“Shadows mutter, mist replies; darkness purrs as midnight sighs.” — Rusty Fische
Halloween, a holiday of spooks and fun. Where kids go door to door to seek for bags of candies as adults make their porches and yards as festive as it can be. It truly is a holiday of creativity. Due to this, our senses and perception change as we explore another world at night full of horrors and laughs.
While some people may look down on this holiday due to its connection with worshipping demons, witches, and even Satan, that is not the case. In fact, Halloween first originated in the ancient Celtic days in England, Ireland, and Scotland, in which they tried to understand death. The ancient Celts indeed did rituals, but these rituals were used for the purpose of remembering the dead, safe passage to the afterlife, and to make amends for their sins. In fact, we view many similar themes of remembering the dead in the many decorations and scare thrills during this time of year.
Therefore the spooky atmosphere that is associated with Halloween is mainly due to remembering the deceased and the concept of death, as well as paying respects to them despite the many changes in the holiday.
For these reasons, it is an easy way to introduce younger kids to the challenging topic of death while allowing them to have fun by dressing up. In fact, dressing up in a costume is also an important tradition on Halloween as it is considered a performance to everyone around them, in which they pay in fees of candy. So for these reasons have fun, and enjoy the many customs and traditions that Halloween has to offer to us!
Citations:
All Around the Year by Jack Santino
