Halloween is here. Can you feel the spookiness in the air?
The magic is all around. Pumpkins have their eyes on you, and then the delight in the children trick-o-treating in their neighborhood and beyond.
Halloween always comes with the promise of something amazing waiting for you around the corner. It had always made my spine tingle with a bit of joy and anticipation of the future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
October is special
October is the time of transition. I don’t know about you, but I love change. In October, the climate changes, the leaves turn their color, and days become shorter. You know winter is coming, but this is the time of change. It anticipates the future and that’s what matters. Imagine what wonders may be lying there for us!
When it all began
Halloween is not a recent event though. It’s filled with symbolic meaning. Of course, it came down to us from Europe but it had existed there long before Christianity. We are talking about ancient Europeans who had an intimate connection with their surroundings, the earth, the trees and the sky. Yes, you have guessed it right – we’re talking about pagans!
The end of the old
Now don’t get all freaked out now – pagan is not what you might be thinking of. The actual translation of pagan is country folk. Now, that’s quite harmless. After all, we were all country folks once – cities are a recent creation. Here, we are talking about the Picts, Ancient Celts, etc. They had different traditions and values regarding Halloween. It is actually their tradition that we are still following. Back then, in their tongue, they called it Samhain meaning ‘summer’s end’.
Winter is coming
In the old days, you didn’t have departmental stores around. So, the country folks had to take some serious decisions about winter regarding lifestyle and provisions. This was the time to make those decisions and anticipate the coming winter.
Warring tribes refused to pick up their weapons till Spring. Grasses and Vegetables were harvested and preserved. Cattles were slaughtered somewhere and preserved somewhere else. There was a lot of preparation and hustle-bustle. But there was also an immense faith that they will be able to survive this winter.
Why was winter scary? Because it brought all kinds of uncertainties – will there be enough food? What about warm clothes? What would happen if sickness comes with it? Faith was necessary in such troubling times. It was a life-or-death situation for our ancestors.
But no worries, they knew how to take care of them and that’s why we are here now. And look what they have given us – a festival to celebrate.
Let’s keep up their tradition and have a blast this Halloween!
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