The word Halloween comes to us from a contraction used in the 18th century in reference to the holy evening of All Hallow Even or All Hallows Eve. It is the evening before All Hallows Day, a celebration set aside to cherish the memories of all those who have gone on before us. Other names for the holy day are All Souls Day and All Saints Day. During this time of year the souls of the dead are able to visit and communicate with the living. The veils between the living and dead are especially thin on Halloween, and sensitives might expect to perceive a wide variety of fairies and ghostly spirits, either abroad in the darkness or at least costumed ones knocking on your door to yell out “trick or treat.”
The holiday is affiliated with the Celtic festival of Samhain, a holy day that recently received recognition in the amazing Starz series, Outlander, based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon. Samhain is the most important of the four cross quarter days of the Celtic Wheel of the Year, falling between the Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. Samhain commemorates the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It is a time to look within for answers, as well as honor the wise ones who preceded us unto death. On the ancient Celtic calendar, Samhain marked the beginning of the New Year.
Some traditions that have been established around this time of year include the time honored escapade of door to door trick or treating, pigging out on your candy loot, playing tricks on your friends, dressing up in costume, carving jack o’ lanterns to light up the night, apple bobbing, bonfires, hay rides, telling scary tales as you camp out in a back yard tent, attending parties, visiting haunted houses and scary theme parks, and watching horror movies.
Do you have your Halloween spirit in full throttle? What traditions do you keep with your family and friends on this very special spooky day?
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Paranormal Fantasy Romance
I will be passing out candy on trick-or-treat night to all of the little ghosts and goblins who come to my door. In years past I used to have a tradition of going on a search for the perfect pumpkin for Jack-o-Lantern carving. That often included a trip to a town 30 miles away which had the best selection. My husband and I used to make it an excursion, then with time constraints we fell out of the habit. I still have great memories of those pumpkin searches though. Happy Halloween, Flossie!
Oh, Mae, I love the story of you and your husband searching for that perfect pumpkin! What fun you must have had doing that together. It’s such a wonderful image– it made my day!
A delightful tradition, especially for children, as far as I can see. We have something, just a bit resembling your celebration of the dear ones who passed away. It’s the first Monday after Easter. People go to the graves and bring food and red eggs and wine and they give all these to poor people. The tradition differs from area to area of the country. It is a mix of pagan tradition with Orthodox rules, they say. But that is all.
Romanians have borrowed the American Halloween lately but I don’t see the pumpkin carving and children going for “treats”. Here’s just partying ( and too much drinking) and dressing in costumes – vampires, witches.
The original celebration sounds much more interesting – I imagine the wide eyes of kids listening to scary stories – and worth passing on to generations.
I like the picture you posted above.
Happy Halloween, Flossie!
Carmen
http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/
Wow, Carmen, I really like the idea of taking food and wine, and especially red eggs, to the underprivileged. Going to visit the graves of our loved ones from the past is always poignant and sometimes heartbreaking. It seems to give us some solace though So it’s the older kids and young adults who are celebrating Halloween in Romania? Interesting. They do that here too with block parties and other activities. The towns like to try and keep it under control, but who knows what happens out in the sticks! Yes, seeing the innovative and sparkling costume of the little ones is touching.