Good morning,
Considering we were in the month whether #Halloween , I thought it would be nice to pay attention to it in a post (or several).
Normally I am not much whetherthe commerce whetherholidays like Mother's Day, Pentecost, Valentine's Day, etc.. Halloween however: I love it! The smell whetherthe deer, the cozy creeping together (it should not be too scary though), the dressing up, the pumpkins, all the trimmings.
The fact that I pay extra attention to Halloween is due to the popularity whetherthe party in the US, but I got to know it from a different angle: that whetherthe #hekserij . I'd like to tell you something about that.
European Halloween in very short
Halloween is a celebration celebrated all over the world in many ways. Known are the Halloween parties in the US where people dress up and kids go by the doors for candy. In much whetherLatin America and Mexicoslide de los muertoscelebrated: the day whetherthe dead. Also this is quite known, especially since the Pixar filmCoco has come true, which is all about this day.
In Europe we know Halloween from Christianity as Hallows Eve, on whichAll Souls Day whetherAll Saints Day will follow on November 1. This is the day when all Christian saints who do not have their own holiday are honored.
However, the reason that the Catholic Church chose this date for this, lies in the #Paganisme . A celebration celebrated in much whetherEurope was Samhain (you pronounce it as sow-in or sow-en). This is originally a Celtic feast celebrating the end whetherthe summer. It was a popular party, and whethercourse the Catholic Church couldn't use it. That's why they pasted their own holiday over it (just like with several paganistic holidays. At Christmas the next post comes about it;)).
Samhain and modern witchcraft
Samhain is still celebrated as such by many modern witches. It is the end whetherthe summer or sun half whetherthe year, and the start whetherthe winter half. In the time whetherthe Romans, many autumn influences have also been mixed into it, which now makes it the last autumn festival whetherthe year. It is also the Celtic New Year and that is also what modern witches often celebrate as such. It's a time whetherend and new beginning. Deceased are honored, reflected on the old year, and intentions are set for the New Year.
Witch parties, or Sabbaths, are, above all, real celebrations. They eat and drink, and with Samhain, apples are central. This is the food that can also be shared with the dead. Think cider, apple pie, apple flaps, apple bulbs, caramelized apples, you name it. Especially the latter you often see in the American version whetherHalloween.
Then where does the creepy come from?
Like Dia de los Muertos, Samhain is the feast whetherdeath. In nature, the commitment whetherdeath at this time is best visible. Trees have dropped most whetherthe leaves, flowers and plants retire and keep their energy in their roots and seeds in order to be able to live up next summer. The last harvests are taken off the land, leaving the fields bare.
Worldwide where the feast - under whatever name - is celebrated, there is the idea that we as living are the closest to the kingdom whetherthe dead at this time whetherthe year. The veil between the two worlds is now so thin that it could be temporarily crossed. The dead can walk again in our world, and if we are not careful, we walk into the realm whetherthe dead. Then see your way back again!
Of course, we protect ourselves from this in all kinds whetherways. With #pompoenen for example! Live, glowing pumpkins with scary faces scare off evil spirits. And when we dress up, we don't notice among the evil spirits so they'll probably leave us alone!
I think Samhain is a wonderful topic to tell about. I hope you will also like to read about it, as it will probably be discussed more often (:
If there are any questions, I would like to hear them!
Happy day all (:
