Dick Francis

British steeplechase jockey and crime writer, Richard Stanley “Dick” Francis CBE FRSL was Born 31 October 1920 in Coedcanlas, Pembrokeshire, Wales, the son of a jockey and stable manager and grew up in Berkshire, England. He left school at 15 without any qualifications,with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938. During World War II, Francis volunteered, hoping to join the cavalry. Instead, he served in the Royal Air Force, working as ground crew and later piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane. He said in an interview that he spent much of his six years in the Air Force in Africa. In October 1945, he met Mary Margaret Brenchley (17 June 1924 – 30 September 2000), at a cousin’s wedding And Dick and Mary were married in June, 1947, in London. She had a degree in English and French from London University at the age of 19, was an assistant stage manager and later worked as a publisher’s reader. She also became a pilot, and her experiences flying contributed to many novels, including Flying Finish, Rat Race, and Second Wind. She contracted polio while pregnant with their first child, a plight dramatized in the novel Forfeit, which Francis called one of his favorites. They had two sons, Merrick and Felix.

After leaving the RAF in 1946, Francis became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing, winning over 350 races, becoming champion jockey in the 1953–54 season. Shortly after becoming a professional, he was offered the prestige job of first jockey to Vivian Smith, Lord Bicester. From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. His most famous moment came while riding the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National when the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race. Decades later, Francis considered losing that race his greatest regret and called it “a disaster of massive proportions. Like most jump jockeys, Francis had his share of injuries. He was hospitalized at the age of 12 when a pony fell on him and broke his jaw and nose. Many protagonists in his novels have broken bones and damaged organs . Dick Francis played an important role in 1983, when the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse “stood at the brink of extinction,” So ‘”Britain’s Jockey Club negotiated a $14 million deal to buy the land and save the race forever. by enlisting two prominent racing personalities – Lord Derby and novelist Dick Francis – were selected to raise the money in a worldwide campaign.” Other philanthropists, including Charles C. Fenwick Jr., who rode Ben Nevis to victory in the 1980 Grand National, and Paul Mellon, a breeder and racing enthusiast, also contributed to save the race.

After retiring from horse racing on the advice of Lord Abergevenny Francis Went onto Write more than 40 international best-sellers. His first book was his autobiography The Sport of Queens (1957), for which he was offered the aid of a ghostwriter, which he spurned. The book’s success led to his becoming the racing correspondent for London’s Sunday Express newspaper, and he remained in the job for 16 years.In 1962, he published his first thriller, Dead Cert, set in the world of racing. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection). Although all his books were set against a background of horse racing, his male heroes held a variety of jobs including artist (In the Frame and To the Hilt), private investigator (Odds Against, Whip Hand, Come to Grief, Under Orders—all starring injured ex-jockey Sid Halley, investigator who appears in the Jockey Club (The Edge), pilot (Rat Race and Flying Finish), wine merchant (Proof). All the novels are narrated by the hero, who in the course of the story discovers himself to be more resourceful, brave, tricky, than he had thought, and usually finds a certain salvation for himself as well as bestowing it on others. Details of other people’s occupations fascinated Francis, and the reader finds himself or herself immersed in the mechanics of such things as photography, accountancy, the gemstone trade, restaurant service on transcontinental trains—but always in the interests of the plot. Dysfunctional families were a subject which he exploited particularly well (Reflex, a baleful grandmother; Hot Money, a multi-millionaire father and serial ex-husband; Decider, the related co-owners of a racecourse).

His first novel, Dead Cert, was also adapted for film in 1974. Directed by Tony Richardson, it starred Scott Antony, Judi Dench and Michael Williams. It was adapted again as Favorit (a Russian made-for-television movie) in 1977 Francis’s protagonist Sid Halley was featured in six TV movies made for the program The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game(1979-1980), starring Mike Gwilym as Halley and Mick Ford as his partner, Chico Barnes. Three more TV films of 1989 were adaptations of Bloodsport, In the Frame, and Twice Shy, all starring Ian McShane and featuring protagonist David Cleveland, from the novel Slayride.

 

Francis is the only three-time recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for Forfeit in 1970,Whip Hand in 1981, and Come To Grief in 1996. Britain’s Crime Writers Association awarded him its Gold Dagger Award for fiction in 1979 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. he was granted another Lifetime Achievement Award .Tufts University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1991. In 1996 he was given the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, the highest honour bestowed by the MWA. In 2000, he was granted the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1983 and promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. Francis has been long accustomed to celebrity as a British sports star, but today he is a worldwide phenomenon, having been published in 22 languages. In Australia, he is recognized in restaurants, from his book-jacket picture. He and Mary will see people reading the novels on planes and trains.”Francis was elected in 1999 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature’ . In the 1980s, Francis and his wife moved to Florida; in 1992, they moved to the Cayman Islands, where Mary died of a heart attack in 2000. In 2006, Francis had a heart bypass operation; in 2007 his right leg was amputated and he sadly passed away on 14 February 2010, At his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman.

Larry Mullen jnr (U2)

Larry Mullen Jnr, the drummer with Rock band U2 was born 31 October 1961 . He attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, where he met fellow bandmates Adam Clayton and Bono (Paul Hewson) and was reunited with his boyhood friend Dave “The Edge” Evans. Mullen had posted an advertisement on the school bulletin board for musicians to form a band with him; Clayton showed up at the first practice, which also included Dik Evans, Dave Evans’s older brother, Ivan McCormick, and Peter Martin, who were two of Mullen’s friends. McCormick and Martin left the band soon after its conception. While the band was a five-piece (consisting of Bono, The Edge, Mullen, Evans, and Clayton), it was known as Feedback. The name was subsequently changed to The Hype, but changed to “U2″ soon after Dik Evans left the band. U2′s early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group’s musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals, highlighted by The Edge’s timbrally varied guitar sounds and Bono’s expressive vocals.Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.

Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. By the mid-1980s, they became a top international act.
At first They were more successful as live performers than they were at selling records, until their breakthrough 1987 album The Joshua Tree, which, according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band’s stature “from heroes to superstars”. Reacting to musical stagnation and late-1980s criticism of their earnest image and musical direction, the group reinvented themselves with their 1991 hit album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour. U2 integrated dance, industrial, and alternative rock influences into their sound and performances, and embraced a more ironic and self-deprecating image. Similar experimentation continued for the remainder of the 1990s with mixed levels of success. U2 regained critical and commercial favour after their 2000 record All That You Can’t Leave Behind. On it and the group’s subsequent releases, they adopted a more conventional sound while maintaining influences from their earlier musical explorations. Their most recent album release “Songs of Innocence” was offered as a free download to Apple iPad Customers in October 2014 and as a physical release shortly after.

U2 have released 13 studio albums and are among the all-time best-selling music artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 in its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They have also won numerous other awards in their career, including 22 Grammy awards, including those for Best Rock Duo or Group seven times, Album of the Year twice, Record of the Year twice, Song of the Year twice, and Best Rock Album twice.

Ad Rock (Beastie Boys)

Ad Rock, (Adam Horowitz) the vocalist and guitarist from American hip-hop group The Beastie Boys was born 31 october 1966. The Beastie Boys All hailed from New York City, and we’re formed in 1981 by three MCs and musicians Michael “Mike D” Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam “MCA” Yauch (vocals, bass) and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz (vocals, guitar). They were Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band in 1981 by Michael Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Adam Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums), the band appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash, before recording their first EP Polly Wog Stew, in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 experimental hip hop 12-inch “Cooky Puss”, the group began doing hip hop in 1984 and released a string of successful 12-inch singles.

The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album Licensed to Ill which contained the songs Fight for your right to Party, No Sleep till Brooklyn, and She’s on It. The Beastle Boys next album was Paul’s Boutique containing the song Hey Ladies. The group went on to sell 22 million albums in the United States and 40 million albums worldwide, making them, according to Billboard, “the biggest-selling rap group” since 1991. With seven platinum or better albums from 1986–2004, the Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide, and they continued to enjoy commercial and critical success more than 25 years after Licensed to Ill. In 2009, the group released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty.

Their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released in 2011, and received positive reviews. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012, “just the third rap group to enter the Hall, after Run-D.M.C. (2009) and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (2007).” Sadly The following month, MCA died of cancer of the parotid salivary gland.

John Keats

English Romantic poet John Keats was born 31 October 1795. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work only having been in publication for four years before his death. Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the 19th century he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary experience of his life. The poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature.His parents were unable to afford Eton or Harrow,] so in the summer of 1803 he was sent to board at John Clarke’s school in Enfield, close to his grandparents’ house. The small school had a liberal outlook and a progressive curriculum more modern than the larger, more prestigious schools In the family atmosphere at Clarke’s, Keats developed an interest in classics and history, which would stay with him throughout his short life. The headmaster’s son, Charles Cowden Clarke, also became an important mentor and friend, introducing Keats to Renaissance literature, including Tasso, Spenser, and Chapman’s translations. The young Keats has been described as a volatile character, “always in extremes”, given to indolence and fighting. However, at 13 he began focusing his energy on reading and study, winning his first academic prize in midsummer 1809.

In April 1804, when Keats was eight, his father died and Money was always a great concern and difficulty for him, as he struggled to stay out of debt and make his way in the world independently.Having finished his apprenticeship with Hammond, Keats registered as a medical student at Guy’s Hospital ( King’s College London) and began in October 1815. Within a month of starting, he was accepted as a dresser at the hospital, assisting surgeons during operations, the equivalent of a junior house surgeon today. It was a significant promotion that marked a distinct aptitude for medicine. Keats’s long and expensive medical training with Hammond at Guy’s Hospital led his family to assume he would pursue a lifelong career in medicine, assuring financial security, He lodged near the hospital at 28 St Thomas’s Street in Southwark, with Henry Stephens who became a famous inventor and ink magnate. However, Keats increasingly encroached on his writing time, and he grew ambivalent about his medical career.

inspired by fellow poets such as Leigh Hunt and Lord Byron He wrote , “An Imitation of Spenser,” in 1814, but beleaguered by family financial crises, he suffered periods of depression. In 1816, Keats received his apothecary’s licence, which made him eligible to practise as an apothecary, physician, and surgeon, but before the end of the year he announced to his guardia4n that he was resolved to be a poet, not a surgeon. Although he continued his work and training at Guy’s, Keats devoted more and more time to the study of literature, experimenting with verse forms, particularly the sonnets. In May 1816, Leigh Hunt agreed to publish the sonnet “O Solitude” in his magazine TheExaminer. It was the first appearance in print of Keats’s poetry, and Charles Cowden Clarke decribed it as his friend’s red letter day the first proof that Keats’s ambitions were valid. In the summer of the same year Keats went with Clarke to the seaside town of Margate to write. There he began “Calidore” and initiated the era of his great letter writing. On his return to London he took lodgings at 8 Dean Street, Southwark, and braced himself for further study in order to become a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.In October, Clarke introduced Keats to the influential Leigh Hunt, a close friend of Byron and Shelley. Five months later came the publication of Poems, the first volume of Keats’s verse, which included “I stood tiptoe” and “Sleep and Poetry,” both strongly influenced by Hunt.

