The Mustang - Galena Park ISD

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Mustang Rundown
“Where Mustangs Get Their News”
Vol. 2 ISSue 1
Fall 2007
Students Gather in Memory of James Brown
By: Samantha Acevedo, Editor-in-Chief
On September 27,
2006, North Shore
Middle lost a beloved
student and football
player. James Brown
was not only a student,
but a role model to
some.
On Thursday, September 27, 2007, the
Mustang family, and the
family and friends of
James Brown gathered
for the opening of his
memorial on the James
Brown Nature Trail. It
was the one year anniversary of James’ death.
The opening of the
James Brown Memorial started off with a
few words and special
thanks to everyone
that showed up from
Mr. Drexler. The choir
sang the Star Spangled
Banner and the NSMS
Band played in the
background.
The memorial opening continued with
a speech by Jacory
McQueen on behalf
of the football players.
Jacory said it felt good
to speak on behalf of
the football players, “I
was doing a good thing
for a true friend.”
After the speech
about James and how
much he inspired all of
the students to read, Mr.
Craig Eicchorn, Director
of Communications for
GPISD, uncovered the
memorial for Mr. and
Mrs. Brown to view.
Mr. Brown then talked
about what kind of
person James was and
how sometimes James
made it look like he was
the adult in the family
and not his dad. Mr.
Brown also talked about
how a few times James
would tell his parents
everything would be
all right if anything bad
happened, and that
made Mr. Brown feel like
James was turning into
the adult of the family.
Mr. Brown continued
to talk to all of the
students and how they
should live life to the
fullest just like James
and should live “The
Mustang Way” every
day not just at school.
Mr. Brown went on to
say that James changed
people’s life, especially
Inside
SPoRTS
NeWS
oPINIoN
Freedom Week
To Fit in Or Not?
NSMS Celebrates our heroes
and our freedom during their
annual week-long event.
his family and friends.
While listening to the
words of Mr. Brown,
every student and
faculty member tried to
stand strong, but some
people could not take
it anymore and shed
some tears.
If you looked around
you would see just
about every student and
faculty member there
crying, but what is the
matter with sharing a
few tears for memories.
With the memorial
coming to an end, Mr.
Drexler introduced
Superintendent Mark
Henry and he closed the
memorial with a prayer.
James set a very
good example on how
you should act at school
as a student and an
athlete.
Everyone that comes
to North Shore Middle
School should act as
James did, live life to
the fullest and live “The
Mustang Way!!”
Examine the issue facing
teens today: Peer pressure
versus
being
yourself!
Lady
Serve
Mustangs
It
Up
Your
Lady
Mustangs
take on their opponents
to start the season off.
James
Brown,
Sr.,
Sharon
Brown,
and
Jasmine
Brown stand in front of the newly dedicated James
Brown memorial during an early morning ceremony.
Mr. Brown was speaking to the crowd about his son.
The eighth grade football team lines up to pay their respects to their fallen teammate, James. All eighth grade
athletes wore their jerseys for the memorial service.
#82
Eighth grade footbal quarterback, Jacorey McQueen,
speaks about James on behalf of the football players
during the moving memorial service to dedicate the
James Brown Memorial Trail.
Where to look
FeaTuReS
Be
A
Member!
Read about the club life
that is available here
at North Shore Middle.
Home of Champions • Galena Park ISD • Please Recycle!
NeWS
PG. 2
oPINIoN
PG. 3
SPoRTS
PG. 4
eNTeRTaINMeNT
PG. 5
FeaTuReS
PG. 6
2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.907(a), Education Code, is amended to read as
follows: (a) To educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in
the founding of this country and the values on which this country was
founded, the week in which September 17 falls is designated as Celebrate
Freedom Week in public schools.
The Mustang Rundown Fall 2007 • News
News
North Shore Middle Faculty
Experiences 30-person Growth
By: Samantha Acevedo, Editor-in-Chief
Students weren’t
the only ones that
started this school
year off with a bang,
several of our teachers did too.
