Halloween is almost here!

Halloween is a holiday that evolved out of the many different holidays celebrated around the end of October such as ; All Hallows Eve, Parentalia (roman), Winter Nights(Norse), Samhain(Celtic), and even la Dia de los Muertos/the Day of the Dead (Mexican/Aztec), as well as others. Many of these celebrations have similar practices involving such things as remembering the dead, and celebrating the final harvesting of the crops. Similar actions include walking from house to house to play tricks, sing song, receive treats, etc, carving pumpkins or other vegetables such as turnips, bonfires for ambiance or religious purposes, and dressing in "costume". Many of these actions were symbolic and used to scare off or confuse bad spirits.

I celebrate "Halloween" but in a way that not only reflects the modern fun and games it can be but also as a religious day to celebrate my ancestors and the last harvest of the year. It is also the end of the year for me however it is not the beginning of a new one. Yule is actually the beginning of the new year for me. The period of time between the two holidays is revered to as the Dead Times. It is a time of meditation, reflection, and planing for the new year.

No matter what you call the holiday around the end of October or how you celebrate it we are all celebrating a similar time. We do this in a similar way even if the reasons we celebrate and detail of how we do it are different.