May the spirits be kind

Well, here we are at the middle of October. I enjoy it as it is the end of the season for farmer’s market I run, so it is a big sigh of relief and I can snuggle in to do reading and writing. Tonight, I am in a lot of pain, as I had a test done yesterday which they put a needle in the muscles around my left eye. Not fun. So forgive me for having a short post this month.

One of the things that most people are aware of this time of the year is the upcoming holiday of Halloween. Halloween is the Celtic celebration called Samhain, which was the end of the harvest, it means summer’s end, which originated approximately 2,000 years ago. It is also believed to be the thinnest veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Other cultures have similar events, such as Romans who celebrated their dead in February, called Feralia. Catholics have called November 1^st to be All Hallows Eve.

So where do some of the traditions come from? Let’s take a look.

If you aren’t already aware, I am Celtic Pagan. I won’t get into my beliefs, that is a personal choice and you wish to chat, you are welcome to contact me.

Trick or treating has been around in one way or another since medieval times. In Scotland Ireland it was known as “guising”. Some Halloween traditions are used to find a husband. In the 18th century, women were to dress in costumes, in the hopes it would them find a romantic match. Another ritual involved women throwing apple peels over their shoulders.

With the Celtic belief of the thinning veil between the living and the dead, they believed the evil spirits would attempt to cause problems, therefore, they would build up bonfires to ward off the bad spirits. This morphed into wearing a costume to trick the bad spirits who come looking for a specific person. Being hidden from such spirits makes the person safe. In some countries, the costumed children went door to door, asking for food or money. It changed here into kids going door to door asking for candy.

Did you know that Halloween is second only to Christmas on the commercial goods? And did you know that candy corn was originally was named chicken feed? The most popular candy for Halloween is Skittles.

Immigrants coming to the US helped to make it popular, primarily when the Irish fled their country in the 1840’s, due to the potato famine. Coming to the US, they brought their traditions.

Did you know that the phrase Jack O Lantern also comes from the Irish? It is based on the legend of an Irish man named Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil. He wasn’t allowed to enter Heaven or Hell, so he spent out his days roaming around the world, carrying a lantern. He was known as Jack of the Lantern.

Now, as a point of pride, Illinois (I was born and spent my first 21 years growing up there) grows more pumpkins than any other state in the US. They were grown in fields around Morton, IL, which is around a half hour from my hometown, and I have family still living there. Morton has a Pumpkin Days celebration every year. The state has more than 15,000 acres for growing pumpkins every year, which grow over 500 million pounds per year.

Personally, I spend my Halloween alone. My daughter, who is 35 years old, absolutely loves to dress up. I stay home with the dogs. It has been years since we have had trick or treaters. I also have some pizza, leaving a slice out for my parents (and I don’t know who eats the pizza…haha).

May your Samhain or Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve be filled with fun and more treat than tricks. Blessed be.