Many of our new
teachers have been
at school since the
beginning of August
while we were still on
vacation!
There are a lot of
new faces here on
campus. Many new
teachers who came
from different schools,
some that are from
Ohio and a few that
are brand new to
teaching. Thirty to be
exact…that is a lot of
new teachers to get
to know.
About four fifths of
our new faculty came
from our district,
others came from
various high schools.
Just about one third
of are faculty were
brought here for
additional support
because we have a
huge amount of students.
“We have hired an
awesome group of
young, dedicated,
professional, hard
working, and learning-centered teachers
who are striving to
guarantee that every
student at the Home
of the Champions
learns,” said Mr.
Drexler. Some of
the new teachers
are: Ms. Badrock
(Reading), Ms. Beard
(Math), Ms. Burns
(Resource), Ms. Burwell (English), Ms.
Cabang (Science) ,
Ms. Cadoree (Science), Ms. DuPlaga
(Science), Ms. Elliot
(Math), Ms. Garcia
(Reading), Ms. Harris
(Math), Mr. Johnson
(Math), Ms. Polevacik
(Science), Ms. Parrott
(Social Studies), Ms.
Hauerland (English),
Ms. Shields (Math),
Ms. Ranara (Math),
Ms. Martinez (Art),
Coach Wallace, Ms.
Ybarra (Reading),
and Coach Harris.
Coach Harris says
this is his first time
teaching, he loves it
here at NSMS and
the kids and faculty
are wonderful.
North Shore Celebrates Freedom Week
By: Mary Lucas,
News Section
North Shore
Middle participated
in Freedom Week
which was held
during the week
of September 17
through the 21st.
Students were
given a chance
to bring pictures
of any member of
their families that
have served our
nation in the past
or who is now serving in the military to
Ms. Cotton in the
assistant principal’s
office.
These pictures
were displayed on
the Honor Wall in
the cafeteria. North
Shore teachers and
staff were very prepared for Freedom
Week.
They hung up
banners, made
signs, and there
were messages on
the announcements.
We celebrate Freedom Week because
of House Bill no. 708
was passed by the
state Congress. The
bill was introduced
to educate students
about the sacrifices
made for freedom in
the founding of our
country.
“Freedom Week
is very important
because we should
honor those who
fought for us and for
our country,” said
Ms. Cotton. “There
will mainly be a lot
of reflection and
recognition throughout that week and
I hope students
will bring pictures
because they would
want that certain
member to get honored as well,” she
said.
The Mustang Rundown
North Shore Middle School
120 Castlegory • Houston, TX 77015 • 832-386-2600
2007-2008 Mustang Rundown Newspaper Staff
The Mustang Rundown is published by the journalism students at
North Shore MS. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the student
writers and are not necessarily the opinions of the Galena Park ISD.
Letters to the editor are welcomed and will be published on a space
available basis. Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity.
Editor-in-Chief..........................................Samantha Acevedo
News Section...................Maria Hernandez and Mary Lucas
Features Section.......................Nikki Diaz and Yesenia Trejo
Opinion Section.........Christie Green and Gabriela Guzman
Sports Section............Brandon Mitchell, Kaylen Sennette, &
Sierra Green
Entertainment Section.......Melisa Espinosa and Cindy Ventura
Circulation Mangager.......................................Christie Green
Adviser.....................................................................Mr. Burke
North Shore Middle School • Galena Park ISD • The Mustang Rundown
thing
Got Some
t o SAY?
Opinion
The
Real
Deal Stay
Behind Peer Pressure
By: Christie Green,
Opinion Section
One of the most
common problems
with students is
trying to fit in. Most
teens skip classes,
dress a certain way,
or get bullied just fit
in. Fitting in can be
hard, but most of the
people you want to
fit in with are doing
bad deeds that can
hurt themselves or
the community and
treating people with
disrespect.
