For this week, I'm adding a little holiday twist to my work - for Halloween, not Homecoming. Vincent Massaro, the Monday columnist, might disagree, but I've seen some strange happenings around Gainesville over the past few days, things that might have something to do with the supernatural themes Oct. 31 entails.
This year's pumpkin crop suffered from bad weather. Andrew Meyer did an about-face and apologized for his actions at Sen. John Kerry's forum. Gov. Charlie Crist finally approved a few tuition and fee increases.
But Halloween still has historical and spiritual significance beyond candy and costumes.
Tomorrow, Nov. 1, my Catholic grandparents will go to church to celebrate All Saints' Day. As the name indicates, it is a special day set aside for all of the saints in the church. From their perspective All Hallow's Eve is the vigil held before the service.
However, when Catholicism made its way up to the British region in medieval times, the Brits, Scots and Celts mixed the Christian tradition with their own pagan festivals, the most famous being Samhain, a celebration when people would parade around in animal-skin costumes.
That's why the holiday conjures up more images of witches, ghosts and black cats than of feasts or crosses.
Historically, other legends surround Halloween, contributing to its mystique. The Celts believed sacrifices were necessary to appease evil spirits, so they left food and sacrifices for them, which became the root of trick-or-treating.
The Romans had a festival that honored Pomona, the goddess of fruit trees who was often depicted wearing a crown made of apples. This led to the tradition of bobbing for apples.
The use of orange and black for Halloween has its origin in the occult. The unbleached beeswax candles used in church services for the dead were colored orange, and caskets were draped in black.
On a side note, a few magicians will hold seances for Harry Houdini today, 81 years after he died from a punch in the stomach. Every year they hope the world's greatest escape artist can flee from the trap of death, but every year they come away disappointed.
Don't blame your religious friends for being skittish about participating in such pagan rituals. I attended a high school affiliated with the Presbyterian church. Every year on Halloween night, the church holds a "Creation Celebration" in lieu of all the aforementioned rituals.
Of course, candy and costume parties are still present, and everyone has a good time. Ultimately, the most important thing is to know the history of Halloween, or any other holiday, in order to truly understand and celebrate its purpose.
Also, Halloween is the inaugural festival for a litany of other fall and winter celebrations, the most prominent being Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for UF, Halloween falls on the week of the Homecoming parade, Gator Growl and the Homecoming game against Vanderbilt this year.
So until then, have fun, don't drink too much at parties and enjoy having Friday off so you can scream your lungs out for two fantastic days.
Oh, and wish me luck - I've heard its dangerous to spend tonight in Broward Hall.
Vincent Gagliano is a sophomore majoring in physics. His column appears on Wednesdays.
