Appreciating Halloween (TY-13)

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year next to Christmas. I enjoy dressing up and all the spooky sights. I feel Halloween gives us permission to be a bit mischievous and a whole lot of playful.

I appreciate how Halloween comes at the end of October as the nights grow longer and the air a bit cooler, as it brings us closer to winter. We are going from a time of harvest and plenitude to a time of scarcity and reduction. Life is transitioning to death as we approach the end of another year. Of course, this is all geographically dependent to the northern hemisphere.

In the southern hemisphere, it is springtime transitioning to summer; and many of the Halloween traditions such as bonfires and Jack-o-Lanterns make no sense. However, I believe Halloween is also celebrated in various countries below the equator, where there is strong European and American influences. Halloween has quite a history…here is an excerpt from the History Channel:

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. (http://www.history.com/topics/halloween)

I would encourage you to read more about it from the aforementioned website; it is fascinating. Halloween is a fun time often filled with mystery and superstition. And, I for one appreciate it for both the lighthearted fun as well as a reminder that winter is approaching (in my part of the world).

 

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