Many teens get into
serious trouble by
going along with the
“in crowd”. If you’re
having trouble fitting
in, just be yourself,
because it’s better
than being something
you’re not. Many
teens who try to fit
in come into peer
pressure because
of friends who have
a bad influence on
them. Ms. London,
our school counselor
says that if you can’t
fit in don’t, just be
yourself. Take time
and think, are you a
people pleaser? Do
you care what people
say about you? If you
are, you’re most likely
to fall into peer pressure.
Many teens are
afraid to be themselves, because of
what other teens
might think. Some
teens go with the
in crowd, because
they’re afraid their
friends will desert
them. Peer pressure
is always based on
fear. Once you realize
that, you can stand
boldly against it.
What are you afraid
of? Loneliness? Bullying? Humiliation?
Think to yourself for
a moment; if I refuse
to go against what I
know is right, what is
the worst thing that
can happen? Could
I live with that? Most
bullies mock you or
reject you for doing
what’s right. Is that
really so terrible? Are
these social predators so wonderful and
important to you that
their opinion really
matters?
The best defense
against peer pressure is choosing
your friends wisely.
There are two kinds
of peer pressure:
there’s positive peer
pressure and there’s
negative peer pressure. Positive peer
pressure is when you
have friends who lead
you to greatness and
there’s negative peer
pressure, when you
have friends who only
drag you into trouble,
which one will you
choose? Being in the
popular group is cool
and all, but the best
way to being the most
popular teen I know is
BEING YOU!
3
The Mustang Rundown • Fall 2007 • Opinion
in
By: Gabriela Guzman,
Opinion Section
Nowadays, lots
of teens all over the
world are pressured
to look like celebrities on TV because
they hear people
talking about how
great they look.
What those teens
do not know is that
most of these celebrities have personal
trainers and healthy
diets. Not realizing
that teens look up to
them, some female
celebrities practically
starve themselves
to be slim so teens
think it’s okay to
starve.
The most important part of healthy
eating is that you
have to know the
right amount of
food to eat. I did
some research on
the internet about
healthy eating and
I found a website
called Health Guidance. It reported that
everyone should eat
three healthy meals
per day. It also said
the average female
teenager should
Shape:
Eat
take in about 2,200
calories and teenage
males about 2,800
calories a day.
When teens want to
slim down, they think
they can lose weight
by skipping meals or
going on dangerous
crash diets. Those
things do make you
lose weight, but it
also slows down
your metabolism and
makes you put on
weight more quickly.
When teens notice
they are losing
weight they can
get obsessed and
become bulimic or
anorexic. Both of
those things are so
dangerous that they
can cause illnesses
or even death. For
Healthy!
those teens who eat
too much, you should
try eating three
small healthy meals
throughout the day to
make your metabolism work more
quickly. If overweight
teens do not change
their eating habits,
it can cause them
to become severely
overweight or obese.
I hope this information inspires teens
to change their bad
eating habits to good
ones. I want everyone to live a long
and happy life. Get
healthy, everyone!
For more information
on healthy eating,
check out www.
healthguidance.org.
Responding to an article:
Please send us your comments about The Mustang Rundown. We enjoy reading
your opinions and comments. Drop your letters off in Mr. Burke’s room (A103).
When writing letters to the Editor, please print your name and grade so we can
publish them. Our newspaper appreciates your comments and concerns and hopes that
you write respectfully. Please remember that letters submitted will be edited for content
and brevity.
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The Mustang Rundown Fall 2007 • Sports
Sports
NSMS vs Horace Mann
8th A 38-13 8th B 34-0
7th A 32-6 7th B 6-0
NSMS vs Gentry
8th A 24-0 8th B 0-14
7th A 0-24 7th B 12-6
SCORES
Seventh Grade Athletes
Begin Volleyball Season
Eighth Grade Lady Mustangs V o l l e y b a l l
Start Up 2007-2008 Season Players Honor
By: Sierra Green, 7th
Grade Sports
By: Kaylen Sennette, Sports Section
On Thursday,
September 6, 2007,
our 2007-2008
seventh grade volleyball team played
their first scrimmage
against Cunningham,
Woodland Acres, and
Galena Park in the
boys’ gym.
