Halloween is a traditional Celtic festival, and has survived through the ages most strongly in the Celtic communities in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. From there, with emigration, Halloween has spread around the world, most notably to America. In recent years, the spread of popular American culture has introduced a further expansion of interest in Halloween to fresh places, such as Asia and Western Europe.

The original Celtic celebrations were pagan festivities related to the changing seasons as winter approached. Traditionally it was a time when the living could communicate with the dead, and magic was abroad. The early Christian church, as with many pagan festivals, absorbed these celebrations into the Christian calendar. All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day, was set down for November 1st. All Hallows Evening, the night of October 31st, became known as Hallow E'en, later just Halloween, and the time for the traditional celebrations.

Halloween celebrations were a community event, and there was usually a bonfire and fun games. The apple harvest was in full swing, and games such as trying to eat an apple on a string or floating in a barrel of water without using your hands, were popular. Children would go from door to door to gather fruit, nuts and other goodies for the festivities, which was the origin of the "treating" visits of today. In most places, especially in Scotland, the children would sing or put on a performance in return for the treats they collected. Today the treats collected are more likely to be candies and sweets, and sometimes money.

Halloween "tricks" were originally secret and often witty pranks played on some adults by children, with the blame being placed on the mischievous spirits that were said to be abroad on Halloween. This practice was especially popular in Ireland. At some stage long in the past, tricks and treating merged into a choice: give a treat or become the victim of a trick. This unfortunate development led to such practices as throwing eggs at houses and soaping windows, and worse. Today these excesses are rare.

Halloween parties are often held with a haunted house theme decoration. To the delight of children, Halloween menu items often include tomato soup renamed as vampire soup, spaghetti dishes renamed with cemetery humor as worms, and the ever-popular breadsticks tipped with sliced almonds and known as witches’ fingers. With so many pumpkins being made into carved jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin dishes such as pumpkin pie are often a feature of Halloween menus.

Over the last few years, the magical themes of the popular Harry Potter books have added fresh fun to costumes and decorations for children's Halloween parties.

Halloween costume parties have also become popular events for adults as well in recent years. They are a great excuse to dress up and have fun. It seems the trend today is for any costume to be acceptable, not necessarily just the traditional witches, vampires and ghosts of Halloween. Costume design inspirations are now drawn from many sources, such as recent movies and television series. Some costumes are just witty, such as the seasonally appropriate theme of a leaf blower, consisting just of a leaf suspended from the brim of a cap where it can be blown.

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First, and foremost, you must pay careful attention to the program's accreditation and standards. Some programs are purely online with no bricks-and-mortar location. many of these online programs are reputable and properly accredited, but not all, so be a careful consumer and check this out thoroughly. Also, make sure the program is credible in the field you want to enter. It would be a terrible thing to spend a lot of time and money investing in a degree that will not let you fulfill your dreams. Of course online version of traditional programs can also be problematic. While there isn't the problem of accreditation and status, not all traditional programs "do" online well. Creating an online class or program requires a different pedagogy and planning than the more traditional counterpart. Make sure your program gets the difference between online and traditional instruction.

It is also important to find out before you choose a program how supportive the online degree program is that you are considering. On campus there are a number of readily available sources to support your education, but what if you are not on a campus? Is there somewhere to turn for technical assistance? How can you contact your instructors and are they readily available to offer help and guidance? Is there library support? Is there a way to develop relationships with faculty and students? While what you learn in class is important, it is also important to remember that the sum of those classes is not the total of your education. Can this program offer the ability to develop a support network for after graduation?

Last, but not least, how expensive will your online degree program be? Some institutions charge more for online programs. Some institutions do not offer financial aid for online programs. Find out the facts ahead of time and plan how you will support your educational plans.

The best source of information about a program are students of the online degree program you are considering, especially graduates of that program. Students can tell you about the level of support the program offers students and how well designed the classes are for distance learning. Graduates can tell you about how well received the online degree is in the field. Do not forget to ask those students if they would choose this program again knowing what they know now. Ask the program for referrals but also seek out your own. Harness the power of the internet and do searches for the degree to find those graduates. Many people post their resumes and vitas to the web so you should be able to find some students. If you cannot then that might also be telling.

Learn more about distance learning at http://www.squidoo.com/distancelearningprograms

Most children receive their spelling words on Monday so the work should begin Monday afternoon or evening. Today you will set the foundation for the week's work. Have the child read the list through and study each word. Then have the child say each word and spell it for you from the written list. Finally, have the child write each word three times. Now put the list away for the day.

