We all know that Halloween is for decorations and costumes and candy and fun with kids!! (Sometimes adult kids!) When we look into the history, asking where did this come from, the story goes back to the Celts and their response to the end of summer and the beginning of winter, which for the Northern climates promised some hardship and death. Let’s take a look at what they did.
Celts believed that on this night the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. From History.com we read, “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 during the long, dark winter.”
That’s a very understandable beginning of a holiday. Time passes and we come to All Saints’ Day as Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. “In A.D. 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday. All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows, and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.”
There we go!! That’s the story of the beginnings of Halloween. There is much more to the history as to how it progressed over the years in the US. We’ll take a quick look at that. “By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide Halloween parties as the featured entertainment. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Thus, a new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.”
So, that’s how we got from ‘there’ to ‘here’ where Halloween is time for some laughter and fun with costumes and food and candy. What is AMS doing? We are enjoying some laughter, costumes, food and maybe candy… not sure about the candy.
AMS is having 5 (five!!) contests and we’ll list them and give details.
- Mummify Your Boss (Great idea!)
- Costume Contest (3 categories of winners)
- Pumpkin Carving Contest (Get creative)
- Ghoulish Food Contest (that should be interesting!!)
- Breakroom or Department Decoration Contest (Yes – Enjoy!)
Here below are the details for last-minute planners. There’s still time!
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Mummify Your Boss
Employee challenge to “mummify” their supervisor, manager, or director by wrapping them in warehouse materials. Get creative!
To enter the contest, submit your photo by 10/31 to [email protected]
Volunteer Committee will vote.
There will be top 3 winners:
1st- Ramesses The Great Award
2nd- King Tutankhamun Award
3rd- Seti Award
Prize will be a trip to the prize room!
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Costume Contest
AMS 6th annual employee costume contest 10/31.
See your Volunteer Rep for details on parade schedule.
Each facility will vote their winners for each category.
Facility volunteer rep. will have a voting slip.
There are 3 categories of winners:
Individual
Duo
Department
Prize will be a trip to the prize room!
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Pumpkin Carving Contest
Employees show off their creativity by bringing a pre-carved pumpkin to the Breakroom.
Each facility will vote their winners for each category.
Facility volunteer rep. will have a voting slip.
Prize will be a trip to the prize room!
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Ghoulish Food Contest
Employees attempt to make food or dessert look as spooky as possible.
Votes are due before lunch break, so when the clock strikes lunch,
employees can feed their ghoulish appetite.
Facility volunteer rep. will have a voting slip.
Each facility will vote the winner.
Prize will be a trip to the prize room!
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Breakroom or Department Decoration Contest
Employees come together to decorate their breakroom and/or department.
There will be 1 winner for each state (CA, PA, and DE), selected by the facilities volunteer rep.
Prize will be a trophy!
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HAVE FUN AMS!!