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Archive: October 2021 (2 Posts)

The Origins of Halloween Traditions

Posted by: Heather Thomas

Carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and wearing scary costumes are some of the time-honored traditions of Halloween. Yet, the Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced "SAH-win"), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor saints. Soon after, All Saints Day came to incorporate some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve, and later, Halloween. Here is a look at the origins of some of the classic Halloween traditions we know today.

Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Halloween, Holidays, Newspapers

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Serial Fiction, Part 1.

Posted by: Amber Paranick

During the 19th century, people read serialized novels the way we watch episodic TV. Momentum was built with each installment and readers tuned in each week (or month) to find out what happened after the last cliffhanger. This is part 1 of a 3-part series that spans the history of serialized fiction in periodicals.

Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Walt Whitman