Within a month of the publication of Poems they were planning a new Keats volume and had paid him an advance. Hessey became a steady friend to Keats and made the company’s rooms available for young writers to meet. Their publishing lists eventually included Coleridge, Hazlitt, Clare, Hogg, Carlyle and Lamb.Through Taylor and Hessey, Keats met their Eton-educated lawyer, Richard Woodhouse, who advised them on literary as well as legal matters and was deeply impressed by Poems. and supporten him as he became one of England’s greatest writers. Soon after they met, the two became close friends, and Woodhouse started to collect Keatsiana, documenting as much as he could about Keats’s poetry. This archive survives as one of the main sources of information on Keats’s work. One of Keats’s biographers represents him as Boswell to Keats’ Johnson, ceaselessly promoting the writer’s work, fighting his corner, and spurring his poetry to greater heights. In later years, Woodhouse was one of the few people to accompany Keats to Gravesend to embark on his final trip to Rome. Hunt published the essay “Three Young Poets” and the sonnet “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” foreseeing great things to come. He introduced Keats to the editor of The Times, Thomas Barnes; the writer Charles Lamb; the conductor Vincent Novello; poet John Hamilton Reynolds, and William Hazlitt, a powerful literary figure of the day. It was a decisive turning point for Keats, establishing him in the public eye Keats befriended Isabella Jones in May 1817, while on holiday in the village of Bo Peep, near Hastings. She is described as beautiful, talented and widely read, not of the top flight of society yet financially secure, an enigmatic figure who would become a part of Keats’s circle .

In early December, Keats told Abbey that he had decided to give up medicine in favour of poetry, to Abbey’s fury. Having left his training at the hospital, Keats moved with his brothers into rooms at 1 Well Walk in the village of Hampstead in April 1817. Both John and George nursed their brother Tom, who was suffering from tuberculosis. The house was close to Hunt and others from his circle in Hampstead, as well as to Coleridge, respected elder of the first wave of Romantic poets, at that time living in Highgate. Around this time he was introduced to Charles Wentworth Dilke and James RiceIn June 1818, Keats began a walking tour of Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District with his friend Charles Armitage Brown. Keats’ brother George and his wife Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster and then continued to Liverpool, from where the couple emigrated to America. They lived in Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky, until 1841, . Like Keats’ other brother, they both died penniless and racked by tuberculosis, In July, while on the Isle of Mull, Keats caught a bad cold After his return south in August, Keats continued to nurse Tom, exposing himself to infection. ” Tom Keats died on 1 December 1818.John Keats moved to the newly built Wentworth Place, owned by his friend Charles Armitage Brown. It was also on the edge of Hampstead Heath, ten minutes’ walk south of his old home in Well Walk.During The winter of 1818–19, he wrote his most mature work. inspired by a series of recent lectures by Hazlitt on English poets and poetic identity and had also met Wordsworth

He composed five of his six great odes at Wentworth Place ,lnduding “Ode to Psyche” and “Ode to a Nightingale”. Brown wrote, “In the spring of 1819 a nightingale had built her nest near my house. Keats felt a tranquil and continual joy in her song; and one morning he took his chair from the breakfast-table to the grass-plot under a plum-tree, where he sat for two or three hours.”Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “Ode on Melancholy” were inspired by sonnet forms Keats’s publishers issued Endymion, which Keats dedicated to Thomas Chatterton, a work that he termed “a trial of my Powers of Imagination”.In 1819, Keats wrote The Eve of St. Agnes, “La Belle Dame sans Merci”, Hyperion, Lamia and OthoThe poems “Fancy” and “Bards of passion and of mirth” were inspired by the garden of Wentworth Place] The final volume Keats lived to see, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, was eventually published in July 1820. It received greater acclaim than had Endymion or Poems, Wentworth Place now houses the Keats House museum. Keats endured great conflict knowing his expectations as a struggling poet in increasingly hard straits would preclude marriage to Fanny Brawne. . Darkness, disease and depression surrounded him, reflected in poems such as The Eve of St. Agnes and “La Belle Dame sans Merci”. . During 1820 Keats displayed increasingly serious symptoms of tuberculosis, suffering two lung haemorrhages in the first few days of February lost large amounts of blood and was bled further by the attending physicianand So he was advised by his doctors to move to a warmer climate

So he agreed to move to Italy with his friend Joseph Severn. On 13 September, they left for Gravesend and four days later boarded the sailing brig “Maria Crowther”, where he made the final revisions of “Bright Star”. The journey was a minor catastrophe: storms broke out followed by a dead calm that slowed the ship’s progress. When they finally docked in Naples, the ship was held in quarantine for ten days due to a suspected outbreak of cholera in Britain. Keats reached Rome on 14 November, by which time any hope of the warmer climate he sought had disappeared. Keats wrote his last letter on 30 November 1820 to Charles Armitage Brown. on arrival in Italy, he moved into a villa on the Spanish Steps in Rome, today the Keats-Shelley Memorial House museum. D espite care from Severn and Dr. James Clark, his health rapidly deteriorated. The medical attention Keats received may have hastened his death. ln November 1820, Clark declared that the source of his illness was “mental exertion” and that the source was largely situated in his stomach. Clark eventually diagnosed consumption (tuberculosis) and placed Keats on a starvation diet of an anchovy and a piece of bread a day intended to reduce the blood flow to his stomach. He also bled the poet; a standard treatment of the day, but was likely a significant contributor to Keats’s weakness.”.The first months of 1821 marked a slow and steady decline into the final stage of tuberculosis. Keats was coughing up blood and covered in sweat.

