The Echo - Vol. 23; Issue 1 - Halloween Edition
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the Echo Halloween Edition Vol. 23; Issue 1
Table of Contents
Halloween in
Quarantine 3-4
The History of
Halloween 5
Keep Warm with Food
Network’ s Pumpkin
Cookies 6-7
Brewing the Perfect
Halloween Film 8
Credits
Layouts: Salman Khan, News Magazine Editor
Cover: Skylar Serrano, Staff Photographer
Editing: Dana Balmas, Editor-in-Chief
Salman Khan, News Magazine Editor
the Echo’s Guide to
in
Alice Braun & Olivia Durcan or-treating events are a big part of what will keep you
Staff Writers in the halloween spirit! Especially for younger chil-
The Halloween season is slowly approaching, and dren, going to local events where they still get to expe-
with quarantine still intact, significant changes will be rience halloween and all it has to offer, is beneficial for
occurring this season. Being one of the largest holidays an amazing time.
in the United States, mMany parents have been looking
to keep their children excited over this holiday. It’s very If visiting your friends and family during the Hallow-
important to stay safe as well as have fun. We all want een season is your favorite treat, you are still able to
to be able to experience our Halloween to it’s biggest enjoy the spooky get-togethers and parties everyone
potential, as well as not hurt anyone in the process. knows and loves with virtual parties online! Many peo-
There are many different types of festive activities that ple have altered their past traditions of indoor parties
are safe, as well as fun that are great tips for keeping to Zoom calls featuring ideas of bake-offs and costume
things lively this season. competitions that are both family friendly and safe for
everyone involved. Along with friends and family, the
The most delicious activity we have today is baking love of pumpkin patches and pumpkin carving are two
and cooking festive dishes. Halloween is a great season popular and fun activities commonly checked off of
to get creative with your cooking, and a great family the bucket lists of huge fall fans.
and friends activity. You can design all different types
of scary cookies, or make your own dishes with a WIn the end, we all just want to continue to have fun
halloween themed twist. Cooking is quite an enjoyable throughout these rough times. It’s important to keep
activity, and even better you get to eat a delicious treat your spirits up, and have some fun with friends and
at the same time. family! Crafts and activities are a great way to do such
a thing, so have fun, and happy halloween.
Next we have the most important part of Halloween
for many: the candy! Although trick or treating seems The Halloween season is slowly approaching, and
to be out of the question, many alternative events are with quarantine still intact, significant changes will be
still going on, as well as new ones being created. Many occurring this season. Being one of the largest holidays
halloween parades, events, and neighborhood trunk- in the United States, mMany parents have been looking
to keep their children excited over this holiday. It’s very rience halloween and all it has to offer, is beneficial for
important to stay safe as well as have fun. We all want an amazing time.
to be able to experience our Halloween to it’s biggest
potential, as well as not hurt anyone in the process. If visiting your friends and family during the Hallow-
There are many different types of festive activities that een season is your favorite treat, you are still able to
are safe, as well as fun that are great tips for keeping enjoy the spooky get-togethers and parties everyone
things lively this season. knows and loves with virtual parties online! Many peo-
ple have altered their past traditions of indoor parties
The most delicious activity we have today is baking to Zoom calls featuring ideas of bake-offs and costume
and cooking festive dishes. Halloween is a great season competitions that are both family friendly and safe for
to get creative with your cooking, and a great family everyone involved. Along with friends and family, the
and friends activity. You can design all different types love of pumpkin patches and pumpkin carving are two
of scary cookies, or make your own dishes with a popular and fun activities commonly checked off of
halloween themed twist. Cooking is quite an enjoyable the bucket lists of huge fall fans.
activity, and even better you get to eat a delicious treat
at the same time. WIn the end, we all just want to continue to have fun
throughout these rough times. It’s important to keep
Next we have the most important part of Halloween your spirits up, and have some fun with friends and
for many:, the candy! Although trick or treating seems family! Crafts and activities are a great way to do such
to be out of the question, many alternative events are a thing, so have fun, and happy halloween.
still going on, as well as new ones being created. Many
halloween parades, events, and neighborhood trunk-
or-treating events are a big part of what will keep you
in the halloween spirit! Especially for younger chil-
dren, going to local events where they still get to expe-
Zombie Sk8r Dream Gurl Princess Photo: Zara Sarwar Park after Dark Photo: Emmie Opyd
the
History
The influence of Christianity by the Romans in the
9th century was intrinsic to the shifting of festivities
and practices. Christianity started to blend and sup-
plement the old Celtic rituals, adopting certain views
Halloween
of and assimilating. This was where the famous name
of Halloween came from, as the church dedicated
the Samhain festival to commemorate more of their
religion. They named it All Saints Day or All-hallows.
This ultimately prompted the night Oct. 31, the night
of Samhain, to be All-hallows eve.
