Holiday, practice have ancient, medieval roots
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, November 1, 2017
How did Halloween and treak-or-treating originate?
Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a multiday event that marked the changing of seasons and involved dancing, masquerading as spirits, and building bonfires.
The festival was later co-opted by the early Christian church and renamed All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day — Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Trick-or-treating dates from the middle ages.
From the website of the History Channel:
“Celebrations in England resembled Celtic commemorations of Samhain, complete with bonfires and masquerades. Poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. Known as souling, the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale.
“In Scotland and Ireland, young people took part in a tradition called guising, dressing up in costume and accepting offerings from various households. Rather than pledging to pray for the dead, they would sing a song, recite a poem, tell a joke or perform another sort of ‘trick’ before collecting their treat, which typically consisted of fruit, nuts or coins.”
For more info: www.history.com.
Grocery chains based in Ohio, Idaho, Texas
Where are the corporate offices of Kroger, Market Basket and Albertsons, and how do I contact them?
Kroger is based in Cincinnati; Albertsons is based in Boise, Idaho; and Market Basket is based in Nederland, Texas.
You can write to Kroger via post at The Kroger Co., Customer Relations, 1014 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-1100; call the company at 513-762-4000; or send email to info@thekrogerco.com.
You can write to Albertsons at Customer Support Center, M.S. 10501, P.O. Box 29093, Phoenix, AZ 85038, or you can call 877-276-9637.
You can write to Market Basket at 2420 Nederland Ave., Nederland, TX 77627, or you can call 409-727-3104.
Both Albertsons and Market Basket allow users to send email via their websites, and the sites for all three grocery chains feature prominent links to their weekly sales circulars.
For more info: www.kroger.com; www.albertsons.com; www.marketbasketfoods.com.
