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Thought I'd look into it myself and do some research... they take this "holiday" way too serious around here

As one of the world's oldest holidays, Halloween is still celebrated today in several countries around the globe, but it is in America and Canada that it maintains its highest level of popularity. Every year, 65% of Americans decorate their homes and offices for Halloween...a percentage exceeded only by Christmas. Halloween is the holiday when the most candy is sold and is second only to Christmas in terms of total sales.


AUSTRIA
In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. The reason for this is because it was once believed such items would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night which for the Austrians was considered to be brimming with strong cosmic energies.

BELGIUM
The Belgians believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross once's path and also ulucky if it should enter a home or travel on a ship. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives.

CANADA
Modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began with the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Jack O'Lanterns are carved and the festivities include parties, trick-or-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks.

CHINA
In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bondires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Haloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples fashion "boats of the law" from paper, some of which are very large, which are then burned in the evening hours. The purpose of this custom is twofold: as a remembrance of the dead and in order to free the spirits of the "pretas" in order that they might ascend to heaven. "Pretas" are the spirits of those who died as a result of an accident or drowning and whose bodies were consequently never buried. The presence of "pretas" among the living is thought by the Chinese to be dangerous. Under the guidance of Buddhist temples, societies are formed to carry out ceremonies for the "pretas," which includes the lighting of lanterns. Monks are invited to recite sacred verses and offerings of fruit are presented.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA
In Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. There is one chair for each living family member and one for each family member's spririt.

ENGLAND
At one time, English children made "punkies" out of large beetroots, upon which they carved a design of their choice. Then, they would carry their "punkies" through the streets while singing the "Punkie Night Song" as they knocked on doors and asked for money. In some rural areas, turnip lanterns were placed on gateposts to protect homes from the spirits who roamed on Halloween night. Another custom was to toss objects such as stones, vegetables and nuts into a bonfire to frighten away the spirits. These symbolic sacrifices were also employed as fortune-telling tools. If a pebble thrown into the flames at night was no longer visible in the morning, then it was believed that the person who tossed the pebble would not survive another year. If nuts tossed into the blaze by young lovers then exploded, it signified a quarrelsome marriage. For the most part however, the English ceased celebrating Halloween with the spread of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. Since followers of the new religion did not believe in Saints, they saw no reason to celebrate the Eve of All Saints' Day. However, in recent years, the American "trick or treating" custom, together with the donning of costumes for going door-to-door, has become a relatively popular pasttime among English children at Halloween, although many of the adults (particularly the older generations) have little idea as to why they are being asked for sweets and are usually ill-prepared to accommodate their small and hopeful callers.

FRANCE
Unlike most nations of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in order to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is regarded as an "American" holiday in France and was virtually unknown in the country until around 1996.

GERMANY
In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The reason for this is because they do not want to risk harm befalling the returning spirits.

HONG KONG
The Halloween celebration in Hong Kong is known as "Yue Lan" (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts) and is a time when it is believed that spirits roam the world for twenty-four hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money at this time, believing these images would reach the spirit world and bring comfort to the ghosts.

IRELAND
In Ireland, believed to be the birthplace of Halloween, the tradition is still celebrated as much as it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were in the days of the Celts and children dress up in costumes to spend the evening "trick-or-treating" in their neighborhoods. After the visiting, most people attend parties with neighbors and friends. At these parties, many games are played, including "snap-apple," in which an apple on a string is tied to a doorframe or tree, and players attempt to take a bite out of the suspended apple. In addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts with sweets or pastries as the "treasure." The Irish also play a card game where cards are laid face-down on a table with sweets or coins beneath them. When a child selects a card, he or she receives whatever prize might be found there. A traditional food is eaten on Halloween called "barnbrack." This is a type of fruitcake which can be baked at home or store-bought. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake which, so it is said, can foretell the future of the one who finds it. If the prize is a ring, then that person will soon be wed and a piece of straw means a prosperous year is forthcoming. Children are also known to play tricks upon their neighbors on Halloween night. One of which is known as "knock-a-dolly," where children knock on the doors of their neighbors but then run away before the door is opened.

JAPAN
The Japanese celebrate the "Obon Festival" (also known as "Matsuri" or "Urabon") which is similar to Halloween festivities in that it is dedicated to the spirits of ancestors. Special foods are prepared and bright red lanterns are hung everywhere. Candles are lit and placed into lanterns which are then set afloat on rivers and seas. During the "Obon Festival," a fire is lit every night in order to show the ancestors where their families might be found. "Obon" is one of the wo main occasions during the Japanese year when the dead are believed to return to their birthplaces. Memorial stones are cleaned and community dances performed. The "Obon Festival" takes place during July or August.