When children struggle with spelling it often helps for you to show the child the patterns that can be found in the word list and carefully go over the words that break that pattern. Show the child how to sound out a word and give them clues that will help them remember. Demonstrate how acrobat can be broken into ac-ro-bat, for example.

On Tuesday you will likely want to repeat the same activities unless you feel the child is comfortable with the words and then you can skip ahead to the next day's activities. The intent of these first two days is simply to familiarize the child with the words without placing any pressure on her.

Wednesday it is time to see how well the child knows the words. Give the child a written spelling test and then check the words. Have the child write each word that is missed three times. Then give the child an oral spelling test on the words that were missed. If the child stumbles on any of the words then spell the word with the child. Now put the list away for the day.

Thursday can be easy or challenging depending on the words that week and the child's success with them. If the child is still struggling with several words then simply repeat the Wednesday activities. Try to do so as early as possible to give you time to work with the child on a couple words throughout the evening. Remember to emphasize the patterns and clues that you discussed earlier in the week.

Friday is the big day and the moment of truth to see if all your child's hard work has paid off. Try to allow extra time before school to go over the words again. If the child's confidence is low then do not test, simply spell the words out loud with the child. If you drive your child to school this is a great activity for the car.

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There are three principle methods of written communication in the professions: letters, memos, and emails. While most businesses and organizations use all three on a regular basis, it is the memo that is the most frequently used.

Memos are brief messages that are usually sent between people who have already established a relationship. While letters are often used for formal communication and to establish contact, memos are used to conduct more day-to-day business. Memos have a suggested format, and many organizations develop their own template, but are less formal than a letter.

The heading of a memo contains four simple elements -- To, From, Subject, and Date. Additionally, a CC or BC line may be added if more people should read the information included in the memo.

Employees in all types of businesses and organizations write memos. Memos are sent out to inform of an upcoming event or report on a decision that has been made. Memos are also sent out to request a specific action be taken.

Many times the actual business that is included in the memo was negotiated informally e-mail, phone, or personal communication, but once a decision has been made a memo is created to record the decision or document an action.

Memos are usually short and succinct. Carefully organize the document. It is important to make the purpose of the memo clear at the opening. If your memo includes more than a few paragraphs it is a good idea to use headings to help your reader quickly scan the document for the necessary information. While it is important to report only necessary information, sometimes you may need to provide background or support information so all readers can fully understand the information. The memo should close with the required or suggested action you want the reader(s) to take.

Most memos are a single sheet but it is permissible to have more pages. Print all additional pages on plain paper rather than letterhead. Include three items in the upper right or left corner: the name of the recipient, the page number, and the date of the memo.

Spend time revising and rewording your memo so it is as clear and succinct as possible. Also spend time proofreading carefully for spelling and grammar errors. Often memos will be filed and kept as a permanent record. No one wants their mistakes preserved in the company files.

Learning to write a clear, concise memo is an important skill for many professionals.

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Why is technical communication important and what will you use it for? Actually, technical writing will be used by most college graduates as a regular part of their work. It is much more likely that you will use technical writing than either academic or creative writing unless you specifically enter those fields. A few examples of why you will likely need these skills include: getting a job – preparing a resume or curriculum vitae, cover letter, application, and portfolio; doing your job – preparing memos, letters, reports, instructions, case reports, reviews, assignments, descriptions, etc.; and keeping your job – communicating with management, co-workers, peers, patients/students/public.

What separates technical communication from other forms of writing, such as academic writing? Technical communication has a specific audience and is purposeful, usually intended to solve a problem for that audience. One area that really sets technical communication apart is that it is quite often collaborative. Technical communication is also focused on readability issues, not only the use of clear writing, but also page design and graphics. The excellence of technical writing is judged by clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness.

There are seven principles to guide technical writing: remember your purpose (to inform or persuade), remember your audience (their concerns, background, attitude toward your purpose), make your content specific to its purpose and audience, write clearly and precisely (active voice, appropriate language to audience), make good use of visuals (good page design and graphics), and be ethical (truthful, full disclosure, no plagiarizing).

Technical communication serves both explicit, or clear, and implicit, or implied, purposes. Explicit purposes include to provide information, to provide instructions, to persuade the reader to act upon the information, or to enact or prohibit something. Implicit purposes include establishing a relationship, creating trust, establishing credibility, and documenting actions. Most technical communications are based on a problem statement which gives your document a clearly stated objective for your benefit as well as your reader's. The problem statement defines the problem, by doing more than simply stating your topic, it goes on to explain what about that topic is at issue. For example, if your topic is career guidance then your problem could be the fact that many adults need help identifying a career that suits their strengths and abilities and the solution that your document will present is to create a comprehensive clearing house that helps people identify career paths through military, vocational training, and higher education.