On the day of the
scrimmage, our Lady
Mustangs had so
many feelings inside,
but the dominating
emotion was excitement.
“We were nervous
and excited but overall I think we played
well for our first
game,” said Alexis
Allen.
The ladies had an
encouraging speech
from the coaches
before the first game
and it showed in the
way they played.
After coming out
of a well-played
scrimmage, the Lady
Mustangs charged
forward to get ready
for the first game
of the season. On
Teachers
Thursday, September
13, 2007, a week
after the ladies played
their scrimmage, the
newly formed white
team played Woodland Acres in the girls’
gym. “The scrimmage
prepared us for the
real game,” said
Josafe Allen.
The seventh grade
white team played
extremely well as
North Shore beat
Woodland Acres
by two points in
the last game. The
scores were (7-25,
25-17, 17-15). The
seventh grade red
team played remarkably well against
Woodland Acres. The
scores were (8-25,
30-29, 18-16).
“We played very
well together,” said
Alexis Allen. North
Shore won against
Woodland Acres by
two points in the last
game. What a start
for the new season:
victory for our North
Shore seventh grade
teams!
The eighth grade volleyball team had a
scrimmage on Thursday, September 6, 2007,
here at North Shore Middle School against
Woodland Acres, Galena Park, and our rivals,
the Cunningham Wildcats.
This scrimmage helps the coaches recognize the girls’ skills can and determine if
they’re going to be on A team or B team. The
next week, Thursday, September 13, 2007,
the girls had their first game of the season at
Woodland Acres.
“Both red team and white team dominated
Woodland Acres with bump, set, spike!” said
Coach Wait! The red and white team came up
short, but they did well for their first game of
the season.
The red team’s first match became a series
of ties going back and forth, but, sadly, Woodland Acres won 25-15. During the second
match, the girls had the ball rocketing over the
net. Toure Hopkins had the Woodland Acres A
team scrambling for the ball with her forceful
serves, but, unfortunately, Woodland Acres
won 25-20.
The white team’s first match was also very
exciting. Andria Martinez had Woodland
Acres B team running for the ball with her
hard serves. The North Shore defense didn’t
have it together, and they lost 16-26. During
the second match the girls had the ball soaring over the net with bump, set, spike which
racked up us tons of points, but they came up
short and the final score was 19-25. Keep on
trying Lady Mustangs, we’ll get them next time!
Krystal Nevarez of the eighth grade white team sets the ball
up for her teammates during a home game against Gentry.
Seventh grader, Dulce Garcia, sets up the ball while
Coach Wallace yells her
approval during a home
game versus Galena Park.
photos courtesy of NSMS Yearbook
North Shore Middle School • Galena Park ISD • The Mustang Rundown
On Sept. 27, 2007,
members of the
eighth grade volleyball team recognized
the following teachers
during their annual
Teacher Appreciation night before their
game against Gentry.
The following teachers were honored by
their students:
Mrs. Alston by
Timisha Smith and
Alyssa Solis; Mr.
Nickelson by Kierra
Cossio and Kristin
Boden; Ms. Farley by
Jacqueline Cadena,
Mariah Carroll, and
Kiara Dawkins; Mrs.
Neeb by Vianey
Aguirre and Ashley
Rubio; Ms. Ranara
by Claudette Gaona;
Ms. Burwell by Alexis
Padilla; Ms. Beard by
Cara Alonzo; Ms. So
by McKenzie Ratcliff;
Mrs. Raibon by Alexandria Bailey; Mrs.
Faltisek by Maricssa
Rogel; Mrs. McMiller
by Krystal Nevarez;
Ms. Badrock by Toure
Hopkins; Mr. Banks
by Erin Hill; Ms. Flannel by Kaylen Sennette; Ms. Polevacik
by Chanel Taylor; Ms.