KOREA
In Korea, the festival similar to Halloween is known as "Chusok." It is at this time that families thank their ancestors for the fruits of their labor. The family pays respect to these ancestors by visiting their tombs and making offerings of rice and fruits. The "Chusok" festival takes place in the month of August.

MEXICO, LATIN AMERICAN AND SPAIN
Among Spanish-speaking nations, Halloween is known as "El Dia de los Muertos." It is a joyous and happy holiday...a time to remember friends and family who have died. Officially commemorated on November 2 (All Souls' Day), the three-day celebration actually begins on the evening of October 31. Designed to honor the dead who are believed to return to their homes on Halloween, many families construct an altar in their home and decorate it with candy, flowers, photographs, fresh water and samples of the deceased's favorite foods and drinks. Frequently, a basin and towel are left out in order that the spirit can wash prior to indulging in the feast. Candles are incense are burned to help the departed find his or her way home. Relatives also tidy the gravesites of deceased family members, including snipping weeds, making repairs and painting. The grave is then adorned with flowers, wreaths or paper streamers. Often, a live person is placed inside a coffine which is then paraded through the streets while vendors toss fruit, flowers and candies into the casket. On November 2, relatives gather at the gravesite to picnic and reminisce. Some of these gatherings may even include tequila and a mariachi band although American Halloween customs are gradually taking over this celebration. In Mexico during the Autumn, countless numbers of Monarch butterflies return to the shelter of Mexico's oyamel fir trees. It was the belief of the Aztecs that these butterflies bore the spirits of dead ancestors.

SWEDEN
In Sweden, Halloween is known as "Alla Helgons Dag" and is celebrated from October 31 until November 6. As with many other holidays, "Alla Helgons Dag" has an eve which is either celebrated or becomes a shortened working day. The Friday prior to All Saint's Day is a short day for universities while school-age children are given a day of vacation.

Tags: Traditions Halloween

Maybe Armenians in the US should stop wasting their money, time and lives on this resolution since its obvious that racism is deeply rooted in Governments.

Here is a good collection of videos of events leading up to the current situation starting with Bush's speech on the resolution

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/17/house.armenian/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

- Supporters of a congressional resolution that would have declared the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians "genocide" dropped their call for a vote on the measure Thursday.

- Though the sponsors, led by California Democrat Adam Schiff, suggested the measure could be brought back later this year, a senior Democratic leadership aide said the issue is off the table indefinitely.

- "This is not going to be taken up until next year at the earliest," the aide said.

- Historians estimate about 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire -- the predecessor of modern Turkey -- during World War I. But Turkey, now a secular and democratic Muslim nation, and masses of its people reject the term genocide, viewing the deaths as part of a war that claimed lives among all peoples in the region.

You can read the whole article here http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/25/us.turkey/index.html

Tags: Genocide Resolution Politics

This song kicks so much a$$

Artist: Serj Tankian (System of a Down)


Brushing, touching, feeling on your shoulders,
Believing, appealing, kneeling in your worlds,
Oceans are combined...

Being that I love you so much,
In the end they all will say,
Breaking someone else's heart again...

Find the little evil perpetrator,
And feed him to the hungry alligator,
You want it all,
You want it all,
Love is not about the profits,
Nor the riches in your dreams...

The arms of time are breaking off,
Civilization is on trial,
The clocks eliminating time,
Do you believe in me...

I've been walking through these dead farms,
But I don't mind,
I've been screaming through these dead lungs,
But I can't find...

Being that I love you so much,
In the end they all will say,
Breaking someone else's heart again...

Find the little evil perpetrator,
And feed him to the hungry alligator,
You want it all,
You want it all,
Love is not about the profits,
Nor the riches in your dreams...

The arms of time are breaking off,
Civilization is on trial,
The clocks eliminating time,
Do you believe, in me...

But lately I've been blind,
You leave me all alone, left in time,
You left me here to die, left in time,
Leave me all alone, left in time...

The arms of time are breaking off,
Civilization is on trial,
The clocks eliminating time,
Do you believe in nothing...

But lately I've been blind,
Leave me all alone, left in time.

Tags: Song Lyrics

If you live in the United States and wish to support the Genocide Resolution, visit WWW.ANCA.ORG and put your zip code in the upper left corner. TAKE ACTION NOW!!!!!!!!!! URGE YOUR SENATORS TO COSPONSOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION!!! Demand Passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution!!!! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!! If not for yourself then for all of our ancestors who lost their lives!!

GO TO WWW.ANCA.ORG for more info!!!

