Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on 31 October. It is thought to be connected with the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of

evil spirits (Encarta 96). Many people don't think about the origin. There is really no significance for most people in the US associated with Halloween, other than it is fun to dress in costumes, go to parties, play spooky music, and collect candies. In the United States you will find many children dressed in costumes on Halloween. They walk from door to door collecting

candies. The chant "trick or treat" is heard throughout the neighbourhood.

The flag of the United States of America consists of

13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)

alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the

canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars

arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top

and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The

creator of the U.S. Flag is popularly considered to be

Betsy Ross. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50

U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original

Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown

and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for

the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the

Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the country's

official national anthem). The 13-star version was

adopted on June 14th, 1777, and the 50-star version on

July 4th, 1960. On August 3rd, 1949 President Truman

signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each

year as National Flag Day.

The Great Seal of the United States is used to

authenticate certain documents issued by the United

States government. The phrase is used both for the

physical seal itself (which is kept by the U.S. Secretary

of State), and more generally for the design impressed

upon it. The Great Seal was publicly first used in 1782.

The design on the obverse of the great seal is the

national coat of arms of the United States and is

officially used on documents such as passports as well

as for military insignia, embassy placards, and various

flags. As a coat of arms, the design has official colors;

the physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is

monochrome. Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal appear on the reverse of the One-Dollar Bill of the United States.

"The Star Spangled Banner" is the national anthem

of the United States. The lyrics come from a poem

written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old

amateur poet who wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry"

after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at

Baltimore, Maryland by British ships in Chesapeake Bay

during the War of 1812.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British

drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the

Anacreontic Society, a London social club. "The

Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven") was

already popular in the United States and set to various

lyrics. Set to Key's poem and renamed, "The Star

Spangled Banner" would soon become a well-known

American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half

octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although

the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly

sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when

free men shall stand...") added on more formal

occasions.

"The Star Spangled Banner" was recognized for official

use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and

was made the national anthem by a congressional

resolution on March 3,1931, which was signed by

President Herbert Hoover.

By Flavius

Special thanks to Violeta de Parma