The Origins of Halloween

By Erica Dial
Halloween has just passed us, and the Charger staff thought it appropriate to take a look at the origins of Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, as it was originally called. The word Halloween was first used in the sixteenth century and represents a Scottish variant of All Hallows' Eve, the night before All Hallows' Day. Despite pagan roots, the etymology of the word is strictly Christian.

Scholars who have studied the holiday have found that All Hallows' Eve incorporated traditions from pagan harvest festivals, as well as festivals honoring the dead. While some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more closely tied with the Celtic festival of Samhain, meaning “summer's end”. This time of year was used for stock-taking and preparation for the vicious winter months ahead. There was a strong superstitious feel at this time of year; many folks believed that the physical and supernatural worlds were closest at this time and that magical things were more likely to happen. To ward off spirits, the Gaels built huge bonfires and asked for the help of the gods through animal and – allegedly – human sacrifices.
Halloween is believed to have been heavily influenced by Christian “holy days”, such as All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Collectively these holidays were a time for honoring saints and praying for those who had recently passed. It was believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve was the last day for the dead to seek vengeance on those who had wronged them in life. To avoid being recognized by the dead, Christians would wear masks and costumes in order to disguise themselves. This tradition is perpetuated to this day by children dressing up for trick-or-treating.
Whatever the “true” origins of Halloween may be, I think we can all agree that it is an enchanting time of the year. From spooky decorations to plastic jack-o-lanterns filled to the brim with candy, Halloween is a holiday for all to enjoy.

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Buffalo Wild Wings Comes to Cookeville

By Matt Billings and Cody Thompson

America. Many people regard this great land as the home of freedom, also home of guns, baseball, and perhaps most important of all, the hot chicken wing. Of the many great restaurants parceled throughout this great land, one of the most prominent to serve the mystical hot chicken wing is the treasure that is Buffalo Wild Wings. Founded in 1981, in Minneapolis, MN, James Disbrow and Scott Lowery created this famous chain. A mere thirty-one years later it stands as the quintessential chicken Mecca of North America.

On October 1st, the chain’s location in Cookeville, TN opened its doors for the first time? Like other Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, customers are offered boneless or traditional wings with more than thirty options for sauces and seasonings to provide the optimal flavor experience. This unique restaurant has a glorious and long-standing tradition of rewarding the first 100 people through the door with free hot chicken wings for one year. However, glorious and mighty this deal may seem, there is one disappointing catch. The hot chicken wings are limited to one order a week, which is less than one wing a day. Added up however, this is a total of 312 hot chicken wings over the course of a year.
We decided to have a chat with CHS’s own Gray Forrester, one of the lucky recipients of the 312 free hot chicken wings. Gray along with some friends camped out the Sunday before the opening day of the Mecca that is Buffalo Wild Wings. When asked about the experience in general, he replied “ The first two hours were delightful, but then a torrential downpour occurred, causing me to retreat to my tent and reflect on my life. Ultimately the experience made me more of a man.” After Mr. Forrester’s powerful account, we decided to head over to Interstate Drive to try some hot chicken wings. An entire three weeks after the grand opening, we were forced to park in the Logan’s parking lot, due to how full it was. Besides the minor set back, we made the trek inside to partake upon the hot chicken wings, rumored to be of the heavens. After being seated, we had a hard time deciding which sauces we would choose. The subsequent meal was quality and the sauces were rich and savory as well as spicy.
In all, Buffalo Wild Wings proved to be more than a mere restaurant to get a quality hot chicken wing. Buffalo Wild Wings serves as a symbol of this great nation, with the freedom to choose any sauce your heart desires. Buffalo Wild Wings is indeed here to stay.

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Movie Review: End of Watch

By Caleb King

Starring  Jake  Gyllenhaal  and  Michael  Peña,  End  of  Watch  is  a  movie  detailing  the  day  to  day  lives  of  fictional officers  Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala.  While  most  of  the  movie  takes  place  in  the  front  seat  of  there  squad  car  the  movie  is  never  boring due  to  the  relationship  between  the  characters,  the  camera  work,  and  the  writing  of  the story.

The  movie's  strongest  appeal  is  the  relationship  between  the  main  characters.  At  its centre, the movie  is  a  109  minute  bromance.  Gyllenhaal  and  Peña  play  so  well  off  of one  another  that  you  just  might believe  that  they  had  grown  up  together,  working  day  after  day  to  keep L.A.  safe.  The  only  problem  with  this  is  that  the  characters  never  disagree.  While  they  do  poke  fun  at  one  another  throughout  the  entire  movie  they  never  even  consider  that  what  the other  did  was  wrong.

Another  quality  that  the  movie  did  well  was  the  camera  work.  The  movie  was  shot  in the  “home  movie”  style.  Similar  to  Cloverfield  and  the  Blair  Witch  Project,  the  movie   is  supposedly  shot  by  officer  Brian  Taylor  for  a  college  thesis.  The  production  crew  went  all  out even  editing  in  the  picture  texture  to  give  it  a  mild  static  look  for  realism.  This  alone  would mean  nothing  if  the  charters  didn't  address  the  camera.

Finally  the  story  itself  is  very  well  written.  If  the  writers  had  gone  with  some  over  the top  action  movie  it  would  have  lost  most  of  its  appeal.  The  reason  the  movie  is  so  good  is because  the  charters  play  well  off  each  other.  Not  just  the  main  characters,  but  all  characters- the  cops,  the  gangsters-  are  ground  in  a  realism  that  adds  depth  to  the  entire  movie.

In  conclusion  the  movie  does  well  with  the  writing  and  character development  and  I  feel  that  the  only  shortcoming  is  that  the  movie  feels  short. Even  though  the  movie  is lengthy  it  crams  so  many  events  into  such  a  small  amount of  time  the  pacing  just  seems extraordinarily fast.

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