Weeklong "gore fests" on the boob tube, orange and black M&M displays on the candy isles, cheesy werewolf sounds screeching from radio disc jockeys and Michael Jackson's "Thriller"videobeing displayed repeatedly on VH1; alas the signs of the Halloween are in the air. Of course everyone loves these quirks and amoralities of the ghoulish "American" holiday, but do people really understand the true meaning behind this ancient pagan festivity?

"I think it's a night for people to not be themselves," University of West Florida freshman Helen Stead said. "People need some fun and excitement in their lives once in a while. Halloween is definitely a lot of excitement."

Senior Brian Reingruber thinks much of the same about Halloween.

"It's a great night to dress up, drink and be merry with friends and family," Reingruber said. "I think I like Halloween a lot because of its informality."

Although both students said they enjoyed the holiday, neither really knew the background or history of how it started.

According to History.com, the word Halloween (or Samhain as it was called) means "summer's end."  The holiday first was celebrated more than 2,000 years ago by the Celtic people of Western Europe who felt that the evening before the new year (Nov. 1) was an evening in which the boundary of the living and the dead crossed, allowing spirits to come in and cause mischief such as damaging crops.

Although the holiday eventually was adopted by the Christians 800 years later, Halloween still is observed as a pagan-rooted festivity.

Terry Prewitt, head of the Green Earth Fellowship Group at UWF, said the holiday often is misconstrued in today's society because of commercialism.

"There may be some deep pagan associations for Halloween," Prewitt said. "But there has been a lot of confusion about the historical associations of the holiday. As currently practiced here, Halloween is Americanized and commercialized beyond recognition from its Irish origins."           

 Prewitt said today's Halloween is much different than that of the past. Some things such as "trick-or-treating" were a custom started by the Celtic children.  Irish custom held the day as one for "settling debts" and receiving wages and rents.

"Children would also dress in grotesque clothing with their faces painted or
covered with home-made masks, in imitation of the supposed fairy and goblin
celebration," Prewitt said. "The children would solicit presents to 'Help the Hallow E'en
party' from passers-by â€" hence the notion of children dressing as demons."

Prewitt said that the Green Earth Fellowship Group usually conducts a pagan memorial circle on Halloween for the dead but this year was unable to do so because of restrictions.

            "We meet, we share and we honor those we have lost in the preceding year," Prewitt said. "We are not having a public circle since the Oak Grove (where the group meets) has not been rededicated by us, and we do not want to have the
observance indoors."

For more information on the Green Earth Fellowship group, visit their Web site at http://www.uwf.edu/tprewitt/pcmmain.htm.

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