Trick
or threat ?
Pumpkins in the windows and children
in disguise: it's Halloween again ! You may not know it, but this
celebration is just one example of America's multicultural origins.
Carved turnips for
Halloween
Nothwithstanding popular belief, Halloween isn't an American tradition:
it comes from the Irish Celts. They thought that Jack O'lantern, a drunkard
chased by death, wandered the streets every Halloween night with a lantern in
his hand. So to celebrate, the Irish made lanterns out of … turnips! As we all
know, many Irish people emigrated to the USA, where they found not turnips but
pumpkins. Hence the well-known modern tradition of round orange monsters.
America is a country of immigrants, but the history of American immigration
has often been tumultuous. At the beginning the British, Scottish and Irish
literally populated this huge new continent. However, immigrants soon suffered
from restrictions and even xenophobia. American Protestants didn't accept Irish
immigrants for religious reasons. There was even a political party, the
“Know-Nothings”, based on their common aversion for immigrants and catholicism.
And the Irish were not the only ones: an 1882 law excluded Chinese immigration.
In alls, more than 25 million Europeans came to the USA between 1840 and 1920.
Although successive American governments enforced more and more restrictive
laws, immigration continued to rise.
There has never been as much immigration as today: in the 8 years from
2007 to 2015, over 50 million people came to the USA. The major problem is the
number of illegal immigrants, and this delicate subject continues to generate
considerable controversy among the political class. During his term, President
Obama decided to allow the temporary regularization of some illegal immigrants
but a Supreme Court decision overturned this policy. This ongoing issue was an
important theme in the 2016 presidential campaign: while Hillary Clinton wanted
to continue Obama's immigration reform, Trump advocated the idea of a wall
along the Mexican border and the deportation of all illegals.
The policies of the future Trump administration will undoubtedly be a
turning point on this issue. But no matter what happens, every October 31st
Jack O-lantern will continue to wander the streets, be it with turnip or
pumpkin lanterns.
http://www.impactmagazine.fr/u
http://www.20minutes.fr/monde/
http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture
http://photos.state.gov/librar
http://www.lemonde.fr/amerique
http://fr.euronews.com/2016/06
http://www.europe1.fr/internat
http://www.impactmagazine.fr/u
http://www.20minutes.fr/monde/
http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture
http://photos.state.gov/librar
http://www.lemonde.fr/amerique
http://fr.euronews.com/2016/06
http://www.europe1.fr/internat
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