John Keats died in Rome on 23 February 1821 at the age of 25 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. His last request was to be placed under a tombstone bearing no name or date, only the words, “Here lies One whose Name was writ in Water.” Seven weeks after the funeral Shelley memorialised Keats in his poem Adonaïs. Clark planted daisies on the grave, saying that Keats would have wished it. For public health reasons, the Italian health authorities burned the furniture in Keats’s room, scraped the walls, made new windows, doors and flooring. The ashes of Shelley, one of Keats’s most fervent champions, are also buried in the cemetery and Joseph Severn is buried next to Keats. When Keats died he had only been writing poetry seriously for about six years, from 1814 until the summer of 1820; and publishing for only four. Prolific during his short career, he is now one of the most studied and admired British poets, his reputation centred on the Odes, and the work done during the last years of his short life . “Keats’s ability and talent was acknowledged by several influential contemporary allies such as Shelley and Hunt. The 2009 film Bright Star, written and directed by Jane Campion, focuses on Keats’ relationship with Fanny Brawne

Day of the Dead💀

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is celebrated in Mexico and around the world between October 31, November 1 and November 2. This correspond with the Christian triduum of Hallowmas: All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. During this time families gather To pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting their graves.They also leave possessions of the deceased. The origins can traced back to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. In Brazil Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades, and Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and say prayers to encourage visits by the souls. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed. During the three-day period families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas (offerings), which often include orange Mexican marigolds (Tagetes erecta) which are sometimes called Flor de Muerto (Flower of Dead). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead. Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or “the little angels”), and bottles of tequila, mezcal or pulque or jars of atole for adults.Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased’s favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto (“bread of dead”), sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. These are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the “spiritual essence” of the ofrendas food, so though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value.

Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes, these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, scores of candles and an ofrenda and spend time around the altar, praying . In some locations celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead; some will also dress up as the deceased. Government Offices and Public schools may also build altars with ofrendas, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage. People also write poems, called calaveras (skulls), mocking epitaphs of friends, describing interesting habits and attitudes or funny anecdotes. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator. Theatrical presentations ofDon Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera), and people wear masks, called calacas (colloquial term for skeleton), foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead are given as gifts to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet eggbread Which is often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.José Guadalupe Posada created a famous print of a figure he called La Calavera Catrina (“The Elegant Skull”) as a parody of a Mexican upper-class female. Posada’s striking image of a costumed female with a skeleton face has become associated with the Day of the Dead, And Catrina figures are common.

Traditions and activities vary from place to place and depend on whether the deceased is an adult or a child, but they are all meant to celebrate the life of the deceased, in some places Families tidy and decorate graves of deceased loved ones and sometimes spend the night in the Graveyard and children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people’s doors for a calaverita, a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it. This relatively recent custom is similar to that of Halloween’s trick-or-treating. Some people believe possessing Day of the Dead items can bring good luck. Many people get tattoos or have dolls of the dead to carry with them. They also clean their houses and prepare the favorite dishes of their deceased loved ones to place upon their altar or ofrenda. The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back as far as 2,500–3,000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead Occurred at the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl known as the “Lady of the Dead”, corresponding to the goddess Catrina. In many American communities with Mexican residents Day of the Dead celebrations are very similar to those held in Mexico. In some of these communities such as in Texas and Arizona, the celebrations tend to be mostly traditional. The All Souls Procession has been an annual Tucson event since 1990 and combines elements of traditional Day of the Dead celebrations with those of pagan harvest festivals. People wearing masks carry signs honoring the deadand an urn in which people can place slips of paper with prayers on them to be burned. Likewise, Old Town San Diego, California annually hosts a very traditional two-day celebration culminating in a candlelight procession to the historic El Campo Santo Cemetery.

In other communities interactions between Mexican traditions and American culture are resulting in celebrations in which Mexican traditions are being extended to make artistic or sometimes political statements. For example, in Los Angeles, California, the Self Help Graphics & Art Mexican-American cultural center presents an annual Day of the Dead celebration that includes both traditional and political elements, such as altars to honor the victims of the Iraq War highlighting the high casualty rate among Latino soldiers. An updated, intercultural version of the Day of the Dead is also evolving at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where, in a mixture of Mexican traditions and Hollywood hip, conventional altars are set up side-by-side with altars to Jayne Mansfield and Johnny Ramone. Colorful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists, while sly pranksters play on traditional themes.

