[lodwick]

The origins of Halloween go back as far as 800BC. The Irish Celts celebrated Samhain at the end of October to celebrate the end of the summer season, to give thanks for the season of harvest and to honor the dead. The Celts believed that the souls of the dead could return to roam freely among the living in search of a living body to possess, usually a black cat. To discourage the spirits, villagers would dress up in costumes and walk around hoping to frighten them away. They would also make bonfires to encourage the sun to return the next year. The villagers would keep an ember from the bonfire for good luck and take it home in a turnip with a scary face carved on it. The scary face was carved to protect them from the spirits on their walk home.

All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day, originated from the Catholics. All Saints Day was created for saints who did not already have a day to honor them. The word "hallow" is an old word for "saint."

Later on, All Souls Day was created to honor all faithful Christians, not just saints. On this day, people would go from door to door to ask for "soul cakes" and, in return, they would pray for their dead relatives.

[mountaineer]

Well, it's official. Now I don't need to contact my cable company and ask for VH1.

Liza Minnelli won't become another Ozzy Osbourne. VH1 has pulled the plug on the singer's planned reality TV show, complaining that her husband, David Gest, was impossible to work with. "We weren't given the kind of access and cooperation we needed to make the show work," a VH1 spokesperson said. It was a blow to the struggling cable network, which watched corporate partner MTV hit the jackpot with "The Osbournes" and had high hopes for the Minnelli show. But VH1 apparently didn't need the aggravation. full story.