All Hallows Eve

[sooZen]

The following is an excerpt from my Livejournal, Zen Upchuck which I wrote in celebration of Halloween, a holiday tradition that I enjoyed celebrating with my children.

OoooOOoooH scary! Tonight is Halloween and the ghosts, goblins and witches will be out and about tonight. Actually, it will probably be more like Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Michael Jackson and Obama will show up at your door, if you actually open your door to the Trick or Treat-ers. We do, not because we like to encourage all that sugar consumption by children but because Nathan (who understands he is too old to dress up and go door to door anymore) wants to celebrate EVERY holiday and so, he will put on his military outfit (he is a warrior) and stand at the door, waiting for the bell.

Then Nate hands out scoops of the store bought candy I provide (hey, it ain't my kids eating that stuff) with me cautioning him to only give each "one piece!" Naw, he hands each child a generous handful. All they have to do is stop at our house and they have the whole block covered. (Last year, we ran out of candy so early, he was handing out the sugar free stuff that I had gotten from my cousin. That probably went over like a lead balloon and tossed as soon as they got home to examine the loot.)

Actually, I used "we" in referring to "our" participation in Halloween. It should just say "I" as Cecil does not participate in Halloween and if it was up to him, the porch would remain dark and not disturb his peace and supposed quiet. I was always the one that made sure the kids had traditional type holidays like I enjoyed as a child. Cec didn't have that luxury or joy so much when he was growing up. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas were celebrations but they were geared more towards the adults and not the children. His parents had cocktail type parties and that kind of stuff. In my house, all the holidays revolved around the kids and we were always included in the celebrations. I tried to do that for my children despite Mr. Bah Humbug! and his lack of participation until the very last minute when a bit of the spirit of the holiday would finally creep in. Understandable, given his conditioning and upbringing.

When the boys were really small I made all their costumes but the lure of the store bought outfits soon took over as they got older. And since they both were (and are) really creative, they could come up with some ideas themselves of what they wanted to be. Weeks were spent before the spooky night of them thinking about that very thing. We not only hit our neighborhood but sometimes we would pile into the car and drive to the more affluent neighborhoods to get the really good loot. (Very typical in this town, carloads of kids from poor neighborhoods or even from across the border with maybe only a mask or a bit of greasepaint and a sheet who had practiced saying "Trick or Treat" in English and really, who could blame them?) My kids didn't need to really do that but it was fun driving around and hitting the hot spots.

I would decorate the house and the porch for the holiday and of course, turn that porch light on. Bernie (Nana) got a kick out of seeing all the little kids (and sometimes really big kids) that would show up at the door. She liked handing out the candy while I took the kids out for their treating. (no tricks please.) But we don't have as many kids as we used to. Not only do parents worry about what may happen to their children after dark but even what is put into their sacks or bags is suspect anymore. That is really scary.

If you are interested in how the Halloween holiday actually started, I could tell you more than you wanted to know probably. All Hallows Eve was really a Celtic celebration that recognized the end of summer, a period of abundance (hence all the loot) and the beginning of winter. Bonfires were lit in the dark of the night (orange of the fire and the black of the night, hence the colors we recognize as Halloweeny) and celebrations were held. This night was believed to be a doorway between this world and the "other world" where spirits of either good or evil could pass over. The good spirits were encouraged and the bad spirits were warded off with the bonfires and costumes and masks. (If you dressed as a scary spirit, you could scare them off!) Apple dunking was actually one of the games the ancient celts played, just like some Halloween parties today. Pumpkins, corn and corn stalks and all the fruits of autumn were arranged and displayed to appease the good spirits.

The Christians didn't much like the Celts ideas of All Hallows Eve and their good and evil spirits so incorporated the holiday of All Saints into Halloween. This was true of many of our now traditional holidays in the western hemisphere which originally started out as Druid or Celtic celebrations. If you know the legend of King Arthur, you know that the Christians dis-approved of the Druids and Celts worship of nature at the expense of the Christian God so set out to destroy those traditions or at least transform them into something more Christ-like. (Pretty much what happened to the Native American traditions in this country, but that is another story and a sad one at that.) Well, at least we don't still burn witches at the stake anymore!

So celebrate All Hallows Eve, take your kids or your grandkids trick or treating, hand out handfulls of loot (it's only for one night), light the candles, carve a pumpkin (or at least, put a pumpkin at your door), tell scary stories or watch a scary movie (my favorites are the old classics like Boris Karloff's Frankenstein or Bela Lagosi's Dracula) and ward off those evil spirits and invite the good spirits in, and have a good time. "Bah Humbug" to the naysayers! Enjoy the holidays in the spirit they were meant.

Happy Halloween!!!

So, what were your Halloween traditions or did you even celebrate Halloween?

[Artguy]

I went to my studio and worked..came home - it was all over by then...smoked a spliff...and faded off to dreamland...

[Arcadia]

gracias for sharing with us that soo-zen!!! I love sweets and why not some tricks!!! . And difficult to imagine the now so playful Cecil not having playful feasts when he was a kid!!!

I already knew about the origin of Hallowen: I´m an ancient lover of costumbres, myths and music from all over the world. And from non mediterranean and non eastern old Europe I specially like the celtic ones!

The main fiestas when I was a kid were Christmas, New Year and Reyes (Hallowen not in the agenda thirth five years ago!), Navidad: I was afraid of Papá Noel but I loved armar the pesebre each year. Reyes: I remember I prefered not to see them , but I liked to feed the camels and to search for hidden shoes full of gifts all over the house in the morning!. Now I see the same joys and fears each year in my sobrina, it´s funny and at the same time moving!

[sooZen]

Kurt, off to dreamland is perfectly acceptable and so is the spiff. Sounds like a treat to me...

Arcadia, thanks for sharing some of your customs! I like hearing about them as well.