Similar traditional and intercultural updating of Mexican celebrations are held in San Francisco and, Oakland Including a shop offering handcrafted Mexican gifts and a museum devoted to Day of the Dead artifacts, and the Fruitvale district in Oakland serves as the hub of the Dia de Los Muertos annual festivalS which feature traditional Aztec dancers, regional Mexican music, and other Mexican artisans. In Missoula, Montana skeletal celebrants on stilts, novelty bicycles, and skis parade through town. A festival also occurs annually at historic Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston And Guatemalan celebrations of the Day of the Dead are highlighted by the construction and flying of giant kite

in addition to the traditional visits to grave sites of ancestors. A big event also is the consumption of fiambre, which is made only for this day during the year.In Ecuador the Day of the Dead is observed to some extent by all parts of society, though it is especially important to the indigenousKichwa peoples, who make up an estimated quarter of the population. Indigena families gather together in the community cemetery with offerings of food for a day-long remembrance of their ancestors and lost loved ones. Ceremonial foods include colada morada, a spiced fruit porridge that derives its deep purple color from the Andean blackberry and purple maize. This is typically consumed with guagua de pan, a bread shaped like a swaddled infant, though variations include many pigs—the latter being traditional to the city of Loja. The bread, which is wheat flour-based today, but was made with masa in the pre-Columbian era, can be made savory with cheese inside or sweet with a filling of guava paste. These traditions have permeated into mainstream society, as well, where food establishments add both colada morada and gaugua de pan to their menus for the season. Many nonindigenous Ecuadorians partake in visiting the graves of the deceased, cleaning and bringing flowers, or preparing the traditional foods,too.

The Brazilian public holiday of Finados (Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 2. Similar to other Day of the Dead celebrations, people go to cemeteries and churches with flowers and candles, and offer prayers. The celebration is intended to be positive to celebrate those who are deceased.In Haiti voodoo traditions mix with Roman Catholic observances as, for example, loud drums and music are played at all-night celebrations at cemeteries to waken Baron Samedi, the Loa of the dead, and his mischievous family of offspring, the Gede. Dia de los ñatitas (“Day of the Skulls”) is a festival celebrated in La Paz, Bolivia, by the indigenous Andeans who traditionally shared a day with the bones of their ancestors on the third year after burial; however, only the skulls are used today. Traditionally, the skulls of family members are kept at home to watch over the family and protect them during the year. On November 9, the family crowns the skulls with fresh flowers, sometimes also dressing them in various garments, and making offerings of cigarettes, coca leaves, alcohol, and various other items in thanks for the year’s protection. The skulls are also sometimes taken to the central cemetery in La Paz for a special Mass and blessing.

In the Philippines, the holiday is called All Saints Day (Todos los Santos), Undas (from Spanish andas, or possibly honra), or Araw ng mga Patay (Day of the Dead), and has more of a family-reunion atmosphere. Tombs are cleaned or repainted, candles are lit, and flowers are offered. Entire families camp in cemeteries and sometimes spend a night or two near their relatives’ tombs. It is considered a very important holiday by many Filipinos (after Christmas and Holy Week). Mexican-style Day of the Dead celebrations also occur in major cities in Australia, Fiji, Indonesia and Wellington, New Zealand, complete with altars celebrating the deceased with flowers and gifts. In many countries with a Roman Catholic heritage All Saints Day and All Souls Day have long been holidays in which people go to cemeteries with candles and flowers, and give presents to children, usually sweets and toys.

Halloween 🎃🧛🏻‍♂️🧟‍♂️💀👹

Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of “All Hallows’ Evening”), also known as All Hallows’ Eve, is celebrated annually on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints Day). According to many scholars, it was originally influenced by western European harvest festivals and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain. Others maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has Christian roots. Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as “guising”), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films. Though the origin of the word Halloween is Christian, the holiday is commonly thought to have pagan roots – some folklorists have detected its origins in Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain”, which comes from the Old Irish for “summer’s end”.

Samhain (pronounced sah-win or sow-in) was the first and most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) calendar. It was held on or about October 31 – November 1 and kindred festivals were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Brythonic Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany). Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the ‘darker half’ of the year This was a time for stock-taking and preparing for the cold winter ahead; cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. In much of the Gaelic world, bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them. Some of these rituals hint that they may once have involved human sacrifice. Divination games or rituals were also done at Samhain.

Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a time when the ‘door’ to the Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings such as fairies, to come into our world. The souls of the dead were said to revisit their homes on Samhain. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Lewis Spence described it as a “feast of the dead” and “festival of the fairies”. However, harmful spirits and fairies were also thought to be active at Samhain. People took steps to allay or ward-off these harmful spirits/fairies, which is thought to have influenced today’s Halloween customs. Before the 20th century, wearing costumes at Samhain was done in parts of Ireland, Mann, the Scottish Highlands and islands, and Wales. Wearing costumes may have originated as a means of disguising oneself from these harmful spirits/fairies, although some suggest that the custom comes from a Christian belief. In Ireland, people went about before nightfall collecting for Samhain feasts and sometimes wore costumes while doing so. In the 19th century on Ireland’s southern coast, a man dressed as a white mare would lead youths door-to-door collecting food; by giving them food, the household could expect good fortune from the ‘Muck Olla’ In Moray during the 18th century, boys called at each house in their village asking for fuel for the Samhain bonfire. The modern custom of trick-or-treating may have come from these practices. Alternatively, it may come from the Christian custom of souling . Making jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween may also have sprung from Samhain and Celtic beliefs. Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved into them, were made on Samhain in the 19th century in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. As well as being used to light one’s way while outside on Samhain night, they may also have been used to represent the spirits/fairies and/or to protect oneself and one’s home from them.

 

 

Halloween is also thought to have been influenced by the Christian holy days of All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows, Hallowmas or Hallowtide) on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. They are a time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed who had yet to reach Heaven. All Saints was introduced in the year 609, but was originally celebrated on May 13. In 835, it was switched to November 1 (the same date as Samhain) at the behest of Pope Gregory IV.By the end of the 12th century they had become holy days of obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing bells for the souls in purgatory. “Souling”, the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for “all crysten christened souls”, has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door on All Saints/All Souls collecting soul cakes, originally as a means of praying for souls in purgatory. Similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of whimpering like a beggar at Hallowmas.”