7 Reasons to Support the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106)

1) Moral support
By standing up for the truth, the Congress reaffirms both U.S. leadership on human rights and the American people’s fundamental belief in justice, while raising our international standing on human rights and strengthening our ability to help prevent
future genocides.

2) Majority support
H.Res.106 has been cosponsored by more than 225 Representatives from 39 states.

3) Bipartisan support
H.Res.106 enjoys strong support among the House Democratic leadership, as well as among senior Republicans, including the House Republican Policy Committee Chairman, Chief Deputy Minority Whip, and the Ranking Members of the Rules, Education and Labor, Judiciary, and Armed Services committees.

4) Committee support
H.Res.106 has been cosponsored by 23 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. An identical resolution considered by this same panel in the 109th Congress was supported by both the Chairman and Ranking Member and passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 40 to 7.

5) Grassroots support
The Armenian Genocide has been officially recognized, through legislation or proclamation, by 40 U.S. states.

6) Coalition and international support
H.Res.106 is supported by the Genocide Intervention Network, National Council of Churches, American Values, Jewish groups including the Zionist Organization of America and Americans for Peace Now, as well as by a diverse coalition that includes
organizations representing the Ukrainian, Greek, Filipino, Polish, Hungarian, Arab, Bulgarian, Latvian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Slovakian, and other communities.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by a growing number of nations, including Canada, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, France, Argentina, Russia, and Switzerland.

7) Academic support
H.Res.106 has been endorsed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the leading group of experts in Holocaust and genocide studies.

Tags: Genocide Resolution Politics

Here is a preview of all the songs from the upcoming CD to be released Oct. 23. A lot of the songs are political/spiritual so if you're shallow, you probably won't care much for the songs or his views of the world. Cut and paste into your browser...

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=huhngott&p=r

Tags: SOAD Music

It's an old phenomenon: When the dispossessed get clout, the past becomes a battleground. Often the stakes in the present are extraordinarily high.

An exemplary skirmish over very bad history is taking place in the U.S. Congress -- in this case, the World War I slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey.

Whether or not the Ottomans' mass deportation and murder of Armenians in 1915 and 1916 reaches the formulaic, industrial magnitude of the Nazis' genocide or Stalin's decimation of Ukraine is a debating point for lawyers and apologists. The Ottoman "Young Turk" government took a systematic approach that stinks of classic tribal "ethnic cleansing." The Ottomans disarmed Armenian soldiers and removed them from the ranks of the Turkish army. Suspect loyalty and connivance with the Orthodox Christian enemy, Russia, was the ostensible rationale.

After confiscating Armenian guns, Ottoman knives appeared. Mobs murdered Armenian intellectuals and leaders -- killing communicators silences a community. Then the deportations began, featuring long marches where starvation and sunstroke killed as many as the attacks of "thieves and raiders." One-and-a-half million Armenians (out of a population of approximately 2.5 million) died in this directed chaos. Darfur and the Congo are contemporary examples of this hideous technique.

WWI ended. After a bout of internal chaos and a war with Greece, republican Turkey emerged from the Ottoman wreckage. Its political architect, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, launched political and cultural revolutions, creating a secular Turkey and with it a possible Islamic bridge to modernity. Turkey adopted Latin script, a visual, literary break with the Ottoman Empire and caliphate. It's one reason al-Qaida fanatics despise Ataturk more than they do George Bush.

Modern Turks can make a case they aren't the Ottomans.

Diaspora Armenians, however, now have influence and a voice. The once dispossessed have earned it. Armenians have had extraordinary political and economic success in Western Europe and the United States.

Only the heartless would dismiss their desire to recognize the great wrong. Yet historical verification and vindication aren't the only goals -- the U.S. House resolution backed by Armenian-Americans demands punishment of the perpetrators.

The perpetrators, however, are long dead. The Turkish government thus sees the resolution as a political attack on Turkey.

At a less volatile moment one can imagine Congress passing the nonbinding resolution. I would support it, particularly if it promoted Turkish and Armenian reconciliation.

But find the less volatile moment. The Clinton administration judged the year 2000 as too volatile to pass the House resolution. President Clinton valued U.S.-Turkish relations, and the United States needed access to Turkish airbases to enforce the U.N.-mandated northern no-fly zone that helped protect Iraqi Kurds from Saddam. Clinton got then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert to kill the resolution.

Those Turkish bases now supply and support U.S. troops in Iraq. No matter one's opinion on Iraq, antagonizing Turkey when it provides air and logistical bases supporting U.S. troops actively deployed in a combat zone is foolish and craven. A Turkish decision to shut down these facilities would cut a major coalition supply line. U.S. troops in Iraq would face increased risks.

