Halloween: Day of the Dead, or Just a Day of Fun?

"Here, Kitty Kitty. Mwwaaaa haaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaa....."

Halloween: what we in the west know as a fun holiday, where kids get dressed up and beg for candy from their neighbors, actually began approximately 2,000 years ago in the Celtic cultures of northern Europe and the British Isles.  The Celts believed that on this day, which they referred to as Samhain (pronounced sow’ in), the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead thinned, and those on the other side could easily cross through to this one (and vice versa).  In order to honor, and sometimes appease, the dead, people would dress in costume and perform various rituals.  These included setting a plate for passed loved ones at the table, wandering through the village with lanterns that cast protective light, and practicing the divination arts.  The dead would be asked for help with such issues as successful crops and hunting in the following year, protection from disease, and healthy births.

Many people today continue to believe in this parting of the veils, and easy connection with spirits, on this day.  In fact, All Soul’s Day, practiced by certain Christian denominations, is November 1st … which many believe to be an extension of the Pagan celebration of Samhain.

Despite what some might consider dark origins, however, Halloween in our western societies has become a holiday for fun.  Many people cite it as their favorite, some even choosing Halloween over Christmas.  It is a time of warm childhood memories, social gatherings, harmless (hopefully) mischief and the ability to take imagination to a new level and, quite literally, parade it up and down the street.  It is a time when we normally reserved humans let go and allow fear to be fun.  If one examines the popularity of haunted house events, the increase in horror movie rentals, and the over all rise in the fascination with the macabre at this time of year, there is no doubt that people enjoy the adrenaline rush of being scared.  Halloween is the day many people take that thrill to the heights of scary celebration.

Occasionally we will find the hoodlums who use the excuse to celebrate fear as one of harmful mischief.  Parents today don’t let their kids eat Halloween candy until it’s been thoroughly inspected.  However, even these necessary precautions don’t spoil the fun of the event for most of us.

And for some, though they may be in the minority, Halloween is a time of  respectful contemplation, and still, after two millennia, a day for honoring the dead.  It seems the older we get, the more dead we have to honor on this day, and the quieter our Halloweens become.

However you celebrate your Halloween, I wish you joyful memories, I wish you safe travels, and I wish you fun.

Sites of Interest:

• Halloween, Ancient Origins
• All Soul’s Day
• Happy, Happy, Happy Halloween at Positively Present
• Some Delightful Halloween Images from Ricka

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About the photo: This is not a scraggly, scary black cat.  It’s my Dad’s beautiful kitty, Missy.  I just happened to catch her in a head-shake.  Never thought I’d get the chance to use this photo, till today….