The custom of wearing costumes came about because it was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints’ Day, and All Hallows’ Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognised by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities”. In Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Halloween jack-o’-lanterns Were representations of souls in purgatory. In Brittany children would set candles in skulls in graveyards. ln Britain, these customs came under attack during the Reformation as Protestants berated purgatory . This, coupled with the rising popularity of Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) from 1605 onward, led to Halloween’s popularity waning in Britain,

However Scotland And Ireland, have been celebrating Samhain and Halloween since at least the early Middle Ages, and the Scottish kirk took a more pragmatic approach to Halloween, seeing it as important to the life cycle and rites of passage of communities and thus ensuring its survival in the country. Halloween traditions vary greatly among countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up in scary costumes going “guising”, holding parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and having firework displays. Surprisingly Halloween was not celebrated in North America until the Mass Irish and Scottish transatlantic immigration in the 19th century popularized it in North America. This has had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations too. This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as South America, Australia, New Zealand, (most) continental Europe, Japan, and other parts of East Asia.

Other Holidays associated with Halloween which take place on the 31 October include:

• Carve a Pumpkin Day.
• National Caramel Apple Day.
• National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

Mischief Night

Mischief Night takes place annually on 30 October during which children and teens traditionally engage in pranks and minor vandalism. While its name and date vary from place to place, it is most commonly held near the end of October to coincide with Halloween. The earliest reference to Mischief Night is from 1790 when a headmaster encouraged a school play which ended in “an Ode to Fun which praises children’s tricks on Mischief Night in most approving terms”. In the United Kingdom, these pranks were originally carried out as part of May Day celebrations, but when the industrial revolution caused workers to move to urban areas, Mischief Night shifted to November 4, the night before Guy Fawkes Night. According to one historian, “May Day and the Green Man had little resonance for children in grimy cities. They looked at the opposite end of the year and found the ideal time, the night before the gunpowder plot.” In Germany, Mischief Night is still celebrated on May 1.

In the United States, Mischief Night is commonly held on October 30, the night before Halloween. The separation of Halloween tricks from treats seems to have only developed in certain areas, often appearing in one region but not at all nearby. In New Jersey’s Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, and Union counties, as well as in Philadelphia; Delaware; Westchester County, New York; and Fairfield County, Connecticut, it is referred to as “Mischief Night”. In some towns in Northern New Jersey and parts of New York State, it is also known as “Goosey Night”.
In rural Niagara Falls, Ontario, during the 1950s and 1960s, Cabbage Night referred to the custom of raiding local gardens for leftover rotting cabbages and hurling them about to create mischief in the neighborhood. Today, the night is commonly known as “Cabbage Night” in parts of Vermont; Connecticut; Bergen County, New Jersey; Upstate New York; Northern Kentucky; Newport, Rhode Island; Western Massachusetts; and Boston, Massachusetts. It is known as “Gate Night” in New Hampshire, Trail, British Columbia, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Rockland County, New York, North Dakota and South Dakota, as “Mat Night” in Quebec, Canada, and as “Devil’s Night” in many places throughout Canada, Michigan, and western Pennsylvania. Mischief night is known in Yorkshire as “Mischievous Night”, “Miggy Night”, “Tick-Tack Night”, “Corn Night”, “Trick Night”, or “Micky Night”, and is celebrated on November 4 on the eve of Bonfire Night. In some areas of Yorkshire, it is extremely popular among teenagers as they believe it to be a sort of “coming of age ceremony”.

Mischief Night tends to include popular tricks such as toilet papering yards and buildings, powder-bombing and egging cars, people, and homes, using soap to write on windows, “forking” yards, setting off fireworks, and smashing pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns. Local grocery stores often refuse to sell eggs to pre-teens and teens around the time of Halloween for this reason. Occasionally, the damage can escalate to include the spray-painting of buildings and homes. Less destructive is the prank known as “Knock, Knock, Ginger,” “Ding-Dong Ditch,” “knock down ginger,” or “knock-a-door-run and nicky-nicky-nine-doors (West Quebec). In some areas of Queens, New York, Cabbage Night has included throwing rotten fruit at neighbors, cars, and buses. Pre-teens and teens fill eggs with Neet and Nair and throw them at unsuspecting individuals. In the mid-1980s, garbage was set on fire and cemeteries were set ablaze. In Camden, New Jersey, Mischief Night escalated to the point that in the 1990s widespread arson was committed, with over 130 arsons on the night of October 30, 1991. In Detroit, Michigan, which was particularly hard-hit by Devil’s Night arson and vandalism throughout the 1980s, many citizens take it upon themselves to patrol the streets to deter arsonists and those who may break the law. This is known as “Angels’ Night”. Some 40,000 volunteer citizens patrol the city on Angels’ Night, which usually runs October 29 through October 31, around the time most Halloween festivities are taking place.

