Happy Halloween

By Andrea Sipcic

Over the years, Halloween has come to be known as a day to dress up as someone or something you are not, collect candy, share scary stories and party. While these traditions have been wrapped up into western culture, many of the traditions, customs and beliefs have been intertwined into and share roots within the spiritual community and its different spiritual practices.

Amongst many contemporary, western cultures, Halloween is the one time of year when spiritualists from psychics to witches to warlocks, can openly display and express their true spiritual roots through costume, home decor (inside and out) and free speech without judgment or scrutiny. It's the one time it is most accepted and not regarded as some type of weird act of “ voodoo.

Halloween has roots in the well-known, 3000 year old Mexican holiday called The Day of the Dead. It is not the Mexican version of Halloween, as is commonly thought, rather an inspiration for Halloween. The Day of the Dead is a blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish Culture, which is celebrated from October 1st to November 2nd. On the Day of the Dead, families welcome back their deceased relatives for a short time with food, drink and celebration, as it is believed that the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolves at midnight on October 31st and the spirits of children can join their families for 24 hours. The Spirits of adults can do the same on November 2nd. During this brief time, the souls of the deceased awaken and return to the living world with their families to feast, drink and dance. Treating the deceased as guests, the living leave their favourite foods and offerings at gravesites or at their homes. This is similar to the contemporary trick or treating of Halloween. Specially allocated areas in their homes called ofrendas, are decorated with things like candles and pictures of deceased family members, as can often be seen in present day Halloween house decorating.

The earliest known origins of this day comes from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, celebrated in what we know today to be Ireland, the United Kingdom and France. It was considered one of the most important festivals of the year, with November 1st, the Celtic New Year, following. The timing of this festival interestingly coincides with the end of harvesting season, essentially marking the annual “dying ” period until the rebirth the following spring. The Celts considered this a time when the normally more solid boundaries between the living and the dead became more flexible and transparent, allowing the spirits of the deceased to return for a visit to Earth. The Celtics also believed that these spirits and ghosts would roam the fields and the roads near their homes on this night. Since the people would be afraid of encountering these beings on their way to and from the celebrations, they would disguise themselves with masks, ghost costumes, etc. as a way to trick the spirits into believing they were also of the spirit world. This is commonly replicated through the tradition of dressing up in costumes that we see today.

The Ancient Celts and contemporary Americans are not the only ones with “Halloween roots ” and acknowledging the end of harvest season through celebrations and traditions, although similarities can be found amongst many of them. The tradition of leaving food on house doorsteps in many parts of Europe is done to prevent wandering spirits and fairies from entering the house, and this is another custom that has contributed to the tradition of trick

-or-treating. Like trick-or-treating, food and other offerings for the spirits is a fundamental part of many fall festivals of the dead around the world, like the Day of the Dead.

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!