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History Lass - by historylass

Fear

November 2nd 2006 02:44
I have to admit, I'm frightened of many things. For a long time, I let those fears paralyse me. I wouldn't do things just because I was scared. I have since learnt that fear is not the enemy. Fear, by itself, is not wrong. It's what you do with that fear that counts.

We have always had fear in our lives. Throughout the centuries, people have always been frightened of something - whether individually or as a society. The types of fears have changed with time. In medieval times, the plague was a big fear for many people. Nowadays, it is the threat of terrorism.

We can't get rid of fear and we shouldn't want to. Fear may paralyze people and prevent them from doing things they want to do. On the other hand, fear can actually provide an incentive to reach further than we otherwise would have. Fear of something can help move people forward to provide a solution. Fear of medical conditions, for examples, has helped create new advances in medicine.


Without fear, too, there is no true bravery. If we forget about sports stars and movie stars for a moment, the heroes in our lives are often people who have done something scary. The greater the odds against a person, the more we are likely to think them brave when they step out and do it anyway.

People who do brave deeds are not those who felt no fear. Rather they are those that refused to bow down before that fear.
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A History of Halloween

October 18th 2006 23:05
Dressing up as ghosts and goblins, trick-or-treating, carved pumpkins and scary parties is all heaps of fun, but how did it all get started?

Halloween is basically a shortened version of All-hallow-even. Halloween was (and still is) the day before November 1. This was the day when the saints or souls were remembered. It has been known by different names, including All Saints Day, All Souls Day and All Hallows Day. Hardly anyone pays any attention to All Souls Day anymore, but Halloween has continued.

Like many festivals it began as a pagan festival, but was reintrepeted by Christians. Before becoming Halloween, the Celts celebrated Samhain to mark the end of summer. It was a time when big bonfires were lit to keep evil spirits away, as it was said that Samhain was a time when the dead visited this world.


When Christian missionaries came to Ireland, they didn't like this pagan festival. But instead of trying to wipe it out all together, they gave it a Christian spin. All Saints' Day was standardized in 835, allowing the Christians to attempt some Christian connection with the celebrations that took place the day before.

Halloween didn't really take off in America until the 19th century, when loads of Irish immigrants came to America, bringing the idea of Halloween with them. Like many other festivals, it became commercialized in the 20th century. Halloween costumes, cards, party-tricks and decorations were sold, giving companies the desire to make and keep the holiday popular.
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