O’Donovan by Lenora
Peters; and Ms.
Cadoree by Brashae
Adams. Congratulations to all!
5
The Mustang Rundown • Fall 2007 • Entertainment
Entertainment
The Funny Guys Are
Back To Battle Crime!
By: Melisa Espinosa,
Entertainment Section
Jackie Chan and
Chris Tucker are back
starring in they’re new
release “Rush Hour
3”, which co-stars
Max Von Sydow,
Noemi Lenoir, and
Hiroyuki Sanada.
Rush Hour 3 premiered on August 10,
2007.
Los Angeles Police
detective Inspector
Lee played by Jackie
Chan and detective
Carter
played
by Chris
Tucker are
back and
even funnier than
ever.
Once
again they
go to find
trouble,
only this
time they book a
flight to “The City of
Lights.” They travel
to Paris to protect the
Triad’s family, after
the attempted murder
on the Ambassador.
Tucker and Chan get
into trouble with the
French police just as
they are getting off
the plane and stepping for the first time
in Paris.
They also have
to find the French
woman who has great
knowledge of the
triad’s family’s secret.
It’s their job to protect
her from a world of
criminals.
“It deserves 5 stars.
It was hilarious, especially when they both
sang,” said seventh
grader Crystal Gonzales. In order to save
the French woman,
Lee and Tucker had
to sing with her on
stage because there
were bad guys in the
audience who wanted
to kill her.
After a long fight
between the detectives and
the “bad
guys” they
ended the
battle when
Inspector
Lee had
to risk his
brother’s
life in order
to save
the French
woman’s
life, and once again,
they saved the day.
”It was fun and a
good comedy” said
seventh grader Leo
Martinez.
The DVD wll be
released on December 26, 2007, if you
haven’t seen the
movie yet. Check it
out!
Expect the Unexpected
from Beyonce Knowles
By: Cindy Ventura, Features Section
Beyonce Knowles has re-released her album “B-Day” with a new
twist- it’s in Spanish! Her CD, “Ireemplazable,” is known as the Spanish version of Irreplaceable. It was released on August 28, 2007 and
the Spanish eight-track disc is very popular.
It has sold more than 4.5 million copies! My favorite song on the
disc was ‘Ireeplazable’. “I love the lyrics!” exclaimed Noemi Serrano.
“It sounded really good!” said Michelle Molinar. “I love the way she
goes with the flow!” said Magan Ancar.
The CD contains three different versions and languages of ‘Beautiful Liar’: one is in Spanish, one is in English, and one is mixed. Other
songs on the album are ‘Amor Gitano’ which is her duet with Alejandro Fernandez and her hit song from Dreamgirls ‘Oye’ (Listen).
The twenty-five year old states that she
worked really hard on this album. It took
her a long time to finish all the recordings,
but towards the end, everyone could see
that it all paid off.
She says that she might make a whole
new Spanish album, but first she wanted
to see how people would react to her
singing in Spanish. I enjoyed her CD and I
hope that you will, too. Check it out!
photo courtesy of Google
Coming Soon
M O V I E S B
Bee Movie
Nov 2
Enchanted
Nov 21
The Golden Compass
Dec 7
National Treasure:
Book of Secrets Dec
21
Alien vs Predator:
Requiem
Dec 21
O
O
S
C D / D V D S
Eclipse (Twilight:
Book 3) by Stephanie
Meyer
Extras (Uglies Trilogy) by Scott Westerfeld
Snakehead (Alex
Rider) by Antony
Horowitz
The Book Thief by
Markus Zusak
What the Dickens:
The Story of a
Rogue Tooth Fairy
by Gregory Maguire
Graduation: Kanye
West
Carnival Ride: Carrie
Underwood - Oct 23
La Vida...Es Un Ratico:
Juanes - Oct 9
As I Am: Alicia Keys Nov 13
Home of Champions • Galena Park ISD • Please Recycle!
