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Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a chance to dress up as someone or something else and have fun. Trick-or-Treating, parties, games, costumes and lots of candy what could be better?
Halloween is NOT just for kids either. There are just as many adult costumes on the market as there are children’s. More adults need to remember the joy of being a child and Halloween is an excellent excuse. Sadly though, there are a growing number of people out there trying to make my favorite holiday go away. Costumes are on clearance racks in department stores sooner every year, and I even saw X-mas decorations being sold a couple aisles away a few weeks ago. The largest section dedicated to Halloween in almost every store is the candy aisle. Is that all it means anymore?
There are those out there who are calling Halloween an “evil, pagan holiday”. How ridiculous can you get? The same churches who bash Halloween have a fall carnival or festival. While I think these festivals and carnivals are a great idea, the thought that they are an alternative to Halloween is ludicrous. Halloween is a re-spelling / translation of ‘All Hallows Eve’ also called ‘The Day (or Feast) of the Dead’ and ‘All Saints Day’. Those holidays are actually Catholic holidays, created and sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. They were implemented to draw more people into the Christian faith. Long ago, Pagans in many many nations had fall festivals to celebrate the harvest, one of the more well known ones was ‘Samhain’ (pronounced Sow-en). Samhain is a celebration of the fall harvest and the end of the year. On this day feasts are prepared in remembrance of the dead. Other traditions in many other cultures included dressing in disguises so that goblins and evil spirits couldn’t find you, and lighting a Jack-of-the-Lantern to guide spirits home. The American idea of Halloween is a combination of so many cultural influences and belief systems that calling it an exclusively pagan holiday is ridiculous. Having an “alternative” fall festival or carnival (a celebration of the flesh, same Latin root as carnal) is actually a hilarious concept to me. They’re actually closer to the older pagan celebrations with their fall festivals than modern American Halloween.
In case you haven’t noticed (like you could miss it), I’m not a Christian. Not that I have anything against the Christian faith, just some of the silly things that people let their church teach them. I celebrate Samhain AND Halloween if you’re curious. I always dress up in some sort of costume and I always try to find something fun to do. I set out a plate for anyone who has died in the previous year in remembrance and toast their memory with cider ( a traditional fall harvest beverage). Happily, my favorite holiday is also now my marriage anniversary and my spouse’s birthday so around out house it’s a triple threat for having a little fun.
In Summary, don’t let Halloween become a commercialized forgotten holiday. Go out there, dress in a costume or something else suitable and have some fun! It’s not all about candy or buying a cheesy Power-Rangers costume for your kids. It’s about celebrating the end of the harvest and bringing winter in. Indulge your inner child for once, feel some Joy!
