History of Halloween

History of Halloween, from History.com

Ancient Origins of Halloween

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000

years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. . . . . 

Halloween Comes to America

Celebration of Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief systems there. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups as well as the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. Young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors. . . . . 

Halloween Superstitions
Today's Halloween Traditions
and check our TCC Library collection, for articles, books, e-books, videos and e-videos relating to Halloween !

CDC - Food Safety

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a government agency charged with providing disease control and prevention services as well as health promotion and education services/resources to the US population.

Located within the larger CDC website, the Food Safety web page is a continuation of this mission to offer timely, credible information. The main page provides current updates and reports surrounding issues of food safety, e.g., recalls, illnesses, outbreaks, and effectiveness and control efforts.

Though the Food Safety website can be slightly overwhelming due to the amount of information provided, navigation and find-ability are achieved through clear organizational structure. The left column lists links to subpages and related sites while spotlight boxes in the center display important current information. An A-Z bar at the top of the page and a search box in the upper right offer full access to CDC content.
Content on the main page is geared primarily to general readers. However, key reports and information for students and practitioners can be found under most subpages; the Prevention and Education section is especially useful for these audiences.
Web tools include widgets and multiple sharing options, although at this time, the Food Safety page is not set up for mobile devices or RSS feeds (the main CDC site is available for mobile devices).

However, users can register to receive e-mail updates on various topics. Overall, this authoritative site contains well-organized, timely information for many levels of readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general audiences. -- K. M. Monks, University of Idaho. Reviewed in Oct 2012, Choice 
And be sure to check our collection for books, e-books and e-videos about Food Safety

Bible Gateway

About the Bible Gateway searchable online Bible

What it is

The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online -- all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.
You can view a complete list of available Bible versions and translations. To access some of the Bible Gateway's other features (a Verse of the Day widget, Bible commentaries, audio Bibles, and more), use the navigation menu on the left.

History

The Bible Gateway was first started in 1993 by Nick Hengeveld who was attending Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI at the time. In 1995 Nick became the first webmaster at Gospelcom.net, now Gospel.com. He brought the Bible Gateway with him, and for 13 years the Bible Gateway has been a favorite online resource. Today, the Bible Gateway team continues to add new translations, languages, and functionality to the site.
The Bible Gateway is extremely grateful to many publishers and Christian organizations that have contributed their many Bible resources and translations for use in the Bible Gateway, including Gospel.com community members such as Biblica and The Lockman Foundation.

History.com: Columbus Day

History.com: Columbus Day - "Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492.
The History Channel provides information on the origins of Columbus Day, links to related topics: the Columbus controversy, Native American Cultures, Amerigo Vespucci, Leif Eriksson, - links to 11 videos, and more - 

It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until the 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus' achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage.

Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years."

and check our library holdings for more on Columbus !

Old Maps Online

Old Maps Online offers a federated search of several online map collections: Cartography Associates' David Rumsey Map Collection ; the University of Portsmouth's A Vision of Britain through Time; the map collection of the Czech Republic's Moravian Library; The British Library's map collection; and the National Library of Scotland's Maps of Scotland. The Rumsey and British Library collections include a range of world maps as well as local maps. Funded by JISC, Old Maps Online succeeds a project of the Moravian Library.

Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi - 1730

It uses a Klokan Technologies map interface as the basis for its graphical user interface. Powered by Google, the site offers a simple search box. Users will find Old Maps Online easy to navigate by means of thumbnail maps, highlighted boxes, and panning and zoom features. Individual records identify the map source, a brief bibliographic record with a link directly to the source record and full image features. The maps themselves, from reliable university and national library content, appear expertly scanned with clear resolution. The currency and content of this site are dependent upon its partner organizations. The site features a blog about its activities; plans are to add additional collections "from around the world." Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. -- E. A. Scarletto, Kent State University. Reviewed in 2012aug CHOICE.

 The World Database of Happiness is an online compendium of available studies on happiness, also known as "subjective well-being," a topic of strong and growing interest in the social sciences. The database is maintained and directed by sociologist Ruut Veenhoven (emer., Erasmus Univ., the Netherlands), who began the project in 1983 in print format and digitized the contents beginning in 1994.

Currently the website includes a bibliography of more than 7,000 publications, 759 measures of happiness in more than 1,500 studies, and data covering 165 nations. Many additional findings and reports are waiting to be entered. The website is easy to navigate, even for data novices. The collections and subjects are clearly labeled on the left-hand side of the screen. Users can find reports on happiness by nation, by publics (e.g., infants, gender, communal living, to name a few), and many other variables. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Social science students at all levels; faculty; researchers. -- S. M. Metcalf, Western Carolina University Reviewed in 2012oct CHOICE.
and check out our Library collection for other resources on Happiness !

Called to happiness :  where faith and psychology meet.

Rethinking Happiness: PBS program - 60 min

for a complete listing - over 160,00 results of Library Resources on Happiness check our catalog !

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13

"The Occupational Outlook Handbook www.bls.gov/ooh/  has been published biennially by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 1949. It is one of the most authoritative and comprehensive sources of career information in the US. The Handbook, 2012-2013 features 341occupational profiles covering approximately 85 percent of all jobs in the economy, along with employment projections for 2010-20. Each occupational profile features a brief job description, discussion of the typical work environment, outline of educational/training requirements, median level of pay, projected job outlook, and list of similar occupations. Profiles also contain a section with links to related professional associations. Available online since 1996, the web-based Handbook recently underwent significant changes to enhance its overall usability. Enhanced search features now include a more prominent search box, an Occupation Finder section, and an A-Z Index. Each profile now includes a summary page listing key facts, and features several charts/color photographs. The home page has links to lists of the highest-paying occupations, fastest-growing occupations (projected), and occupations with the most new jobs (projected). A short introductory paragraph about a featured occupation rounds out the new, streamlined home page.

This version also includes more in-depth coverage of various occupations in the science, technology, and health care fields. The Handbook continues to be an indispensable source of free career information in the US, and the recent redesign makes the site more accessible and easier to navigate. Students, job seekers, educators, and workforce development/human resources professionals all will find it invaluable. For additional career information, consult the Occupational Outlook Quarterly http://www.bls.gov/ooq/, which updates and supplements the Handbook; and O*Net http://www.onetonline.org/, which provides more detailed information about occupations, along with links to state-level wage data and employment projections. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general audience.
 -- L. L. Leavitt, Michigan State University". Reviewed in 2012oct CHOICE.