Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic (think over 2000 years ago) festival of Samhain. It was a day that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the cold and dark winter, so naturally, that time of the year was often associated with death. At that time, the Celts believed that on that day, the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest and that the dead returned to earth. To ward off ghosts and bad luck, people would light bonfires and wear costumes. Over time, Halloween has evolved into a day of activities which involve trick-or-treating, craving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, donning costumes and eating treats.
At the UK Campus, we are definitely not one to let a fun festival such as Halloween, especially when it involves costumes and treats go by without celebrating! Thanks to the superb organisation of our two newly appointed student representatives – Andy Lin and Dor Kushinsky – Halloween 2022 was off to a great start with homemade cakes (vegan included!), pizzas, and various goodies! To make it even sweeter, it was so very nice of our neighbours on Boars Hill to join us in our festivities. It was especially lively when our students engaged our neighbours in a fun game of ping pong!
As with tradition, as the night wore on, we need to be on our guard and ward off ghosts. Naturally, our students came prepared and our PHBS-UK monsters emerged: from Frankenstein to Peter Pan. As the first student initiated activity for the new academic year, it was a great success to see our students and neighbours enjoying themselves and having fun. We look forward to more activities by our students! Well done Andy and Dor!