You can learn writing style and find more writing advice at http://answersaboutwriting.com

Is it really the biggest factor in becoming successful?

Recent studies have shown that attitude, above education and other factors, has the biggest impact on your future success. If you have dreams that you want to achieve, you better start by evaluating your attitude.

Having a positive attitude and becoming a positive thinker is the most important step you can take in achieving your dreams. The best part is that it is relatively easy to become a positive thinker. It is just a matter of changing your habits of thought.

Positive thinking just requires that you change the way you handle the circumstances of your life. You want to start paying attention to the thoughts that you have throughout the day. Most of us have an internal monologue that goes through our minds during the day. Have you ever paid close attention to those thoughts?

Make it a habit to start monitoring your thoughts. Notice how many times in the day you are feeling discouraged, critical, sad, depressed or any one of many negative emotions. To set yourself up for better success, you've got to start thinking more positively.

When you become a positive thinker, you do not let one bad event ruin the rest of your day, or worse, the rest of your life. So many people walk around with a chip on their shoulder, and most of them do not even have a right to be mad. They are holding onto trivial matters and making themselves miserable.

Embrace the power of positive thinking by releasing those grudges. Allow yourself to react to bad events in your life, but pick yourself up again and keep on going toward your goal. Do not hold onto those bad feelings, and do not make yourself miserable. There is no point in holding onto those negative thoughts.

Positive thinking is not about being detached from reality. It is about taking charge of your reality, and taking charge of your thoughts. Whatever you concentrate on for most of the day is what you will create in your life. If you are concentrating on the negative, guess what you will get more of?

Become a positive thinker by focusing on the good in your life. You will begin to see more good come into your life, and then you will realize the true power of positive thinking.

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The high cost of education makes students take up these loans. In other countries the cost of education is subsidized by their government but this is not so everywhere. Although grants may be obtained the cost of education is still relatively quite high.

The aim of students are noble. They acquire a good education, be a good citizen and secure their future. The problem arises in repaying the debt.

Payments for student loans usually come at just about the time that they graduate and are supposed to be working. The numerous monthly installments of these student loans along with their different interest rates can sometimes be disturbing. It can bother students so much as to cause them to lose sleep and even get diverted from the normal path of working on their careers.

One thing to do to avoid this inconvenient situation is to try and combine their student loans. This is commonly known as student loan consolidation. It is simply a type of loan which aims to absorb all the previous loans taken by a student. You are trying to consolidate several loans into one. A student will be able to save time and effort as it would be very much easier to handle one payment every month than having several separate payments. Another benefit of this is that it has a lower interest rate than the accumulation of interest rates of the various other student loans. When a student decides to consolidate all his loans, he only has to worry about paying one interest rate and not several different rates on different loans.

Most consolidated loans also offer more flexible and easier repayment options than all the other student loans. A consolidated loan is also generally free of any kind of prepayment penalty, an added benefit that students can take advantage of.

You wouldn't normally delay or waste your time trying to decide. Doing it as early as the opportunity presents itself has its benefits. There may be times when the interest rates on existing loans are expected to rise and this will surely add more to the debt burden.

Do your own research about consolidating your loans and take time to look over the fine print on loan discounts. Think wisely and save yourself unwanted stress and worries.

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The reasons for getting more than a high school or even a university education, are many and varied. Not only can you advance your position in traditional employment but you can open doors to new experiences and opportunities. Most people would agree that school did not properly equip them for living a life above the ordinary.

As the saying goes, the world really is your oyster. Continuing your education will unleash your potential, reveal your untapped talents and set you on a path to success and fulfilling your dreams.

Knowledge is the key. Knowing what action to take or not to take. Doing what others are unable to do because they don't have the knowledge is the key to creating your environment of change. Knowledge also does one more important thing, it can make you less fearful of change.

Remember that learning is a skill in itself. Being open to new ideas and concepts is crucial to your personal development. Find your strengths and build on them. Find your weaknesses and eliminate them. Find your passions and develop them. Find new trends, make opportunities and monetize them.

Equally as important as learning is taking action. Maybe it's even more important, as without action nothing will change. In fact confusion and frustration may result and set you back.

Learning isn't just about creating wealth. Though that's a very good reason as it provides you with the ultimate lifestyle opportunity - choice.

