Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration

Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration Origin and Traditions of Halloween First associations that come to our mind when thinking about Halloween are popular trick-or-treat tradition, bobbing for apples, costume parades, parties and other family-friendly activities. Though, do you know or have you ever been interested in the true story behind the origin of this holiday? In fact, the origin of Halloween has 2000 years history, when Celtic tribes inhabited lands, nowadays, known as Great Briton and northern France. At that time, November 1st was known as a day of huge celebrations of a festival called Samhain. People were marking the end of the harvest and the beginning dark, cold time of a year. It was believed that the night before Samhain festival, October 31st, the dead return to the world of mortal as ghosts. For this reason, Celts would leave food and wine next to their doors as well as light bonfires in order to protect themselves from the evil. Later, when Celtic territories were conquered by the Roman Empire, the celebrations of Celtic festival acqu ired new traditions of Roman origin. Since then, Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, and the apple symbol had become an integral part of the festivities. In 609 A.D., Christian church together with Pope Gregory III turned Samhain festival into All Hallows Day or All Saints Day and the night before the feast became known as Hallow Eve, eventually, Halloween. Talking about todays Halloween famous trick-or-treating, most of us dont know that souling and guising were the activities preceding the trick-or treat tradition and originated from Medieval Briton. Souiling was committed on All Souls Day, November 2nd, and included the activity of giving soul cakes for poor people, who in return would pray for peoples dead relatives. While guising was popular among young people, who used to dress up in diverse costumes and accept gifts like food, drinks and other offerings in exchange for reciting works of literature, dancing, performing jokes, and etc. Lots of traditions, though, were nt widely spread among population of colonial New England for a long time. It happened due to the rigid Protestant belief system. However, in 1950s, Halloween customs started to be revived thanks to Irish and Scottish immigrants, who brought the activities of souling and guising back and favored the appearance of trick-or-treating and many other kid-centered activities like bobbing for apples and costume parties. Nowadays, Halloween is considered to be one of Americas most commercial and world-wide know holidays after Christmas, of course. Both family-friendly and children oriented, Halloween festivities create fun for everyone. No matter what age or nationality you are, join the great atmosphere of joy, fear that Halloween traditions have prepared for you on the night of October 31st.

Habits and Traits of the Painted Lady Butterfly

Habits and Traits of the Painted Lady Butterfly The painted lady, also known as the cosmopolitan or thistle butterfly, inhabits backyards and meadows throughout most of the world. Schoolchildren often recognize this butterfly, as raising these butterflies is a popular science activity in elementary classrooms. Description The aptly named painted lady wears splashes and dots of colors on her wings. The adult butterflys wings are orange and brown on the upper side. The leading edge of the forewing appears black with a prominent white bar and smaller white spots. The underside of the wings is markedly duller, in shades of brown and gray. When the butterfly sits at rest with wings folded together, four small eyespots are noticeable on the hindwing. Painted ladies reach 5-6 centimeters in width, smaller than some other brush-footed butterflies like the monarchs. The painted lady caterpillars are more difficult to identify, since their appearance changes with each instar. The early instars appear worm-like, with light gray bodies and a darker, bulbous head. As they mature, the larvae develop noticeable spines, with a dark body mottled with white and orange markings. The final instar retains the spines, but has a lighter color. The first few instars live in a silken web on a leaf of the host plant. Vanessa cardui is an irruptive migrant, a species that occasionally migrates without regard to geography or season. The painted lady lives year-round in the tropics; in cooler climates, you may see them in spring and summer. Some years, when southern populations reach large numbers or weather conditions are right, painted ladies will migrate north and expand their range temporarily. These migrations sometimes occur in phenomenal numbers, filling the skies with butterflies. The adults that reach the colder areas will not survive the winter, however. Painted ladies rarely migrate south. Classification Kingdom - AnimaliaPhylum - ArthropodaClass - InsectaOrder - LepidopteraFamily - NymphalidaeGenus - VanessaSpecies - Vanessa cardui Diet The adult painted lady nectars on many plants, especially the composite flowers of the Asteraceae plant family. Favored nectar sources include thistle, aster, cosmos, blazing star, ironweed, and joe-pye weed. Painted lady caterpillars feed on a variety of host plants, particularly thistle, mallow, and hollyhock. Life Cycle Painted lady butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Egg - Mint green, barrel-shaped eggs are laid singly on the leaves of host plants, and hatch in 3-5 days.Larva - The caterpillar has five instars over 12-18 days.Pupa - The chrysalis stage lasts about 10 days.Adult - Butterflies live for just two weeks. Special Adaptations and Defenses The painted ladys mottled colors look much like military camouflage and provide effective cover from potential predators. The small caterpillars hide in their silk nests. Habitat The painted lady lives in open meadows and fields, disturbed areas and roadsides, and generally any sunny place that provides appropriate nectar and host plants. Range Vanessa cardui lives on all continents except Australia and Antarctica and is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. The painted lady is sometimes called the cosmopolite or cosmopolitan because of this wide distribution.