Halloween or “Hallowe’en”
Welcome to the month of October! The last day of October is Halloween, or as it was known before, “Hallowe’en” or “All Hallows’ Eve.”
Halloween takes place on October 31st. The next day, November 1st, became known as “All Saints Day.” That’s another story (see below).
From all the folks I’ve talked to who know how Halloween evolved, Halloween was a pagan celebration that took place in the evening celebration of October 31st. People believed the veil between the living and the dead was thinned. Communication was apparently easier. However, the Church wanted to have its own holiday, thus November 1st, which evolved into “All Saints Day,” the day after Halloween.
Below is a blurb that best describes how things evolved.
“That explains the name—but how do you explain the costumes, the candy, the jack-o’-lanterns? The original date that the early church chose for All Saints’ Day was in the spring, but in the western Church, that day was moved to November 1 in 835 by Pope Gregory IV. This date just happened to coincide with the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the year and the commemoration of the dead. It was believed that, during Samhain, the boundaries between the living and the dead thinned, which made it easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. Many Halloween traditions, like wearing masks, telling ghost stories, and carving vegetables into lanterns, sprung directly from Samhain celebrations. The Church contributed to Halloween celebrations as we know it, too: an activity called souling, when a person would go from house to house asking for cakes in return for praying for the souls of those in the house, was popular during the later Middle Ages, and may be the inspiration for our modern-day trick-or-treating. Late-night viewings of Young Frankenstein and the traditional rejection of the gross candy from one’s trick-or-treating bounty are not part of the historical Celtic or Christian celebrations of the day, however.”
In Mexico, the holiest day of the year, or the Day of the Dead (Dia de lost Muertos), which begins November 1st and ends on November 2nd. The Day of the Dead is a celebration of life and death. While the holiday originated in Mexico, it is celebrated all over Latin America with colorful calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons).
I guess October 31st has souls crossing from the Spirit World.
I still am always amazed that “death” is still the number one fear of people. It shouldn’t be. Everyone dies. And Life lives on.
There is so much love and energy given with all of the honoring and celebrations when someone has passed. It is also so enlightening to know how we celebrate grieving the loss of a person we love so clearly. But we still love them.
Recently, I thought it was very telling that the honoring of Queen Elizabeth 2nd had passed, yet many of the British kept their stiff upper lips. Now Charles is King. He was actually very sincere and even emotional. This was expressed by many of the loss of his mum, maybe a new changing of the guard. In seeing how traditions and sharing of celebrations, and connecting with our departed loved-ones, is so much more “human”.
So, it seems the month of October, and the last day of Halloween, we can deal with our loved ones who have gone. I am personally touched by our loved ones who have left their bodies – their souls still love us, and we honor them.
And with that, I have many events coming up where you can honor your passed Loved Ones. I’ll be at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY with Dr. Terri Daniel on October 14th-16th, and I have an online gallery with Medium Austyn Wells on October 18th,
Now, how many of you are going to be witches or wiccans for Halloween? The holiday you can be anything you want to be on Halloween.
Enjoy those carving pumpkins!
Love,
Suzane