Abby Apeland
Staff Writer Another relevant part of present-day Halloween is
How did Halloween go from worshipping and paying trick-or-treating. Kids have grown up with the com-
dues to the Celtic spirits to handing out candy to tacki- petitive mindset to collect as much candy as possible
ly-costumed children? while not having a care in the world, except having
fun with friends from door-to-door. Similar to many
The origin of Halloween, Alls Hallow Eve, comes from other traditions, the history behind trick-or-treating
an ancient tradition of the Celtic people dating around still resonates with the mischievous intent of its origin.
2,000 years ago. The Celts had a festival called Samhain Leading up to the big night, children would dress up
(pronounced sow-win), celebrating the day where the in costumes, go door-to-door and singing songs to
lines between the spirit world and the living world are the dead. Their treats, at the time, were the cakes that
blurred- allowing spirits to cross over. They had many people gave them. Their tricks, on the other hand, were
traditions to follow during this tricky time as they pranks- significant parts of the original Samhain tradi-
needed to ward off evil-doing spirits by making sacri- tions; however, the tricks were typically said to be done
fices to satisfy them and keep them at bay. They would by fairies or mischievous spirits.
light huge bonfires to commemorate the event, and
the people would burn crops and animals as sacrifices The evolution of a sacred and ancient pagan tradition
to the Celtic gods. From this, many of the well-known to a yearly $9 billion industry is a development that has
Halloween traditions of today were derived from a been occurring for ages. From holy rituals with proper
strict religious background. intentions to ward off evil spirits and to survive long
winter seasons, to dressing up in fun costumes and
A traditional aspect of Halloween was always the per- binging on candy, Halloween has shelved some of its
fect costume. Whether a great effort was put in to be historic aspects. How the holiday will continue to de-
scary, funny or just a simple impersonation, costumes velop, if so, remains uncertain and for the future to tell.
are elemental in today’s Halloween culture. However,
the original intent of costumes was to dress up as ani-
mals or ghosts, so the actual spirits would either avoid
them or be too scared to commit any wrongdoings.
During the Middle Ages, they would carve turnips
then insert coals inside to keep them burning through-
out the night to ward off witches or fairies that could
cause harm. These turnips would later become the
classic jack-o-lanterns, brought on by the traditions
of the Irish immigrants in the second half of the 19th
century. These jack-o-lanterns later became a must-
have decorative piece in front of every American
home, as the custom continually evolved past the 20th
century.
Falling Backwards Photo: Skylar Serrano
Aarti Gupta The first step of this recipe was definitely the most
Staff Writer calming. I combined flour, salt and baking powder
The weather has been cooling down, and my motiva- then whisked them together. I generally do not care
tion to leave the comfort of my bed seems to be simul- too much about measurements, but I actually put in
taneously decreasing. All I want to do is stay wrapped the effort this time and discovered my love for leveling
in a blanket, hold a warm mug of coffee in my hands off dry ingredients and feeling the smoothness of them
and eat some freshly baked goods. Unfortunately, it being stirred together.
has been difficult for me to do any of those things, but
the cold weather we have had recently inspired me to The second step
at least attempt to recreate the calming atmosphere proved to be the
of a bakery in my home kitchen. I am definitely not a complete opposite
professional baker, but I put myself to the test and set of number one:
off to make some pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies using mixing softened
Food Network’s “Sugar Cookies Recipe” courtesy of butter and sugar
Alton Brown. The results warmed me, both physically is simply a reci-
and emotionally. pe for disaster.
Although I
A large reason why I think I felt cold was because I had was using
been sitting and avoiding my work. Finding the will to a stand mixer, the
get up and bake was likely the most difficult part of the butter was continuously sticking
whole process, and I almost called off the whole event. to the whisk, and it was difficult to combine
I really needed a mood boost, though, so I played some with the sugar. I had to clean the handle multiple times
light music through the kitchen speaker and found and increase the speed of the mixer before the mixture
myself feeling more comfortable by the minute. The came to a consistent, light color. I would recommend
recipe called for all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, adding the milk and egg a bit earlier, or ensuring
unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, milk and powdered sug- that your butter is extra soft (not melted though) to
ar, which were luckily all ingredients I had normally combine the butter and sugar easily. As a personal
stocked in my kitchen. I gathered them together on preference, I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract at
a table along with other standard kitchen appliances this point—I did not think the sugar did justice to the
such as a mixer, whisk and a large bowl—and with the cookies.
final step of tying back my hair, I got to work.
