The 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 beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.

On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

By the 600s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs.
http://www.history.com

April Fools' Day

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

Source: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html

Writer of the Month - Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was born in London in 1882 (January 25) and committed suicide in 1941, when she intendedly drowned herself with the pockets of her coat full of stones. She is considered one of the foremost modernist and feminist writers of the twentieth century. Her literary production is rich in allusions to women’s intellectual freedom.
According to her, “Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. Poetry depends upon intellectual freedom. And women have always been poor, not for two hundreds of years merely, but from the beginning of time. Women have had less intellectual freedom than the sons of Athenian slaves.” (1929 A Room of One's Own)
Fortunately, things have slightly changed since these lines were written!