On this Friday, millions of kids and adults will get a
chance to be someone else as they celebrate Halloween. A favorite character from a movie or TV show
or book, a character from the past or a future yet not known, something crazy,
something funny, something scary. Who
doesn't want to be someone else at some point in their life, even if it's only
for a night?
Aaron, obsessed with Star Wars at the moment, decided on a
Storm Trooper. He would have rather
been a Roger Roger Droid, but I was not able to find a costume and did not
think I'd be able to make one. We were
lucky to find the Storm Trooper! Most
Star Wars costumes deal with the main characters, either Luke or Darth Vader.
Ben was a bit undecided this year, and he considered several
possibilities. Walking around the
store, I could tell he was having a hard time deciding. He almost went with the standard variation
of the special agent theme. He loves
electronic gadgets and spy gear, and he is quite adept at putting them together
and making electronics work. But he
fell in love with a parrot prop he saw, and so he went with the pirate. I must say he had a charming costume, with
an eye patch, a bandana, and of course his trusted companion sitting on his
shoulder. "Arrrgghh ... Give me
some pirate booty!"
According to History.com, Halloween grew out of the ancient
Celtic tradition of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). Quoting the website:
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
This, of course, is near the Fall equinox, the time of the
year when there is exactly the same amount of night as there is day, a balance
if you will. From the fall equinox on,
the days will become shorter as the nights get longer, all the way until the
winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, which happens near Christmas.
The Christians co-opted the tradition, and November 1
eventually became All Saints Day, celebrating martyrs and saints before
us. Coming from a church with German
roots, we would always celebrate Totenfest during this time, "festival of
the dead," remembering those who had died.
But really, thinking about Fall and the falling of leaves,
the "dying" all around us, what better day to think of the dead and
ghosts? And yet, we often have to
experience some kind of "death," before we can really experience
life.
On this Halloween, may God's blessing be upon you as you
consider who else you might want to be.
May God protect our children tonight, and may this be a positive
experience. Perhaps you will remember a
saint who helped you along the journey of your life. Perhaps you need God's help to put a death to something in your
life so you can start again. Whatever
the case, may the God of the living and the dead bless you and make God's
presence known to you.
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