R & R Day / Creating a little Halloween Magic
The celebration of Halloween has dual origins. The first is in a pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with the Celtic New Year. The second is in the Christian celebration of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). November 1st is called All Hallows, thus the evening before is All Hallows Eve
The ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany (NW France) celebrated their New Year's Day on what would be November 1st on our calendar. Families would also extinguish their hearth fires on this evening to be re-lit from a common New Year's bonfire built on the hilltops, which was meant to symbolize the driving away of darkness and evil with the coming of the new year. The jack-o-lantern as a means of scaring away evil and providing light may be a vestige of this custom.
The conversion of Celtic peoples to Christianity did not dampen their enthusiasm for the pre-Christian year-end custom of feasts, bonfires, and masks, essentially new year's eve costume parties.
With the massive emigration of Irish in the last century the All Hallows Eve customs of costumes, jack-o-lanterns and trick or treating, were transported to North America. Scary costumes remain the historical norm for Halloween
Happy All Hallows Eve Everyone!
It seems that today will be a day of mixtures...I'm mixing my day of R&R with some Trick or Treaters
As always I go to church on Sundays. This is always the best way to start my week off. It renews and refreshes like no magic potion possible could.
This day is a day to remember that tomorrow is when we celebrate the Saints that have gone before us and also to remember that we are all saints in the making too.
While I enjoy the little ones that come to my house trick or treating, I also pray for their safety. You know that there is much in the world that needs praying about and these little ones so full of life and fun deserve a life full of joy.
It will be an evening spent on the porch handing out goodies and what a relaxing way to meet the neighbors that I rarely see too. Now that I'm home all the time, I rarely see anyone out. I wonder do they all work during the day or stay indoors all the time.
Whether you celebrate Halloween or All Hallows Eve as I do, I hope this Sunday is a magical one for you. There is magic everywhere...miracles are all around us.
'On Ya'-ma