So as we all know, the only two seasons are Spring and Summer, then it's Halloween and Christmas. The best part? The decorating!! Oh, and of course the family and the celebrating and what-not . . . anyways . . . you cannot look at decor without feeling some sort of fuzzy inside. There is something about the change of season and vibe that gets everyone so excited. You walk into stores like in the middle of August and you see Halloween socks upon entry and immediately you are giddy and want to start decorating and buying new things for your home and then when you get home you start to bring out the fall stuff and your husband is like "please stop" but it's already too late you have fallen into the Rabbit Hole.
My personal favorite decor is Halloween. There is just something about the sweet, mystery of death and evil and the classic taste of crisp fall air and the smell of decaying leaves. The chill that sneaks on to your arm through your cozy, oversized green sweater... *sigh* I can't wait.
Pumpkins just make people happy. Changing of leaves make people happy. Halloween makes people happy except of course for those who believe it is a celebration of Satan but that is anything but correct. Halloween has to do with the ending of Summer and celebrating the life of the deceased and portals to other worlds opening and... I mean yeah I guess I can see the connection but Halloween is not about SATAN it is about dead people and portals. Totally different. Moving on. So, why all the decor? Well, because it does have to do with original tradition. In short, people would dress up and dance around fires and leave out special items to honor the deceased. From there it turned into "trick-or-treating" with using basic concepts like the dressing up part and the decor part and the "treat" part. Halloween was essentially a Pagan version of Day of the Dead... and also a version of Celtic beliefs... and also an Irish tradition... basically, America's Halloween didn't really come here until about the 1900s; and by the time it got here, it was a salad of dozens of cultures and traditions. It is said to have originated with an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. People would make bonfires and wear costumes to scare off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III made November 1 a time to honor all saints, thus All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The day before was known as All Hallows Eve, and then Halloween.
There are so many pieces of history that combine together to make Halloween what it is today. Many cultures believed that the portal to the "other side" would open and so the dancing/celebration/scaring off ghosts stuff began. Others made it a crop celebration, some did make it about evil spirits. Over time, all of this came together and that is why we consider September-November all a huge fall and pumpkin and Halloween celebration. If you were to search what things symbolize and what certain traditions mean, you will find hundreds of myths, legends, traditions, tales, and origin stories. Halloween is just a bundle of everything having to do with summer going away with the addition of spirits. Yes, there are a couple of Satan/Devil stories but that doesn't make Halloween a celebration of it. I guess whatever it is you like to do is what Halloween and Fall mean to you. I would highly suggest, however, to not summons demons.
Witches are often a main topic of Halloween and the history of witches are just as ancient and complex as that of every other holiday or tradition. We like to associate spooky things with Halloween and it is just so much fun. Human beings love doing things it never ceases to amaze me what we come up with just to have a day week or month to do something special.
It is fun to learn about the different myths and legends surrounding Halloween. I encourage you to take some time to look up these things. I learned a lot from just writing this post! Even pumpkins have a special meaning that aren't just carving into scary or silly faces.
Comments