As Halloween approaches one of our readers shared the following story . . .

Who is the “Jack” in “Jack-o-Lantern?

He’s an ancient blacksmith who made a deal with the devil, trading his soul for seven years of prosperity. But he also got three wishes from Jesus and St. Peter: Anyone who climbed his pear tree, sat in his armchair or climbed into his purse must remain there until Jack let them go.

When the devil came for Jack’s soul, Jack tricked him into climbing the pear tree. The devil gave Jack seven more years of prosperity in exchange for his freedom. When he returned, Jack trapped him in his armchair. When the devil came back seven years later, hoping to sneak up on Jack disguised as an insect, Jack locked him in his purse.

When Jack finally went to the underworld, the devil told him that he didn’t want him around and he should go to St. Peter. As he left, Jack grabbed a burning coal and placed it in the pumpkin he was eating, using it as a lantern to see his way to heaven. The demons who saw it knew to steer well away from clever Jack , . . and to this day, we use jack-olanterns to frighten away evil spirits.

—CC—

October 31st, people across the United States and various other countries participate in a tradition that has been around for some time. Trick-or-treating, which involves costumed children going door-to-door in the neighborhood asking for candy, is a staple of fall.

While the exact origins of Halloween and trickor- treating are hard to pin down, historians believe that Halloween came from a holiday known as Samhain, which ancient Brits and Celts once celebrated in recognition of the onset of winter.

During Samhain, revelers believed that the world of the gods and ghosts was open and that these beings played tricks on the mortals, in turn, mortals lit bonfires and wore costumes, so they would be unrecognizable to the ghosts.

Unlike the lighthearted activities of today’s Halloween, ritualistic sacrifices and other more sinister events also took place 2,000 years ago on Samhain. Once Christianity took root in formally Celtic locales, the time of Samhain celebrations turned and a focus was placed on celebrating the holy and dead in more meaningful ways on All Saint Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2).

In fact, Halloween, which comes from All Hallows Eve (hallow meaning “holy”), offered an opportunity to come together and pray, dress in costumes of hallowed saints and evil spirits, and act out the battles of good versus evil.

Pool individuals also were known to travel to the homes of more fortunate individuals and receive pastries known as “soul cakes” in exchange for a promise to pray for that homeowner’s deceased relatives. The tradition of “souling” eventually gave way to trick-or-treating.

History.com says it is unknown when the term “trick-or-treat” came into the vernacular. However, the phrase has at least been in use since 1951, when the popular “Peanuts” comics published a Halloween edition. The title “Trick or with Bill Robinson

Treat” also was used on a Disney cartoon featuring Donald Duck in 1952.

Drive careful on Halloween. —CC— Sweet Halloween Statistics:

Candy reigns supreme on Halloween. Candy compels trick-ortreaters, young and old, to don costumes and spend hours scouring neighborhoods for the best treats. Kids know which houses give out full-sized chocolate bars and which are offering other coveted goodies.

Although consumer spending in October may not be as high as 1.66” X 5.5”

it is during the holiday season, Halloween shopping is considerable. Here is a look at some notable statistics for the season.

Financial resource “The Balance” states that 171 million Americans celebrated Halloween in 2016. Total spending for the holiday reached more than $8.4 billion, which was an all-time record.

Around 65 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween, including getting dressed up or handing out candy. The U.S. census Bureau says 41.2 million trickor- treaters are children between the ages of 5 and 14.

The National Retail Federation says 70 percent of Americans hand out candy, spending around $25 per person on sweets.

Celebrate with candy!

—CC—

One of our readers shared the following and I certainly identify with it ...

Observations on Growing Older * Your Kids are becoming you and you don’t like them; but your grandchildren are perfect!

* Going Out is good. Coming Home is better!

* You forget names; but it’s OK because other people forgot they even knew you!

* You realize you’re never going to be really good at anything . . . especially Golf.

* The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do but you really do care that you don’t care to do them anymore.

* You sleep beter on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It’s called “pre-sleep.”

* You miss the days when everything worked with just an “ON” and “OFF” switch.

* You tend to use more 4 letter words . , . “what!” . . . “when!”

* Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it’s not safe to wear it anywhere.

* You notice everything they sell in stores is “sleeveless”!

* What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

* Everybody whispers. * You have three sizes of clothes in your closet; two of which you will never wear.

* But old is good in some things: old songs, old movies, and best of all, old friends!

—CC—

I felt better after reading this . . .

Brains of older people are slow because they know so much. People do not decline mentally with age, it just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information in their brains, scientists believe.

Much like a computer struggles as the hard drive gets full, so, too, do humans take longer to access information when their brains are full.

Researchers say this slowing down process is not the same as cognitive decline. The human brain works slower in old age, said Dr. Michael Ramscar, but only because we have stored more information over time. The brains of older people do not get weak. On the contrary, they simply know more.

Also, older people often go to another room to get something and when they get there, they stand there wondering what they came for. It is not a memory problem, it is nature’s way of making older people do more exercise. So there, and be sure to tell all of your friends.

—CC—