Tuesday, October 29, 10 to 11 am
James Library & Center for the Arts, 24 West Street, Norwell
Admission is free, donations gratefully accepted
Sponsored by the Susan M. Decker Fund for Children’s Literacy
Join us for a spook-tacular Toddler Halloween Morning at the library, where little ones can enjoy a themed storytime filled with fun and not-so-scary tales. Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes as they participate in a Halloween craft station and a lively sing-along session. Tasty themed snacks will be provided to keep everyone energized, and each child will go home with a festive goodie bag. This event is perfect for toddlers and their caregivers to celebrate the season in a safe and joyful environment.
Out of this tradition, the jack o’ lantern is associated with the Irish folk tale of Stingy Jack, a clever drunk and con man who fooled the devil into banning him from hell, but because of his sinful life, could not enter heaven. After his death, he roamed the world carrying a small lantern made from a turnip with a red-hot ember from hell inside to light his way.
Many people think of Halloween as a truly American holiday. In some ways it really is, because of its recent popularity growth. Despite that surge, its roots are Celtic-European. Americans began to dress in costumes and go from house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. In the title “Halloween Traditions in Boston,” Anthony Sammarco discusses the history of the Salem Witchcraft Trials which caused such tremendous anxiety and fear and the deaths of many innocent people in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692, to the decorating of Beacon Hill as a veritable neighborhood of whimsy, with macabre skulls, bones, and cobwebs, to pumpkins and lighted jack o’ lanterns.
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