The War of the Worlds

Orson Welles broadcast his radio play of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds on 30 October 1938 as an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode and caused widespread panic. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles. The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast were presented as a series of realistic news bulletins, which suggested to many listeners that an actual alien invasion byMartians was currently in progress. Compounding the issue was the fact that the Mercury Theatre on the Air was a sustaining show (it ran without commercial breaks), adding to the program’s realism. In the days following the adaptation, however, there was widespread outrage from certain listeners, who had believed the events described in the program were real. The program’s news-bulletin format was described as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast. Despite these complaints it secured Welles’ fame as a dramatist.
The program, starts with an introduction from the novel, describing the intentions of the aliens and noting that the adaptation is set in 1939, a year ahead of the actual broadcast date.The program continues with a weather report and a dance band “Ramon Raquello and His Orchestra” (actually the CBS orchestra under the direction of Bernard Herrmann). This is interrupted by news flashes about strange explosions on Mars. Welles makes his first appearance as the (fictional) famous astronomer and Princeton professor Richard Pierson, who dismisses speculation about life on Mars. The news grows more frequent and increasingly ominous as a cylindrical meteorite lands in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. A crowd gathers at the site. Reporter Carl Phillips (Readick) relates the events. The meteorite unscrews, revealing itself as a rocket machine. Onlookers catch a glimpse of a tentacled, pulsating, barely mobile Martian inside before it incinerates the crowd with Heat-Rays. Phillips’s shouts about incoming flames are cut off in mid-sentence. (Later surveys indicate that many listeners heard only this portion of the show before contacting neighbors or family to inquire about the broadcast. Many contacted others in turn, leading to rumours and confusion.)Regular programming breaks down as the studio struggles with casualty updates, firefighting developments And other information.
‘A shaken Pierson speculates about Martian technology as The New Jersey state militia declares martial law and attacks the cylinder. There I s a message from their field headquarters concerning the infantry and the helplessness of the Martians in Earth’s gravity until a Tripod alien fighting machine rears up from the pit and obliterate the militia. the studio returns, now describing the Martians as an invading army. Emergency response bulletins give way to damage reports and evacuation instructions as millions of refugees clog the roads. Three Martian tripods from the cylinder destroy power stations and uproot bridges and railroads, reinforced by three others from a second cylinder as gas explosions continue. An unnamed Secretary of the Interior (Kenny Delmar) advises the nation. (The secretary was originally intended to be a portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, then President, but CBS insisted this detail, among others, be changed. However Welles directed Delmar to imitate Roosevelt’s voice.)
A live connection is established to a field artillery battery. Its gun crew reports damaging one machine and a release of black smoke/poison gas before fading into the sound of coughing. The lead plane of a wing of bombers broadcasts its approach and remains on the air as their engines are burned by the Heat-Ray and the plane dives on the invaders. Radio operators go active and fall silent, after reporting the approach of the black smoke. The bombers destroy one machine, but cylinders keep falling all across the country. This section ends with A news reporter, broadcasting from atop the CBS building, describes the Martian invasion of New York City – “five great machines” wading across the Hudson River, poison smoke drifting over the city, people running and diving into the East River “like rats”, others “falling like flies” – until he, too, succumbs to the poison gas. Finally, a despairing ham radio operator is heard calling, “2X2L calling CQ. Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?

Candy Corn Day

Candy Corn Day takes place annually on 30 October. Candy corn is most often found in the United States and Canada, popular primarily around Halloween. The three colors of the candy – a broad yellow end, a tapered orange center, and a pointed white tip – mimic the appearance of kernels of corn, hence the name. Each piece is approximately three times the size of a real kernel from a ripe or dried ear. Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s wax, artificial coloring and binders.
Candy Corn Day can trace its beginings to the late 1800’s, when George Renniger of the Wunderle Candy Company created this colorful confection to celebrate the beauty of corn, and the deep autumnal colors. “Chicken Feed” was the original name of the candy with production starting in the 1880s. Wunderlee Candy Company was the first to produce the candy. Following the 19th century, the Goelitz Confectionary Company (now called Jelly Belly) manufactured the product. Along with other agriculture-inspired treats at the time, the late 19th century, America’s confectioners sought to market candy corn to a largely rural society. During that time winter was a long and cold affair, with electricity not quite having come into common usage. The bright colors of these candies could last throughout, bringing both a visceral joy and a burst of much-needed sugar during the dark time of the year.
Since then Candy Corn has become an icon of the Autumn season in the United States Of Americs and you know that Autumn is here when it starts showing up. There are many varieties of Candy Corn, A popular variation called “Indian corn” features a chocolate brown wide end, orange center and pointed white tip, this is often available around Thanksgiving. During the Halloween season, blackberry cobbler candy corn can be found in eastern Canada. Confectioners have introduced additional color variations suited to other holidays. The Christmas variant (sometimes called “reindeer corn”) typically has a red end and a green center; the Valentine’s Day variant (sometimes called “cupid corn”) typically has a red end and a pink center; In the United States during Independence Day celebrations, corn with a blue end, white center, and red tip (named “freedom corn”) can be found at celebratory cook outs and patriotic celebrations; the Easter variant (sometimes called “bunny corn”) is typically only a two-color candy, and comes with a variety of pastel bases (pink, green, yellow, and purple) with white tips all in one package. In 2011, there were caramel apple and green apple candy corn variants. In 2013 there were s’mores and pumpkin spice variants. In 2014, carrot corn was also introduced for the Easter season, typically being green and orange, and having a carrot cake type flavor. In 2015, birthday cake and “celebration” candy corn have been introduced for the Independence Day season.