With the liquid placed them in the oven, I was impatient to see the
and dry ingredi- results. Luckily, the recipe called for them being baked
ents having been for seven to nine minutes at 375 degrees F, so I did not
individually have to wait too long for the final results. The expected
combined, it cook time was true to the recipe, and I let the cookies
was time to mix cool momentarily before biting into them.
them and form
the dough. The end result was a warm, soft cookie that definitely
I took a few exceeded my expectations for an amateur baker. The
moments to warmth of the cookies was inviting, and I felt that it
thoroughly was righteous to sit down and enjoy them. I want-
clean the ed to share the joy I got from them, so I made some
whisk and care packages for my friends with a few cookies and
replace it with a dough some hot chocolate. Then, I delivered the packages to
hook before I gradually added the flour their homes. The cookies are supposed to stay soft for
mixture to the butter. It was not the smoothest to have multiple days, as I saw with my results, so I definitely
both combined evenly in the mixer, so I ended up think that larger amounts can be devoured over the
placing them in a bowl and kneading it with my hands. span of a few days. This recipe is definitely one I would
The dough seemed very tough and tight to me, so I recommend using. It can easily be made into a fun
tried adding a bit more milk to work it together. This competition with icing the cookies or just a nice way to
definitely helped, and I was able to create a manageable get together and work with each other. Even if you are
cookie dough. At this point, I separated the dough into not a regular baker, I think it would be enjoyable to try
two pieces and placed it in the fridge for about two it out because the recipe does its best to yield to begin-
hours. ners. I definitely think that I am going to make these
cookies again over the holidays, and I am already very
The dough excited to see how they turn out.
that I had
deemed Check out the recipe here: https://www.foodnet-
manage- work.com/recipes/alton-brown/sugar-cookies-reci-
able found pe-1914697
its way to
become If you happen to make these cookies, feel free to share
a pain your results with us on Instagram @nvhs_echo. Happy
once baking, and happy Halloween!
again, so
rolling
out the dough
definitely required a lot of manpower
that I did not seem to have. As I previously mentioned,
it could be that my butter was not soft enough, mean-
ing that it was harder to combine. I would recommend
ensuring that your butter is completely softened prior
to making the dough, but because I could not go
back and restart, I simply pushed through the dough
and was able to flatten it. It was easy then to take my
pumpkin cookie cutters and make a bunch of cute little
pumpkin cookies.
Happy Hal
I had already been in love with the cookies from the
loween! :P
moment I organized them on a cookie sheet. As I
Brewing the Perfect
HALLOWEEN FILM
Bhoomi Sharma doesn’t stop them from having some beautiful tunes.
Staff Writer “I Put A Spell On You” is still on every Halloween
I never went trick or treating when I was younger. It playlist, and I can never stop myself from snapping
wasn’t something that people did very often in In- along the beat to the Addams Family Theme. A song
dia. But I loved Halloween anyway because it felt like is something that sticks with you and draws you back
something magical. I don’t know if it was the candies, to the story it belongs to, so of course these movies all
the ghost stories or the permission be anything you have that one special song that takes you back to fifth
wanted for one night. But I loved it. I loved being able grade movie binges.
to believe in magic for one chilly night.
Lastly, the ingredient I’d say is the most important of
A lot of social media is very centered around the all to have an iconic childhood Halloween movie - a
United States, so I was aware of how people celebrated happy ending. Who doesn’t love a happy ending?
it across the world. But I had never heard of the classic There’s something peaceful about a character that we
Halloween movies until my first Halloween here. So have all come to root for that ends up beating the odds.
I chose three of the most famous Halloween movies All of these movies have a win at the end that leads to a
that I had never heard of until I came to the United hopeful future. This detail separates these movies from
States and decided to break down why I think they’re most other movies usually watched during Halloween.
as timeless as they are, and why they’re different from They’re scary to their target demographic of course,
most horror movies: “Hocus Pocus”, “Coraline”, and but it refuses to let their audience go with the feeling of
“The Addams Family”. impending doom. It lets the viewers know that any-
thing that knocks you over can be overcome, and that
Now of course, there are more than these three movies in the end good can prevail. Watching these movies as
that have become a part of American pop culture. But a kid makes you feel safe and strong, so of course you
these, I find, are the ones that people think of most in would remember this movie fondly years down the
fondness and laughter. line, when every piece of Halloween media targeted
towards you is full of gore and violence and death. It’s
One of the details that makes these movies echo something that feels hopeful on a day that’s commer-
through time is the villains. The Other Mother from cialized to be scary, and it’s where the heroes win in the
Coraline haunts my dreams, and the witches’ laughs end. Horror has its own charm, but there’s something
echoes through my brains whenever someone even to be said about a Halloween movie that tells it’s audi-
mentions Salem. The Other Mother and the Sanderson ence that the world isn’t really all as bad as it seems.
sisters must’ve been terrifying to a child, whose entire
worlds revolved around imaginary trips down a mag- So this Halloween, watch one of these movies. Some-
ic door, and All Hallows Eve when you could finally thing that might be softer than you usually go for,
eat all the chocolates you wanted without parental something that leaves you more hopeful than fright-
supervision. I’ll admit, maybe Addams family doesn’t ened. Don’t sit in your house and lock the doors in fear
have the most unforgettable villain, but shouldn’t the of a little doll that may or may not exist. Pretend you’re
Addamses count? Where else have you seen a family so a child that’s just won Halloween, and go get some
peculiar? candy. You’re never too old for it.
And I cannot forget to talk about their iconic songs. The real world will come knocking tomorrow. But not
These movies aren’t necessarily musicals, but that tonight. For now, trick or treat?
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