SLAS Times 2016/2017 Winter 2016 | Page 11

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION AT SLAS BY DANA COLLINS Halloween at SLAS is a time for both teachers and students to whip out their imaginations and get creative. Every year at SLAS both teachers and students are encouraged to dress up, and if they do, they have a chance to win within the categories of most original, scariest, best makeup, best group, funniest, Disney, Superhero or cutest costume award. Every year, high school students have to stand outside in groups and play Halloween games with little kids and their parents to get them all in the Halloween spirit. Playing these games gives the children the experience of having celebrated Halloween. bridge to the world of the dead. During Halloween, people do many activities that have developed from Celtic traditions, such as dressing up, apple bobbing and lighting bonfires, but nowadays there are other activities such as watching horror films, decorating houses, trick-or- treating, and carving pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns. Halloween is on October 31st, and it is also known as “All Hallows Eve” and also “All Saints Eve.” Halloween traditions originally came from the Celtic harvest festivals but many people argue that it’s only a Christian holiday. The Celtic people thought that one day before the new year, that the boundaries between the living and the dead is blurred and the dead were able to cross over back to Earth, this is where people got the idea of dressing up. By doing so they could hide from the ghosts by pretending to be one. The Celtic holiday of Samhain uses the day to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter, and they also believed the transition was a This year’s Halloween was a great success, and even though it did rain this year, it seemed like everyone had a good time, and everyone went all out on their costumes. There were both teachers and students whose costumes took time and consideration to make and they were all very good. There were some really impressive costumes this year and those with the best costumes will be rewarded with a uniform pass and a reward. 2016 Halloween at SLAS has come and gone, and hopefully next year’s Halloween will be just as good or even better. During my interview I asked Miss Charmaine Collins if she thought that this year’s Halloween would be better than last year’s and she said “I expect that it will rain again this year, but I also think that this year’s Halloween will be a great success.” Miss Charmaine Collins continued to Josh Tseng responded to what he likes about Halloween describe what she likes about Halloween at SLAS, “I love at SLAS, “I love to help decorate the school and spend the fact that it is mandatory to dress up, so that everyone time playing with the little kids.” He also said, “I love gets into the Halloween spirit and there isn’t anything dressing up every year and getting candy.” stopping students and teachers from dressing up.” 11