Checklist Day

Checklist day takes place annually on 30 October. A checklist can be very useful and is a powerful habit to embrace. So, Checklist Day is a great way to remind yourself how important these self-made reminders truly are. National Checklist day can trace its roots back to the 1930s, when early aviators were searching for ways to make flying much safer and avoid the all-too-common crash during takeoff. One such incident took place On October 30, 1935, when Boeing was testing their new Model 299/ B-17 Flying Fortress which was intended to revolutionize the US Military, and the entire airline industry.This flying marvel of technology was in development for 5 years. It had 4 engines, a central bomb bay, and gunner stations throughout the fuselage. It was the most sophisticated airplane in aviation history. The Model 299 was piloted by Major Ployer P. Hill, U.S. Army Air Corps, and co-piloted by Lieutenant Donald Leander Putt, Beoing’s Chief Test Pilot Leslie R. Tower and Beoing mechanic C.W. Benton were also aboard.

However as The aircraft sped down the runway, achieved perfect lift, and began to climb, it suddenly stalled, banked, and crashed into the field, as onlookers watched in horror. An investigation found the airplane to be in perfect condition. No mechanical failure could be found that would have resulted in the deadly crash. Upon deeper investigation and eye witness reports, including the surviving co-pilot, it was determined that the flight crew had simply forgot to release the flight control gust locks. Thus causing the plane to nose dive into the ground, immediately after takeoff. It was further determined that the airplane was “too complex” for man to fly. Technology, and the sheer amount of tasks required to safely takeoff in a modern day airplane had surpassed the limitations of the human memory.
After the crash of the Model 299 on October 30, 1935, the Checklist was introduced by Boeing, as a permanent and mandatory tool, to be used by all pilots in the Boeing fleet. After the checklist was introduced, Boeing was able to eventually sell the Model 299 to the U.S. Army Air Corps, where it flew for years without incident. Boeing had revolutionized Aviation however not in the way they thought. Today, you can’t takeoff or land in a commercial airplane without checklists being used by your pilots, maintenance crew, or flight attendants.

Haunted Refrigerator Night

Many people lead such busy lives that they have little time to eat or sort the kitchen out. As a result leftover food is placed in a container to eat later, but ends up getting pushed to the back of the fridge, Consequently many Left over foodstuffs are often forgotten about and left to go rotten in the back of the fridge and over time, they transform into a rather scary and often rather pungeant sludge as the process of decay takes over , and the end result waits to frighten people when it iseventually rediscovered again, months or years later, So Haunted Refrigerator Night was created.
It takes place annually on 30 October. Haunted Refrigerator Night  was created by perennial holiday creators, Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays & Herbs Who decided that the best time to tackle the frightening depths of their refrigerator was the night before Halloween, so they started a tradition of facing the unknown depths of the fridge on the night before Halloween.

Buy a doughnut Day

Buy a doughnut day takes place annually on 30 October. A doughnut/ donut is a type of fried yeast pastry confection or dessert food. The doughnut is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors.The first doughnuts in America, were little “nuts” of dough, and they were brought to New England by the Pilgrims, who had learned to make them while they were in Holland from 1607-1620. The first mention of doughnuts in print was in Washington Irving’s 1809 book History of New York, which talks about Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam in the seventeenth century. By the middle of the nineteenth century, doughnuts with a punched out center became the norm, and doughnut corers were even being sold by mail order catalog By the twentieth century, many variations of doughnuts became popular, including iced, jelly or cream filled, and dusted with powdered sugar or cinnamon. Glazed is the most popular doughnut, and doughnut holes have been around since at least the 1960s. Doughnuts are often sold at doughnut shops, the most popular being Dunkin’.

Doughnuts are usually deep fried from a flour dough, and typically either ring-shaped or a number of shapes without a hole, and often filled, but can also be ball-shaped (“doughnut holes”). Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavorings are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate, or maple glazing. Doughnuts may also include water, leavening, eggs, milk, sugar, oil, shortening, and natural or artificial flavors.
The two most common types are the ring doughnut and the filled doughnut. Ring doughnuts are formed by one of two methods: by joining the ends of a long, skinny piece of dough into a ring, or by using a doughnut cutter, which simultaneously cuts the outside and inside shape, leaving a doughnut-shaped piece of dough and a doughnut hole (from the dough removed from the center). This smaller piece of dough can be cooked and served as a “doughnut hole” or added back to the batch to make more doughnuts. A disk-shaped doughnut can also be stretched and pinched into a torus until the center breaks to form a hole. Alternatively, a doughnut depositor can be used to place a circle of liquid dough (batter) directly into the fryer.
There are two types of ring doughnuts, those made from a yeast-based dough for raised doughnuts, or those made from a special type of cake batter. Yeast-raised doughnuts contain about 25% oil by weight, whereas cake doughnuts’ oil content is around 20%, but they have extra fat included in the batter before frying. Cake doughnuts are fried for about 90 seconds at approximately 190 to 198 °C (374 to 388 °F), turning once. Yeast-raised doughnuts absorb more oil because they take longer to fry, about 150 seconds, at 182 to 190 °C (360 to 374 °F). Cake doughnuts typically weigh between 24 and 28 g (0.85 and 0.99 oz), whereas yeast-raised doughnuts average 38 g (1.3 oz) and are generally larger, and taller (due to rising) when finished.

Filled doughnuts are injected with fruit preserves, cream, custard, or other sweet fillings. Alternatively, small pieces of dough are sometimes cooked as doughnut holes. Once fried, doughnuts may be glazed with a sugar icing, spread with icing or chocolate on top, or topped with powdered sugar or sprinkles or fruit. Other shapes include rings, balls, flattened spheres, twists, and other forms. Doughnut varieties are also divided into cake (including the old-fashioned) and yeast-risen type doughnuts. Doughnuts are often accompanied by coffee purchased at doughnut shops or fast food restaurants, but can also be paired with milk.