|
This Week's Facts:
-
State police, CDC Offer Halloween Safety Tips
-
Folklife Center traces Halloween roots
-
Celebrate apples as American Staple in October
Enjoy a
fantastic fall at Indiana state Parks
Many
people celebrate the change in seasons the traditional way with
candy, costumes, and trick-or-treaters, but if you’re looking
for something different, the
Indiana
Department of Natural Resources
may have something new and interesting for you at a State Park.
The
Division of
State Parks and Reservoirs
invites
Hoosiers to have a
Fantastic
Fall
at many of their properties
throughout the month of October and November. There are a
variety of activities and events ranging from a Spooktacular
Camping Weekend, an All Hallows’ Eve Celebration, Haunted
Harmonie, and a Halloween Bash. There’s sure to be an event for
every family size and budget located throughout Indiana.
Have a Fantastic
Fall!
-----------------------------
Friday Facts
Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
&
Kim Brown-Harden
Federal
Documents Coordinator
-----------------------------
Join the
FDLP-IN
listserv
for the latest
government information
 The Indiana SDC/BIDC
Network
is on Facebook |
State police, CDC Offer Halloween Safety Tips
 Halloween
is a time for tricks, treats, and scary costumes, but for some
people Halloween can mean threat to safety. The
Indiana State
Police has
safety tips
on their website to help everyone have a fun and safe Halloween
. The
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
also provides resources to keep festivities fun and safe for
trick-or-treaters and party guests. Check their
Halloween food
safety webpage
for tips, and if your child is going trick or treating, remember
to have a SAFE HALLOWEEN:
S - Swords, knives,
and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and
flexible.
A - Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted
adult.
F - Fasten
reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
E -
Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before
eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.
H - Hold a flashlight
while trick or treating to help you see and others see you.
A - Always test makeup
in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent
possible skin and eye irritation.
L - Look both ways
before crossing the street.
L - Lower your risk
for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact
lenses.
O - Only walk on
sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road
facing traffic to stay safe.
W - Wear well-fitting
masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and
falls.
E - Eat only
factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats made by
strangers.
E - Enter homes only
if you’re with a trusted adult. Only visit well-lit houses.
Don’t stop at dark houses.
N - Never accept rides
from strangers. Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be
sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.
Have a safe and happy
Halloween!
Folklife Center traces Halloween roots
  For
years and years, many people have celebrated Halloween. Whether
trick-or-treating with family or Halloween parties with friends,
the celebration has continued in the U.S. in one form or
another. Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient,
pre-Christian, Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples,
who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four
major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a
day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar,
marking the beginning of winter. This was a time when farmers
moved cattle and sheep to closer pastures; livestock were
secured for the winter months; and crops were harvested and
stored. The festival at this time was called Samhain
(pronounced Sah-ween) - the most significant holiday of the
Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, the
souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the
otherworld. People lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid
them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living.
The
wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door
demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the
first few centuries of the Christian era. It was thought that
the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies,
witches, and demons – and offerings of food and drink were left
out to placate them. As the centuries went on, people began
dressing up and performing in exchange for food and drink in a
practice called mumming, from which trick-or-treating evolved.
To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures are among
favorite Halloween disguises. Bobbing for apples and carving
vegetables, as well as autumn favorites like fruits, nuts, and
spiced cider were also once associated with the harvest holiday
of Samhain.
For
more details and information on the history of Halloween, visit
The American
Folklife Center
of the
Library of
Congress.
Celebrate apples as American Staple in October
 The
USDA’s National Agriculture Library has an online
Healthy Meals
Resource System
that helps spread the word about Child Nutrition and helps
different states share related resources. To celebrate October
as
National Apple
Month, use the
Recipe Finder
database and search by ingredient (apples!) to locate
rebcipes
for up to 100 people. The Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
features the apple tree on its website, detailing the diversity
of the genetic histories of the trees within the park. The
trees, therefore, produce varied types of apples. A publication
from the National Agriculture Library,
Celebrating
America’s Unique Apple Diversity,
shows a history of the heirloom apple using items in the
library’s collection dating back to 1754. For current apple
statistics, take a look at
Apples at a
Glance from the
Foreign Agriculture Service and the data sets at
U.S. Apple
Statistics,
from the
Economic
Research Service.
|
