Nov
14
Written by:
host
11/14/2011 2:12 PM
PINO GELATO NEWS
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News from the Pino Gelato Family. Italian Ice Cream and more...
October 2011
Halloween: A little history….
One obvious question about Halloween is, "What does the word itself mean?" The name is actually a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even”, the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is an old English word for "holy person", and All Hallows' Day is simply another name for All Saints' Day, the day Catholics commemorate all the saints. At some point, people began referring to All Hallows' Even as "Hallowe'en" and then simply "Halloween".
Most of the traditions of Halloween date back to Samhain (sow-en), the ancient Celtic New Year. Samhain, which translates to "end of summer," occurred around the end of October. At its heart, Samhain was an observance of all the important things that were happening during this change of seasons. Celtic tradition held that change had magical properties. The Celts believed this magical time opened up a sort of connection to the dead. They believed the world of the living was closest to the world of the dead at the time of Samhain, and that the spirits of the dead traveled again among the living. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next year’s crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.
The tradition of trick or treating finds its roots in both catholic and Celtic practices: in medieval times, children would go door-to-door begging for “soul cakes”, simple bread desserts with a current topping. For every cake a child collected, he or she would have to say a prayer for the dead relatives of the person who gave the cake. These prayers would help the relatives find their way out of purgatory and into heaven. The Celts would dress up in ghoulish outfits and parade out of town to lead the wandering spirits away. Additionally, Celtic children would walk door to door to collect firewood for a giant communal bonfire. Once the bonfire was burning, the revelers would extinguish all the other fires in the village. They would then relight every fire with a flame taken from the Samhain bonfire, as a symbol of the people's connection to one another. They carried that flame in hollowed-out turnips, creating a lantern resembling the modern day jack-o'-lantern.
Traditional jack-o'-lanterns, hollowed-out turnips with embers or candles inside, became a very popular Halloween decoration in Ireland and Scotland a few hundred years ago. Irish families who immigrated to America brought the tradition with them, but they replaced the turnips with the more plentiful pumpkins. As it turns out, pumpkins were easier to carve than turnips. People began to cut frightening faces and other elaborate designs into their jack-o'-lanterns.
Pino Gelato staff members run to support cancer research
On Saturday October 8th, 2011, Dominic Leong and Thalia Rosso represented Pino Gelato at the 2nd Devin’s Dash Memorial 5K run. Over 150 participants gathered at Hilton Head Health in Shipyard Plantation on Hilton Head to run or walk in memory of Devin Sheaffer and support Cancer Research.
That was a first for both Thalia and Dominic and they did great! Dominic ranked 8th in his division and 80th overall. Thalia followed shortly after and rank 1st in her division! That’s pretty good when you consider both Thalia and Dominic only started running a couple of months ago!
Calendar of Events
Oct 20: Parents conference night at Hilton Head Island High School
Oct22: Health and Fitness Expo at Hilton Head Island High School benefitting the Girls Athletics Department
Oct 26-28: Golf tournament with HMS Host (airport management) in Florida (John and Dominic playing + Claire giving out gelato samples)
Nov 1: Pizza cone making workshops with the kids from the Island Recreational Center of Hilton Head
Nov 4: Birdies for the Brave golf tournament supporting U.S. troops and their families
Nov 11: Taste of the Season with Chamber of Commerce
Nov. 19: Tour of Wreath at The Village at Wexford Nov. 26: Hilton Head Humane Association adoption event at Pino Gelato in The Village at Wexford
Dec. 17: Hilton Head Humane Association adoption event at Pino Gelato in The Village at Wexford
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