K
Transformers: Oct 16
Spiderman 3: Oct 30
Ratatouille: Nov 6
Shrek the Third: Nov
13
Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End:
Nov 20
6
We hope you’ve enjoyed the first issue
of the 2007-2008 school year. Please
take the time to recycle this by either
passing this newspaper to someone
else so they can read or place in a
recycle box. Protect the Earth!
The Mustang Rundown Fall 2007 • Features
Features
Meet One of North
Shore’s Bright New Stars
By: Nikki Diaz,
Features Section
Do you know every
teacher here at
NSMS? What about
Mrs. Shields? Do you
know much about her
or do you know her at
all?
Mrs. Shields is a
seventh grade math
teacher here at NSMS,
is teaching here for
her first year. She
teaches on team 7-4,
The Palominos. She
is a very nice teacher
who teaches very well!
Within these
first weeks of
school, I’ve
learned a lot
in math. My
classmates
and I enjoy
her class, we
all learn and
teach new
strategies
to and from
each other.
Mrs. Shields comes
from Dickinson, Texas,
where she graduated
from Dickinson High
school in 1996. She
came to Houston to
go to college at the
University of Houston
at Clearlake.
Mrs. Shields chose
to go to the University
of Houston Clearlake
because it was close
to home and she
liked the atmosphere.
Her major in college
was Biology, but she
teaches math because
she tutored math in
high school and she
loves the subject. Mrs.
Shields chose to teach
here at NSMS because
she wanted to teach
middle school and this
is the middle school
she decided on.
She says so far she
loves teaching here at
North Shore Middle.
She loves her students
and she enjoys every
moment she teaches.
Before she came to
teach here at NSMS,
she taught at Green
Valley Elementary for
two years
so this year
makes her
third year as
a teacher.
M r s .
Shields is
married has
two
children. So if
you want to
pass by and
say “Hi!” or see the
wonderful pictures of
her family, her room is
B209.
photo courtesy of the American
Library Assn.
There
Is
Something
for
Everyone at North Shore
By: Brandon Mitchell, Sports Section
The new school year has begun and there are a handful of clubs and
organizations here at North Shore that can keep you busy and active.
Student Council, Honor Society, Book Club, and Art Club are a few
clubs and organizations that are out there that are sure to keep you
busy.
Though some of these clubs and organizations will require hard work,
that work will be for very good causes. If you choose a club you’re
interested in, it won’t seem like much work at all. Some of these clubs
will help you stay focused with school and help raise your grades up.
Others like Yearbook, NSM-tv, and the Fillies require sign-ups and applications at the end of the year.
There are organizations like the National Junior Honor Society (Mr.
Burke and Mrs. Raibon are the sponsors) and Student Council (Ms.
Walton and Mrs. Wright are the sponsors) too. You should try to be a
part of these organizations if you like to help others and giving back to
your community, while the Book Club (Mrs. Sivil and Mrs. Gucker), Art
Club (Mrs. Martinez), and the newly-formed Math Club (Mrs. Ranara)
are available to help improve and challenge you. Let’s not forget Band,
Choir and LOTC! They’re fun too!
Many of these clubs and organizations compete in regional and state
UIL events also. By joining different clubs and organizations, you can
make more friends, be a part of something special, and help yourself or
others in many different ways.
North Shore Student Council Helps
Raise Money for Life Skills Students
By: Yesenia Trejo,
Features Section
On Saturday,
September 8, 2007,
the North Shore
Student Council held
a pancake breakfast
at Applebees to raise
money for our life
skills students’ extra
curricular activities.
Many students
came with their
parents and got to
talk with Student
Council sponsors
Mrs. Wright and Ms.
Walton. The organization had a great time
and enjoyed their
breakfast.
“We encourage
other organizations
to do this because
you get great service
and everyone has
a great time,” said
Mrs. Wright. Student
Council had an awesome time and will
have more fun events
in the future.