It can be about designing a new life through improved lifestyle, health and wellbeing. It's about finding and developing your artistic passion. It's about learning to feed your inner being through meditation and spirituality.

It's about finding ways to protect your new life and wealth, through fully legal, properly constructed, financial tools like trusts which protect your assets and learning the other tax secrets of the rich.

It's about discovering new technologies, and evolving innovative ways to use them to save time and make money. It's about implementing new ways to save energy, minimize your impact on the planet. It's about creating generational change. It's about learning to think clearly and analyze the facts for yourself.

Of course, learning comes at a cost, seminars and courses can be costly. Plus they take time. Consider that it is an investment in yourself. Is it worth it? Absolutely, we all deserve a life lived to the full. You alone must determine the worth of any program of learning, because you are the only person who knows what you truly desire.

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Studies have shown that children forget between 1 and 3 months of school during the summer vacation. While reading is the least effected, the most impacted subjects are spelling and math. Obviously it is important for children to have time to play and relax -- to just enjoy being kids during the summer. Children should not be pushed into a high-pressure study schedule over summer vacation. But parents can take steps to slow down that loss of knowledge and erosion of skills.

First and foremost, keep children reading over the summer but try to work in some nonfiction as well as fiction onto the reading list. Take a lesson from many experienced teachers and pick a few spelling words from the books children are reading. Perhaps tie test results into some special summer reward and you will have eagerly awaited spelling bees.

Writing is one skill that often erodes during summer, but you can give children a writing journal and a weekly goal. They can write about whatever you think will interest your child. They can report on their baseball games, make up elaborate games, or simply report on the books they are reading. There are lots of great writing prompts out there for kids if you run dry of ideas. It does not matter so much what your child writes so long as they spend time writing so they can work on handwriting skills as well as keep in the groove of putting words on paper. One easy writing prompt is to have the child describe people, places, objects, pets and other animals, insects, and games. Lists are another easy writing prompt -- favorite things, worst things, etc. Then on another day you can use those descriptions and lists to generate another writing prompt.

Math skills might seem the hardest thing to work on during summer but in fact these can be the easiest. Math does not have to come out of a book and you can easily work a lot of math lessons into those long car rides or plane trips as you go on a family vacation. Try counting car headlights (counting by 2s) as you drive or fingers in a restaurant or plane (counting by 5s). Find various shapes around the house and then trace them to create yet more complex forms. Get the kids involved in cooking and learning about measurements. Give the kids a ruler and notebook and tell them to measure various objects around the house. Empty out your pocket change and have the kids sort it and create word problems with the coins.

There are lots of activities you can do at home without the expense of special tools, workbooks or programs that will actively engage your child in learning and help keep their school skills sharp. They will not even notice they are learning because they will enjoy these projects so much.

Renaissance Woman Deanna Mascle shares more good parenting advice at http://renaissancewomanonline.com/family.php

One of the things people learn about in a parenting class is parenting style. There are virtually thousands of options and many people vary their own parenting style several times during the life of the child. Some maintain a nurturing style throughout and display affection and lavish caring towards the child at all ages. Others maintain a more distant style of parenting, preferring to let words promote the parenting style as opposed to actions. Whatever the parenting style is, parenting classes offer a glimpse into the variations between these notions.

Parenting education is another important aspect of parenting classes. Many people go to parenting classes because of the sharing of information. People find, in talking about their issues, that they are able to learn more about parenting. This sharing of parenting education is prosperous for parents and for the children that benefit from new pieces of shared information about raising a family. With the right education, many parents learn how to treat sickness with their child or how to handle a tough psychological problem with their teen.

There are, of course, options for those parents that are parenting baby. A babies needs tend to be more specific and involve a greater amount of care in terms of parenting needs. A baby needs a great deal of attention, so parenting baby training picks up on that and works with tons of valuable information to create the best possible parenting skill-set. From these types of parenting classes, people are finding more confidence to continue parenting baby.

Regardless of the age group of the children, many parents are finding that attending parenting classes is an incredibly helpful way to go about learning more about the troubles and trials of parenting. It is also a great way to communicate and form a network of other supportive parents. One of the major benefits at most parenting classes tends to be the notion of treating each parent, each member of the relationship, as the same and as equal partners in parenting classes.

There are many options for parenting classes. They are typically offered in community centers or within church groups and run year-round on all of the days of the week to accommodate the busy schedule of the average working parent. Finding parenting classes is typically just a matter of looking in a phone book or contacting local representatives for community information. Parenting classes can make all of the difference in the world, even to the most seasoned parenting veteran.

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