Stumblin' Along 10/27 '24
Halloween Theme Song
- Halloween History
- Game 3 World Series Preview
- YouTube Rabbithole
![John Carpenter - Halloween Theme [Halloween, Original Soundtrack] - YouTube](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zBvY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7810ae1-805b-4af8-88d6-3ae94ad9fe14_1280x720.jpeg "John Carpenter - Halloween Theme [Halloween, Original Soundtrack] - YouTube")
Alright @YouTheReader,
There are no lyrics. What the hell do I do for an opener?!?!?!?
Halloween History
Okay, so you might want to sit down for this one. Not only did the Irish build New York City and create the perfect pint but they invented Halloween. Wow. The roots of Halloween go back 2,000 years ago to the Celtic “Samhain” festival which was a celebration of the end of summer. Celtic tribes would light bonfires and dress up in costumes in an effort to ward off evil spirits for the incoming winter. The costumes consisted of animal heads and skins. In Celtic mythology, apples were associated with supernatural forces especially pertaining to love and fertility. Apples were used at these festivals in games such as Apple Peel Test and Bobbing. It was said that you peel an apple fully and then toss it around your back, a woman who finds the initials of her potential guy somewhere on the apple peel. Similarly, with bobbing for apples, the first woman to bite an apple was said to be married that year like catching a bouquet. (Irish American Mom)
The Roman Empire, which never conquered Hibernia (today what we call Ireland), influenced the other Celtic territories around A.D. 43 when they took over England, Wales, and parts of Scotland. The Romans at this time had their own holiday called Feralia known as the passing of the dead. Later on around A.D. 1000, November 1st would be celebrated as All Saints’ Day once Christianity started spreading in the region. The alternate name to All Saints’ Day was All-Hallows. When Christianity started to blend with the Celtic tradition of Samhein, they began to call the festival the night before All-Hallows Eve. Eventually, All Hallows Eve became Halloween. (History)
Sadly, colonial America wasn’t all about Halloween, I guess the English just didn’t see the fun in Halloween 🫤. The United States didn’t really celebrate the holiday until after the Irish and Scottish started emigrating over here when they brought over their spooky Celtic traditions. Once Americans wanted in on Halloween, of course, it became Americanized. The festivals became neighborly house parties that tried veering a bit away from ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft, but were ultimately unsuccessful when….
…The concept of “Trick or Treating” became associated with Halloween. Dressing up in costumes and going house to house asking for food or money was already a European-borrowed tradition. The “Trick” is associated with the Irish & Scottish nighttime pranking and mischief that came along with the ghostly holiday, while the “Treat” clearly meant candy. During the Great Depression, Halloween took a turn for the worse when it became associated with vandalism. Then WWII happened, sugar rations were dropped, Baby Boomers were born, and suburbs brought back kids & candy.
Today, one-quarter of all the candy sold annually in the US is purchased for Halloween. Skittles according to Reader’s Digest are America’s most popular candy as Americans purchase an average of 3.3 million pounds of chewy rainbow every Halloween. A close 2nd behind Skittles is Reese’s peanut butter cups, which I’m about to go out and buy a whole bag full of for my fat arse because all this candy talking has got me craving chocolate. While we’re on the topic of candy, candy corn used to be Chicken Feed, and Tootsie Rolls were used during WWII to give American troops “quick energy.” Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, which makes it the 2nd largest commercial holiday after Christmas.
One last piece about the Irish and Halloween has to do with the Jack O’Lantern pumpkin. That comes from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack. Legend has it that this fella named Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him (probably a Guinness if we’re being honest), but Jack himself didn’t want to pay for the pint so he convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin. Instead of buying the drink, Stingy Jack pocketed the coin and kept it close to a silver cross in his house, which prevented the devil from taking shape again. Stingy Jack made a deal with the devil, to let him go if he would leave him alone and not claim his soul. When Stingy Jack died God didn’t want him in heaven and the devil, true to his word, wouldn’t let him in hell either, so he was sent off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Stingy Jack put the coal in a carved-out turnip and has been roaming Earth as a ghost ever since. The Irish and Scottish started carving out their own scary versions of Jack’s lantern in turnips, beets, and potatoes. Once the tradition traveled to the U.S., Americans started to use pumpkins, native to North America, for the lanterns instead. (Liffey College)
World Series Game 3 Preview
The Yankees are down bad in the series 0-2, as both teams make their way to the Bronx, New York. 10 teams in the 120 World Series matchups have overcome such odds. The 1955 Dodgers over the Yankees, the 1956 Yankees over the Dodgers, the 1958 Yankees over the Braves, the 1965 Dodgers over the Twins, the 1971 Orioles over the Pirates, the 1978 Yankees over the Dodgers, the 1981 Dodgers over the Yankees, the 1985 Royals over the Cardinals, the 1986 Mets over the Red Sox, and the 1996 Yankees over the Braves.
For Game 3, the Yankees hand the ball to Clarke Schmidt. The 28-year-old starting pitcher went 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts during the regular season. Schmidt has started in Game 3 of the previous 2 rounds, going 4.2 innings with 2 runs allowed in both games. He has never pitched against the LA Dodgers in his career, having only faced Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kike Hernandez in a small sample size. (They are a combined 2 for 13 with 1 homer.)
Fun fact: Clarke Schmidt’s father was the pilot of the Yankees flight to LA. Schmidt joked with reporters, “"Everybody feels like the pilot's a little bit more personally invested into the flight, so they feel a little safer.
As for the Dodgers in Game 3, LA gives the ball to Walker Buehler. The 30-year-old starting pitcher went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts this regular season. Buehler has pitched in the 2 previous rounds this postseason. He was shelled by the Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS and helped shut out the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS. He has never faced the Yankees, having only faced Juan Soto, Anthony Rizzo, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Trent Grisham during their days in the National League. (They are a combined 13 for 48 with 2 homers.)
Buehler was at one point perceived as the Dodger’s next great ace pitcher but has dealt with arm injuries and hasn’t been the same pitcher since ‘21.
