Understanding the history of Halloween and how it has become a cultural phenomenon in the United States is crucial to appreciating its meaning. Halloween prompts children and college students alike to dress up and be a shell of themselves for one night out of the year. Dating back to the Eighth Century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints Day and the preceding night became known as “All Hallows Eve,” the early form of Halloween. The practice of dressing up stems from an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, which was a religious celebration at the end of fall to celebrate harvest. It was common practice for people to light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts and any bad omens. Overtime, the tradition of dressing up the night before All Saints Day caught on, and it became a widely celebrated holiday in the United States.
As mentioned before, students at UND may celebrate Halloween by dressing up with their friends. This year, students and staff working at the Wellness Center showed off their festive spirit by dressing up for Halloween last Thursday night. Those participating in dressing up for Halloween this year adhered to dress code guidelines ensuring that their costumes did not pose any risk of safety or prevent them from doing their job. Yet this did not stop members from fully expressing themselves and having fun with their costumes as they showed up for their shifts. Ranging from Batman to a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball player, members from the RecSports and Fitness Services departments all participated and dressed up for Halloween this year.
Josh Sam, a Fitness Service Associate at the Wellness Center, repped a city connect Shohei Ohtani jersey to work. When asked what dressing up for Halloween means for him he stated, “Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays growing up as a kid, and being able to dress up tonight reminds me of my youth.” Josh added on by saying that it was “a lot of fun getting to see my coworkers dress up as well.” This highlighted the fact that the Halloween spirit was infectious this year and the Wellness Center did a great job in capturing that spirit by encouraging and allowing their employees to dress up this year.
Hopefully you ended up having a safe and action-packed Halloween weekend and can take inspiration from the Wellness Center’s employees’ enthusiasm towards capturing the Halloween spirit.
The Origins of Halloween Traditions | Headlines & Heroes
Daniel Silva is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
