives them an opportunity to practice dealing with scary experiences."
Take a gazelle that encounters a cheetah in the savannah, for instance. If the gazelle had to run each time this happened, it would be "physiologically expensive." The gazelle is better off if it runs only when the cheetah is hunting, and to figure that out, it must fight the instinct to flee and observe its would-be predator to learn things. The broad principle extends to humans: When we expose ourselves to scary situations of the fictional variety, we are on some level preparing to handle real danger. "Today people inspect predators through stories and movies," write Aktipis and Scrivner. Games, too. New ones used by researchers measure "biofeedback" and reward players who stay calm under stressful scenarios. The upshot of all this: "Embrace the Halloween season with abandon—and then bring that same energy to the challenges of the times we're living in now," write the researchers.
Read the full story.
Now that you have a grip on the why we will move on to some historic Halloween.....
Every year during the evening of 31st October, children dress in scary costumes and visit their neighbours declaring 'trick-or-treat', all in the hope of filling their little buckets with sugary goodies.
For many, Halloween is a fun-filled tradition that entertains the little ones, gives us an excuse to decorate our homes with spooky attire and provides an opportunity to enjoy some good old-fashioned pumpkin carving.
Like many of our annual celebrations, modern Halloween is the product of centuries of evolution with roots dating back to Pagan times. Over the years, traditions surrounding Allhallowtide (31st October – 2nd November) have come and gone or evolved into new ones.
One such tradition was 'Souling', the medieval precursor to trick-or-treating, which revolved around the giving of a small round cake in exchange for prayers. The practice remained popular in Britain until the mid-20th century but has now been largely forgotten.
To understand how Souling came to be, we have to go back 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced 'Sow-in'), which was traditionally celebrated on 1st November. Meaning 'summer's end', Samhain represented the changing of the seasons.
https://www.history.co.uk/articles/souling-the-forgotten-halloween-tradition
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This does it for me today....if you celebrate Halloween in any form please be careful....and as always....Be Well and Be Safe.
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"lego ergo scribo"
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