Trick-or-Treat

The grass is littered with the reds, oranges and yellows of fall leaves. The air is crisp and bitter, and the smell of corn stalks and foliage fills the air. Halloween is here.

In the first century A.D., the Celts, who lived in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, started the tradition of Halloween, according to www.history.com.

On Nov. 1, All Saints' Day, the Celts celebrated their new year and marked the beginning of a cold, harsh winter.

The Celts associated winter with human death. On the night before the first of November, Halloween, the Celts believed the worlds of the living and the dead collided. On this night, they believed the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth to damage crops and cause trouble. When Christianity started to spread into the Celtic region around the 800s, Pope Boniface IV named Nov. 1 as All Saints' Day to replace the Celts' holiday of the dead with a more religious holiday.

St. Bonaventure students are ready to celebrate Halloween 20 centuries later.

Many people have a favorite Halloween candy, and senior journalism and mass communication major George Roland loves the traditional orange, white and yellow candies of fall.

"I do like candy corn, and I know that's really a love or hate thing, but I really like candy corn!" he said. "(My favorite Halloween candy is) probably snickers, too."

Junior journalism and mass communication major Breanna Farner doesn't feel the same way about candy corn.

"I hate candy corn," she said. "But I like candy apples!"

Two thousand years ago, the Celts would dress up in ghoulish costumes to scare away the spirits of the dead from returning to cause havoc. Today, the most fun part about Halloween is dressing up - and don't do it to scare away any ghosts. Farner is making a video game into a reality with her costume.

"I am being Peach from Super Mario Brothers, and my boyfriend is being Mario," she said.

Farner also recalled some of her previous costumes from high school.

"One year me and six other girls went as Sailor Moon and the sailor scouts. I was so into Sailor Moon when I was little," she said. "(And) another year three of us went as sumo wrestlers. We couldn't fit into our chairs at school, so we had to deflate in class."

Roland is dressing up in a more traditional costume: a doctor. He also recalled a humorous costume he saw in the past.

"Last year, there were a couple of girls who made Lego costumes out of cardboard boxes and Solo cups, and they all fit together, which was the really cool part," he said. "The problem was we were at a party that was really crowded and people ended up using them as tables."

Group costumes always seem to be popular on Halloween. Freshman undecided science major Erica Mungall is dressing up with some of her friends.

"I'm being a cheerleader," Mungall said. "The other girls on our wing are being cheerleaders too . 3rd Rob woo woo!"

In need of a last-minute costume?

If you have realized you have a Halloween party to attend and nothing to wear, here are some ideas to score you an easy-to-make costume.

Grab the sheets off your bed and be a ghost.

Be a 1960s hippy and bust out some bell-bottoms, let your hair fall long and loose, put on a tie-dye shirt, and hold your hand in a peace sign.

For girls, you can do just about anything with leggings and a tank top. Add bunny ears and a pom-pom tail for a bunny costume, or add floppy ears and a long piece of fabric as a tail for a puppy.

If you own a lot of pink clothing, dressing up as Barbie is perfect. Don't forget the hot pink lip gloss!

For guys, wear your favorite sports jersey, and be a member of that team. You can always ask one of your girl friends for their clothes and dress up as a chick, or remember that laundry basket you never use? Put it to use by cutting a hole in the middle, stepping into it and securing the basket around your waist. Then pick up all of the clothes on your dorm floor and fling them in the basket and be 'dirty laundry.'

Roland also came up with a cheap costume idea for roommates.

"You and your roommate could switch places, like steal each other's clothes and go as each other," he said.

Farner thinks some celebrities are fun to impersonate for Halloween.

"Movie stars are usually easy to re-enact," she said. "Britney Spears is definitely the easiest!"

The Devereux ghost is bound to make an appearance Halloween night - and who knows what students will go searching - but the St. Bonaventure campus is bustling with students ready for Halloween. Students can trick-or-treat in the town of Olean or check out the night scene on Main Street in Allegany.

Mungall has Halloween plans with her floormates.

"Well, our floor is having a party, and we're having the Bona Buddies trick-or-treat on our floor," Mungall said. "They are coming the day before Halloween, and then we are going on the hayride this Saturday. (On Halloween) we plan on trick-or-treating in the local town."

Farner has plans to hang around Bonaventure for the night.

"I'm going to a party at Bonaventure - a dress-up party," she said.

If you're into staying home this Halloween, pop some popcorn and turn on some Halloween classics. Remember, rentals are free at the Friedsam Memorial Library! "Halloween" and its seven sequels are sure to give you the shakes. Freddy Krueger in "Nightmare on Elm Street" will give you nightmares, and "The Exorcist" is always a safe bet for scariness. Just because it is Halloween doesn't mean you need to watch the scariest movies, though. "Casper," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Beetlejuice" and "Halloweentown" are some festive, not-so-scary movies.