This will be a picture heavy post, I do not own ANY of the pictures unless otherwise stated. If this is a picture that belongs to a reader, please let me know, give me some proof of your ownership and I'll be happy to give credit.
Anyway, we'll see if I can put my thoughts in to order to explain why Halloween is one of the two most AWESOME holiday's in the world!
Halloween is not a modern holiday, on the contrary it is ancient, with roots that stretch back to the ancient Celts. Halloween's original name was Samhain, pronounced sow-in, the name that Wiccans still use to this day. In all of human history, food has been the cornerstone right there with art and music. In ancient times before people became situated to live off the land, the people had to move their herds of animals to better pastures as winter came upon them, then as people began to live on the land and sow their own food harvest became vital! These both played in to the original festival of Samhain which corresponded with the ancient Celctic first day of Winter. This is where costumes and fortune telling came from
The belief of the Celts was that on this night before Winter began, the veil between our world and the world beyond was thinned. As a result, massive bonfires were built to burn offerings to the various Celtic gods in the hopes of a safe Winter, as well as a time to divine the future. Much of the above, and following is from History.com which is a WONDERFUL place for Halloween lore both past and present.
If you have ever been to a Halloween party, chances are you have seen apple bobbing, but one question may arise? Why on EARTH do we bob for apples? Well that goes back to the Celts and Romans; after the Roman conquest of much of the Celts, the festival of Pamona the goddess of fruit trees whose symbol was...you guessed it, an apple! Yes the history of Halloween is something I love about Halloween so it DOES fit in to this post. ;)
Fast forward a bit to the time when Christianity became a BIG thing in Rome, this is where we get most of our Holiday traditions. As Christianity began to sweep through Rome, an idea was formed, instead of persecuting pagans for their beliefs, change their holiday's in to Christian holiday's! That is why we have All Saints Day, the Pope decided to take this pagan festival and consecrate it to the martyrs of Christianity.
Fast forward again to America, celebration was VERY limited for quite some time due to the rigidity of the Protestants who settled here in America. Halloween would not be what we know it to be until the late 19th century, but it was NOT unheard of. Looking at America in general, we see a tapestry of beliefs and traditions to create what we have now, and the Halloween we know today is generally based on the traditions of immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, England, Spain, and Italy. Ireland and Scotland gave us the tradition of costuming, England gave us carving, though originally turnips were carved rather than pumpkins, and England gave us Trick or Treating. In England this was called Souling when people, generally poor people, went from door to door receiving soul cakes in return for praying for souls in purgatory. Spain and Italy gave us a favorite tradition of mine, the masquerade party!
While most Halloween traditions are ancient, one HUGE tradition is rather modern, the idea of gore around Halloween and scaring one another. Dismembered bodies, coffins, ax wielding maniacs are all a much more modern idea, and something I'm personally grateful for. ;)
Now, what else makes Halloween so fascinating to me? The darkness! In the back of all of our minds, we get a thrill from being scared, that rush of adrenaline and the feeling of cheating death is intoxicating. The darkness and unending possibilities it carries is just thrilling to me! There is nothing like curling up in a dark room, watching a horror movie! But make sure it has a REAL plot line...not just a looney bird freaking out on people...I tend to go with ghost movies, which leads me in to my next topic.
GHOSTS! What would Halloween be without ghosts? It would be dull, I tell you, DULL! I've eaten up ghost stories since I was a kid, while everyone else was reading Tales of a Third Grade Nothing, I was scouring the schools library for ghost books. I was addicted, ghost TV shows, ghost stories, ghost pictures, and I still am. What could be more frightening and fascinating at the same time as the thought of life after death, not in Heaven per say, but still physically on Earth in a translucent form. Give me ghosts, lots of ghosts, ghosts everywhere!
Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! It simply SCREAMS Halloween! From the simple to the intricate, the goofy to the scar, pumpkins are awesome!
I have so many memories of Halloween's of my childhood pouring over the booklets of designs for a pumpkin. I can remember arguing with my sister over a design, but settling on another...
I can remember scrawling my name in the crooked lettering of early childhood on the top of my design. That was the rule in our house, once you found your design you placed your name on top.
I remember watching in fascination as my mom took one of the big carving knives off the holder on the wall and stuck it in to the large orange orb.
I can still see her pulling the top up and seeing all the seeds attached, and her cutting in to the top of the pumpkin to remove the layers of seeds.
Papers were splayed across the kitchen table to catch the droppings as little hands greedily dug in to the dark cold recesses of our chosen pumpkins. Scoop after scoop of pulp and slippery seeds trickled from the middle of our pumpkins...
Then, the big guns came out! Or should I say, the big spoon! Michele and I would take turns dragging the giant gray spoon inside the pumpkin, but having very little success.
Then when the little fingers got tired of scraping and scooping, mom would take up the spoon and dig and scrape in the pumpkin until it was just right. Then our patterns were taped on to the pumpkin and we began to drill our holes slowly. As a youngster, I was less than skilled at cutting the the jumbled up dots in to a good picture and I would often lament over the odd lopsided shapes I was able to scrape out.
Even today I still LOVE carving pumpkins, though my skills have improved quite a bit. ;) I collect pattern books, I buy at least one new one a year. In past years, I carved six or seven pumpkins a season, but that backed up quite a bit this year without a job which is all right with me. Even at 23 I still enjoy the earthy scent of a pumpkin, the feel of the pulp and seeds, painstakingly punching holes, and finally cutting the pieces out, it simply screams Halloween.
Yard decor, need I say more? I ADORE decorating the yard for Halloween, and I add something new every year. Planning, plotting, pulling decorations out, scouring the internet and my mind to find the BEST possible yard scene is just heavenly! I will put pictures up of our yard when the computer stops being rude...it simply refuses to acknowledge our memory card...
Witches
Witches
Witches...
Bet you can't tell I love witches. ;) There is something about magic, real magic that intrigues me. The simple idea that a person could say a few words or make a potion and poof! something appears, I just eat it all up! (My ADD is kicking in and I'm losing steam rapidly so most of the rest will probably just be pictures with short captions.)
Two words, Time Warp! Halloween is NEVER complete without Rocky Horror Picture Show! If you don't Time Warp ONCE during October, you just aren't awesome enough...
Costumes! The above is likely what my future daughter will be wearing. ;) I LOVE costumes, I'm 23 and STILL love to play dress up. I even have a plaque that says, "Clothes make a statement, costumes tell a story" and I fully believe that!
Well, I think the above explains it best as to why I love Halloween so much, and after reading I hope YOU love Halloween a little bit more. Feel the magic in the cool Fall air, let yourself fall in to the age old celebration and remember to DO THE TIME WARP!
I'll leave you with a more modern adaptation of my FAVORITE Disney couple, Jack Skelington and Sally Stitches from The Nightmare Before Christmas. They're simply meant to be together. ;)
Love and Happy Halloween!
Christina
PS - I reserve the right to add as many pictures or comments I wish to this post. ;)
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