|
| |
Fall - A New Season - A New Decorating Scheme
What exactly is fall? Being my favorite season, I decided to look it up and see how Mr. Webster defines it. Flipping to “fall” I found “autumn”, ok turning to that here is what it says, “autumn, the season that comes between summer and winter”. Well, ...
Rubber Stamps – For Teachers and Students
Once again we are reminded that summer is not long enough. It is the beginning of another back to school shopping season. New clothes, notebooks, pencils, and rubber stamps fill out the shopping list. Once again we are reminded that ...
Would You Like To Be Alerted When ...?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ALERTED WHEN ...? Cars are coming up the driveway • Children go inside your tool shed • Intruders approach the front or backyard • Someone enters your garage • Visitors are walking to the front door • Your parked boat or motor home ...
|
|
|
|
| |
Superstitions surrounding owls have a long and ancient history. These nocturnal creatures often appear in horror mystery films, have been associated with dark, haunting night themes, and grace our Halloween dcor each fall. Their wide staring eyes give them a wise appearance, while the ability to turn their head around makes them fascinating and mysterious creatures. Tuffs of feathers on the top of an owls head gives them the appearance of horned devils and their piercing cries add to the spook effect found in the ancient folklore of many countries.
In many cultures owls were symbols of magic. In England, it was believed that if you cooked an owls eggs until they were ash, it could be used as a potion to improve eyesight. In India, if you ate an owls eyes you would get the same result.
Witches were often linked to owls. One Greek & Roman superstition believed that witches could turn themselves into an owl and then they would swoop down and suck the blood of babies. Other superstitions related to witches and owls were: that the owls were messengers for sorcerers and witches, that they danced together on the graves of the dead and that if you hear the hoot of an owl, then a witch approaches.
In todays world, we have learned that most of these owl superstitions are just stories, born in a time when people were fearful and trying to find answers to their lives and environment. However, many of these legends survived over time. Here are some other interesting and somewhat strange superstitions that are linked to owls.
* An owl hooting or screeching at night could result in the death of a newborn baby, will cause the child to have an unhappy life, or possibly that the baby would become a witch. If the owl was heard screeching during cold weather it signaled that a storm was coming.
* Owls apparently are the only creatures that can live with ghosts, so if an owl is found nesting in an abandoned house, the place
must be haunted.
* Death is often associated with owls such as if: an owl perches on the roof of your house or hearing an owl hooting constantly nearby.
* If a traveler dreamed of an owl, then that meant he would be robbed or possibly shipwrecked.
* A silly owl superstitions is that if you see an owl perched in a tree and you walk around and around that tree, the owl will follow you with its eyes, turning his head around until he wrings his own neck. (The reality is that an owl cannot turn his head completely around).
* Not all superstitions were bad. Owls were also believed to bring good fortune in some cultures. An Afghanistan legend states that it was the owl that presented humans with flint and iron so they could make fire. In exchange, man gave owls their feathers.
* The Aborigines of Australia believe that owls are the spirits of women and are therefore sacred, while in Brittany is was a good sign to see an owl on the way to the harvest as it meant that it would be a good yield that year.
* The owl is a symbol of guidance and help by the Inuits of Greenland, while the people of Indonesia saw them as wise beings using the owls different calls to determine whether to travel or not.
There are many, many more legends concerning the owl. The reality is that owls are very helpful to us as they are excellent at pest control, especially Barred Owls. They control the population of mice, voles, moles, rats, skunks, snakes, insects and slugs to name a few. So this Halloween, put together an owl superstition trivia sheet for the guests at your Halloween party and add a friendly wise old owl to your dcor. It's the perfect "night watchman".
About the Author
(c) 2005. Rose Smith is the owner of HalloweenHowl.com a website filled with Halloween party ideas, costumes, decorations, games, graphics, crafts and more. It's Halloween fun for all ages! Come visit us at: http://www.halloweenhowl.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Adults invited to participate in art coursesDaily HeraldShe was able to learn how to make unique Halloween costumes for her children as well as skills on theater costuming. "I took the course because I was asked to be a costume director for a church Latino event at Temple Square," Montesino said. |
Today's Garden Center |
Consumers Ready To Spend AgainToday's Garden CenterCorcoran also talked about an up-and-coming Halloween trend: Do-It-Yourself adult halloween costumes. This trend marries the 22 percent upswing in adult Halloween costume sales (from $900 million in 2010 to $1.21 billion in 2011) to the desire to ... |
|