One of those events
is the “Penny War to
End a War”, another
North Shore Middle School • Galena Park ISD • The Mustang Rundown
fundraiser to help
students in war-torn
Uganda get a better
education. Student
Council will surely
be organizing fun
events like these
and many more this
fall semester.
If you want to
know more, attend
one of their meetings or talk to a
member.meetings or
talk to a member.
The Mustang Rundown Fall 2007 • Features
Features
eatures
By: Samantha Acevedo, Editor-in-Chief
Halloween’s history traces back to
the ancient religions
of the Celts in Ireland.
The Celts were very
conscious of the spiritual world and had their
own ideas of how they
could gain access to it,
such as by helping their
three-hundred gods to
defeat their enemies in
battle. The Celts lived
more than two- thousand years ago in what
is now Great Britain,
Ireland, and France.
The Celts believed that
when people died, they
went to a land of eternal
youth and happiness
called Tirnan Og. The
dead were sometimes
believed to be dwelling
with the Fairy Folk, who
lived in the numerous
mounds that dotted the
Irish and Scottish countryside.
On October 31, you
usually find kids and
adults dressing up as
ghosts and goblins or
any other type of character wanting to find
somewhere to go and
have fun. Dressing up in
costumes was first started by Irish and English
traditions and those traditions were adopted by
early Americans. When
people began to dress
up they would go from
house to house and ask
for food or money, which
today is known as “trickor-treating.” The modern
celebration of Halloween is like the renewed
version of the ancient
Celtic fire festival
called Samhain, which
means “summers end.”
All Hallows Eve is the
eve of All Hallows Day
(November 1), the Celts
believed that the eve
of a holiday was much
more important than
the actual day of the
holiday. All Hallows Eve
mainly focused on the
traditional celebration
on October 31, beginning at sundown. This is
pretty much only fitting
for the Great Celtic New
Year festival. This tradition was not only practiced by the Celts, but
also by Egyptians and
pre-Spanish Mexicans
who celebrated this as
a festival of the dead.
In the second half of
the nineteenth century,
America was flooded
with new immigrants—
mostly from Ireland.
These citizens of Ireland
helped to popularize the
Halloween customs we
know today. Dressing up
for Halloween has both
European and Celtic
roots. Hundreds of years
ago, winter was an
uncertain and frightening time. On Halloween,
it was believed that
ghosts came back to
the earthy world; people
would wear masks when
they left their homes
after dark so ghosts
would mistake them as
fellow spirits.
Trick-or-Treating
dates back to the early
“All Souls Day Parade”
in England. During these
festivities, poor citizens
would go from door to
door and beg for food
and families would give
them pastries called
“soul cakes” in return for
their promise to pray for
the families dead relatives. The Romans had
conquered the majority
of Celtic land so Roman
festivals were combined
with the traditional Celtic
celebration of Samhain.
As Christianity spread
into Celtic lands, in the
seventh century, Pope
Boniface IV introduced
All Saints’ Day, a time
to honor saints and
martyrs, to replace the
pegan festival of the
dead. This helped feed
the negative or evil side
of Halloween.
So, you can see that
Halloween is a very
interesting holiday and
has a rich history. Don’t
scare the kids to much
with costumes while
roaming in the streets
and have a safe and
pleasant Halloween.
To find out more go to
www.jeremiahproject.
com.
7
Evil Origins
The traditional
Halloween symbols
we know of like
witches, black cats,
pumpkins, candles,
masks, parties, and
pranks appeared in
the U.S. during the
late 1800’s. Halloween was not always
associated with evil
things. The Jack-olantern is the festival
light for Halloween
and is the ancient
symbol of an evil
soul. The Irish originally would carve
turnips or beets as
lanterns as representations of the
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souls of the dead or
goblins freed from
the dead. Witches
and witchcraft were
dominant themes of
the holiday. Witches
would generally
believe themselves
to be followers of
an ancient religion,
which goes back far
beyond Christianity,
and which is properly called ‘Wicca.’
Most monsters and
evil things that pop
up when you see
Halloween stuff
mainly comes from
fictional stories.