All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween! On this particular day, I thought it would be appropriate to remind everyone how this holiday came to be. Many people associate ghouls, ghosts, and evil spirits with Halloween. However, putting on fun costumes and eating lots of candy were not the intentions of creating this day.  Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, was created to end the Celtic year and welcome in a new one.  The end of the year for the Celtics was the end of summer and the beginning of a harsh winter that would kill their livestock. The Celtics believed that on the night before the New Year, the dividing wall between the living and dead was broken and spirits were released into the living world.

Trick or treating and dressing up also have their own history. To scare off the roaming evil sprits, people would dress up in ridiculous costumes. They thought that making lots of noise and looking “scary” would protect them from possession. Others would ward off the spirits by leaving out food and drinks. They also believed that faeries dressed as beggars and went to houses begging for food. People who gave them food were rewarded, while those who did not help the faeries were punished.

Now that you know the true meaning of Halloween, have fun scaring off those evil spirits and make sure to help those faeries in need!

What earthquake?

The first thing that came to mind when I read about the Cesium levels off the coast of Fukushima was not that I can't eat fish, but instead I thought about when the last time I heard someone talk about the earthquake that struck Japan about eighteen months ago. I honestly cannot remember. When the earthquake first stuck, that was the only thing everyone talked about. People were donating money and spreading the word. Now however, I don't even hear even a hint about the topic. 

Hiroko Tabuchi, in his article, explains that fishand cannot be sold because they are contaminated by radioactive Cesium released by the Fukushima power plant . Scientists are now concluding that radioactive substances are settling at the bottom of the sea and will keep contaminating the seabed for years to come. It saddens me that people in Japan are still suffering from the earthquake and people have lost their passion to continue to help those in need. Last summer, my friend went to Japan and visited a location where the earthquake struck. People there had not eaten meat in weeks and were ecstatic when my friend and his team barbecued for them. Even though the earthquake may seem like a distant memory, it still affects the Japanese as they continue to recover from this devastating tragedy.


Hiroko Tabuci's article