This is reason enough to delay passing the resolution. There are others. For two years, Turkey has threatened to invade northern Iraq in order to destroy Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases. The Iraqi government and Washington have both promised Turkey they will "act against the PKK." Turkey says it is tired of waiting -- and has an army on the Iraqi border prepped for action.

Cynics suggest Turkey has been waiting for an opportunity to slip U.S. calls for military restraint and launch a decisive attack to finish off the PKK. The resolution provides Ankara with just this opportunity. Conceivably, Washington could "trade" a deferred resolution for a Turkish promise to restrict its operations in Iraq to "hot pursuit" situations, special-forces actions and surveillance. Diplomats on both sides might structure such a transparent but useful give and take.

Note I said deferred resolution. 2015 may be as volatile as 2007. Historical horrors like the Armenian genocide really don't have anniversaries or centennials, or at least they shouldn't. They do deserve recognition and remembrance as instructive history, but recognition should not do damage to the present. 2015 -- a hundred years after the Armenian massacre -- strikes me as the perfect time to pass the resolution.

Tags: Genocide Resolution Politics

Serj Tankian to release his first solo album “Elect the Dead”

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serj Tankian, lead singer for System of a Down, may be one of the most politically active figures in music - a member of Amnesty International, an advocate of free speech, a vocal critic of the current administration - but even he can get tired of democracy.

“With System, it’s a process where four people have to agree on what songs to use,” Tankian said, explaining his decision to release his first solo album. “When you’re doing it by yourself, all the decisions come and go with you.”

He’s not kidding: “Elect the Dead” due Oct. 23, features almost nobody but Tankian. Though System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan appears on one song, and a handful of session musicians sit in on other tracks, nearly all the instruments - piano, guitars, bass, synthesizers - were played by Tankian. He produced it himself and is releasing it on his own label, Serjical Strike Records.

In some ways, the album is a natural sequel to “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize,” the two wildly ambitious albums System of a Down released in 2005. Once again, there are plenty of hard-rock rhythms, operatic arias and the melismatic vocal lines that reflect Tankian’s Armenian heritage (which he shares with all the members of System). There are also some tough issues at hand. The song “Unthinking Majority” asserts, “I believe that you’re wrong, insinuating they hold the bomb,” a reference to Iraq or Iran or “perhaps both,” Tankian suggested. And the album’s overall lyrics reflect a deep dissatisfaction with current events.

But the disc is also fairly introspective, often conflating the personal with the political. When Tankian sings, “Why do we sit around and break each other’s hearts tonight?” (on the song “Saving Us") it’s hard to tell whether he’s addressing a lover or all humankind.

Speaking by phone from his home in Los Angeles, Tankian described this album as “more philosophical than political.” His thoughts, he said, tended toward larger ideas of civilization, history and the sustainability of life on the planet, though he tried to avoid preaching. “I never use the words ‘global warming,’” Tankian said. “Any time you use cliches or key words, it raises thoughts and feelings that you think or don’t think. I’d rather have you come in with a clean palette.”

So what about the title track, “Elect the Dead?” Despite its title, it sounds almost like a love song. “Death we know comes for us alive,” Tankian sings, “but all I want is you.”

“I’ve heard a lot of interpretations on what `Elect the Dead’ might mean,” Tankian said. And though he didn’t offer his own, he cited one of his favorites: “Maybe the people who are the victims of the epitome of civilization should be the ones who elect our next leaders,” Popmatters reports.

Tags: Music SOAD

Copy and paste into browser to watch....

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=49750&cl=4471187&ch=61492&src=news

Tags: Genocide Resolution Politics

Armenian sway over US lawmakers

By Laura Smith-Spark
BBC News, Washington

Despite a direct appeal by US President George W Bush, lawmakers in the US have backed a description of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks after 1915 as genocide.

Armenian refugees attend a burial in a deportation camp 1915 (picture taken by German photographer Armin Wegner; reproduced here by permission of the Armenian National Institute)
The issue of what happened to the Armenians remains hugely divisive

While Armenia welcomed the vote by a panel in the US House of Representatives, Turkey condemned it as "unacceptable" and has recalled its ambassador to Washington for "consultations".

Turkey accepts there were mass killings in 1915-17 but denies it was genocide.

Ahead of the vote, senior administration officials warned that if the resolution passed, Turkey could cut access to military bases needed for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Its passage "would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror", Mr Bush said from the White House Rose Garden.

Nonetheless, the non-binding resolution passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 27 to 21, a first step towards holding a full vote in the House of Representatives.

Given that Armenians represent only about 1.5m of America's 300m population, what has won them such influence over the US Congress - and perhaps the nation's foreign policy?


The rest of the article can be found here....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7040344.stm

Tags: Genocide Resolution Politics

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