~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
October 31, 2011

★~ Today’s Quote: “Ponder the future, review the past, and enjoy the moment. Separately, of course.”  @William

★~ Happy Hallowe’en:

Today is Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, the time of the wandering dead. It’s also a time for the young and the not-so-young to dress in outlandish attire and go door to door begging for candy.

★~ Samhain:

To the ancient Celts, the year had two “hinges”: Beltaine (the first of May) and Samhain (the first of November), which is also the traditional Celtic New Year. And these two days were the most magical, and often frightening, times of the whole year.

The Celtic people were in superstitious awe of times and places “in between.” Holy sites were any border places. During Samhain (which corresponds to our modern Hallowe’en), time lost all meaning and the past, present, and future were one. The dead, and the denizens of the Other World walked among the living. It was a time of fairies, ghosts, demons, and witches. Winter itself was the Season of Ghosts, and Samhain is the night of their release from the Underworld. Many people lit bonfires to keep the evil spirits at bay. Often a torch was lit and carried around the boundaries of the home and farm to protect the property and residents against the spirits throughout the winter.

Many Irish and Scottish Celts appeased their dead with a traditional Dumb Supper. On Samhain Eve, supper was served in absolute silence, and one place was set at the head of the table “for the ancestors.” This place was served food and drink without looking directly at the seat, for to see the dead would bring misfortune. Afterwards, the untouched plate and cup were taken outside “for the pookas” and left in the woods. In other traditions, this is the night to remember, honor, and toast our beloved departed, for the veil between the living and the dead is thin, and communication is possible on Samhain Eve.

★~Candy/Carmel Apple Day:

Sweet and crunchy, and a delightful treat to make and enjoy on Hallowe’en.

★~ Today in History

♥~ 1955 – Princess Margaret (Rose) of England announced that she would not be marrying her love, Captain Peter Townsend. The entire world had been waiting for weeks, speculating about whether the sister of the Queen would marry a commoner.

♥~ 1964 – The Supremes Baby Love was the number one single (for four weeks), while Barbra Streisand’s People was #1 on U.S. album charts (for five weeks).

♥~ 1992 – Pope John Paul II acknowledged that the church had erred in condemning Galileo Galilei, and the Roman Catholic church rehabilitated him after 359 years. Galileo had been imprisoned by the Holy Office during the Inquisition, and was forced to recant his heretical views that the earth and planets revolve around the Sun.

♥~ 2009 – Italian police arrested one of the most wanted mafia fugitives after tearing down a wall in an early-morning raid near Naples. Salvatore Russo, head of a Camorra clan carrying his name, had been sentenced to life in prison for homicide and links to organized crime and had been on the run since 1995.

★~Born Today:

♥~ @William – El Morno friends please raise your cuppa and wish our friend William (AKA Aragorn, son of Arathorn) a Howling Happy Birthday. It’s always a good El Morno when William greets us with a Yawwwwn before he goes forth to do his daily ablutions. William shares sports scores, tidbits of trivia (“Sicilians love their donkeys”; “Because of the Erie Canal, cities on the Great Lakes like Duluth and Chicago can be reached by water all the way from the Atlantic Ocean”; “Possums have sharp teeth and beady eyes.”), and let’s not forget all those great movie quotes he shares (“La sangre es la vida!!!!” — Dracula; “Yeah, you might get off the first three shots, Bob, before I got that one into you.” — One Eyed Jacks). Today, William, we hope that Zuck rises to the occasion and gives you a full-size Health Bar! Happy Birthday!

♥~ 1795 – John Keats poet: On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, Endymion: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”, On a Grecian Urn, To a Nightingale, On Melancholy, To Autumn; died Feb 23, 1821

♥~ 1920 – Dick Francis author: Decider, Break-In, Proof, Forfeit, Whip Hand; died Feb 14, 2010

♥~ 1931 – Dan (Irvin) Rather Jr. Emmy Award-winning news correspondent: CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite: The Watergate Affair [1972-73], The Agnew Resignation[10/10/73]; The CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours; HDNet: Dan Rather Reports

♥~ 1936 – Michael Landon (Eugene Orowitz)actor: Bonanza, Sam’s Son, The Loneliest Runner, I was a Teenage Werewolf, God’s Little Acre; actor, writer, producer, director: Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven; screen play writer, director: Sam’s Son, Killing Stone; Television Hall of Famer [1996]; died July 1, 1991

♥~ 1950 – John (Franklin) Candy comedian, actor: Second City, The Blues Brothers, Home Alone, JFK, Little Shop of Horrors, National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1941, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Spaceballs, Splash, Stripes, Uncle Buck, Who’s Harry Crumb?; Emmy Award-winning writer: SCTV Network: The Energy Ball/Sweeps Week [1982-83]; died Mar 4, 1994

♥~ 1950 – Jane Pauley TV host: Today, Real Life with Jane Pauley; news anchor: NBC Weekend News, Dateline NBC; married to cartoonist, Gary Trudeau

♥~ 1961 – Larry Mullen Jr. Grammy Award-winning musician: drums: LP: The Joshua Tree; group: U2: Another Day, Stories for Boys, I Will Follow, New Year’s Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday, With You or Without You

♥~ 1961– Peter Jackson- Director, Producer, Screenwriter, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy, producer/co-writer/director of ‘King Kong, producer ‘District 9,’  three-time Academy Award winner.

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ The correct spelling of Halloween is actually Hallowe’en

♥~ The tradition of wearing masks on Hallowe’en comes from Welsh and Celtic traditions that claim the dead visit the living on October 31st (eve)

♥~ In 1964 Helen Pfeil of Greenlawn NY was arrested for handling out arsenic laced treats as a prank on teens she deemed to old for trick of treating.

♥~ Bobbing for Apples started with a Roman harvest festival honoring Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

♥~ Orange and Black are traditional Hallowe’en Colors: Orange represents the fall harvest. Black represents the darkness.

♥~ If you see a spider on Hallowe’en, it is said to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.

♥~ Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States

♥~  The most popular Hallowe’en candy (2010) Resee’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, M&M’s, Pop Rock, Kit Kat

♥~ About 99% of all Pumpkins sold are used as Jack o’ Lanterns for Hallowe’en

♥~ Before the stroke of midnight, sit in front of a mirror  in a quiet room lit by only one candle or the moon. Silently ask a question. Cut an apple in 9 pieces, with your back to the mirror eat eight of the pieces, then throw the ninth over your left shoulder, and you will see an image or symbol in the mirror that will give you your answer. When you look into the mirror let your focus go soft and allow the pattens of the moon or candle suggest forms, symbols and other dream like images that speak to your intuition.

#

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?
Ben.
Ben who?
Ben waiting for Halloween all year!

Happy Hallowe’en! How will you celebrate? I plan to make apple cider donuts, followed by carmel apples, followed by grazing through the candy bowl, all day long. Since it is the eve of the Day of the Dead – Samhain tradition suggests that we fix the favorite foods of our dearly departed one’s, so Cole and I will dine on enchiladas for dinner. If Joe is in the neighborhood, we hope he stops by 🙂 we will keep the Jack-o-lantern lite burning all night.

If you have a morno moment share your Halloween plans….Odd Loves Company.

♥
Kb