Musings About Things, Halloween Is Close. What Do You Think About All We Were Taught About Halloween

I was musing on another thread about Halloween and since it is just around the corner, what do you think about it? I am not going to say any particular worldview is right or wrong, I just want to know your ideas about it. I have said before that I don't celebrate Halloween (sorry, your kids are not getting candy from me), because it is a religious holiday for some people.

I am being respectful to those who practice Wicca and Celtic Paganism, and those who are Catholic (As it means All Hallow's Eve). I don't celebrate November 1 either, because I am not Catholic. I do understand that it is Samhain, but throughout the centuries, a lot of what was celebrated isn't necessarily what we know the most ancient Celtic Pagans did. I think Wicca is placed under several views, some of which are not all embraced by all who do practice Wicca. Some are Gardenian Wiccans, while some are eclectic or solitary.

But what has become associated with Halloween are slasher movies (ugh), dressing kids up like dinosaurs and having them go to strangers houses to get candy. Hmm, it seems the toothpaste companies would promote this, so parents buy more toothpaste.

We associate Halloween with ghosts, goblins, witches (stereotypical images), skeletons, graveyards, and many of those things. How did Halloween become associated with death? So out of respect for those who celebrate Samhain, how do you feel about the commercialization of Halloween and in your worldview, does Halloween represent Samhain?

You have to understand that most of what I know about Samhain comes from reading about it, talking to people who claim to practice Wicca and Celtic Paganism. I don't think vampires and werewolves were part of Celtic Paganism of the British Isles, because those arose from the Carpathian/Balkan people. How did Dracula become part of Halloween?

But the concept of ghosts didn't come from Celtics, all cultures have a belief in it. So from the perspective that ghosts are energy, as paranormal investigators believe, are ghosts energy? And if they are, is it energy that hasn't been transferred yet?

I would think if Halloween were the night that most spirits are supposed to cross the veil, because it's very thin on that night, then Halloween should be the most energy filled night of the year. And if it is, then what would be the outcome of such energy? We don't have nuclear explosions on that night, so the energy must be very limited. So what do you think, are ghosts energy?

I am just asking what people think. I realize there are many different ideas about this, and I don't think we need to know just what rituals you perform, if you are solitary, then it's ok to not talk about that. But something definitely associated Halloween with ghosts.

How do you perceive Halloween?

From my earliest memory of Halloween: It was always a day to dress up and knock on people doors and get sweets.

Nothing more nothing less, the "how it came to be" story was never told to me. And i never asked.

It's a shallow and frivolous event for most people. For the rest, it's an occasion to celebrate the one time of year that our world and...others...are most able to interact. It's got a long and interesting history, most of which is irrelevant to the Halloween with which we are familiar. It has evolved and transformed, becoming a parody of that from which it takes its roots. Not a huge loss, generally speaking, but certainly a detriment to the culture that gave it life.

Halloween has many meanings to many different people. I've heard some say that people are supposed to dress up to scare off the evil spirits as this is the night they roam earth. For me, when I was little, it was about dressing up, going out and seeing all the other people dressed up, and getting candy and having a good time. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, my kids dress up and go to a block party and just have fun and get candy. It creates a lot of fun for kids and adults so I see no harm in it. If people don't wanna celebrate it, then just leave your porch light off.

AfterInfinity
It's a shallow and frivolous event for most people. For the rest, it's an occasion to celebrate the one time of year that our world and...others...are most able to interact. It's got a long and interesting history, most of which is irrelevant to the Halloween with which we are familiar. It has evolved and transformed, becoming a parody of that from which it takes its roots. Not a huge loss, generally speaking, but certainly a detriment to the culture that gave it life.

edit on 28-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

I agree.

I certainly think its roots should be understood. Clearly people today have no problem with the current way it is celebrated, but how did all the death become associated with it? To my understanding, the Celtic Pagans believe in the eternal death and rebirth cycles and that's why the early Catholic church chose November 1 as to say the Catholic church and the saints are a celebration of rebirth.

I don't want to bash Catholics either, but both seem to be intertwined in this great saga. Both sides are accusing each other of stealing imagery.

I think Death is associated with Halloween because it is just before winter time, which is like a "little death". The habit of getting candies is reminiscent of the time you had to store some food as well as body fats to survive the cold climate, pretty much like northern animals do.

It was pagan, and Catholics did as they always did, they incorporated it ( the customs ), but only because it had a really useful function linked directly to the survival of the people observing it...

If Halloween has/had any magical properties, it might have been to be used as a political tool. Knowledge is power.

reply to post by WarminIndy


I've been thinking about Halloween the past few weeks. I worked at my local zoo dressed as a nerd witch and waved to kids as they passed by and told corny jokes, but I was surrounded by semi-scary props and some of the kids would be screaming and crying and the parents would just be laughing and pulling their child towards the scary stuff...it was a wee bit disturbing to me. I've lost my voice trying to yell over all the scary sounds just to reassure the kids I was a 'good nerd witch' that told corny jokes and gave out high fives.

I was raised catholic but we weren't hard core I guess you would say because I would just dress up and go trick or treating. We never went to church or celebrated November 1.

My mama would never let me be anything scary. She always wanted Halloween to be fun and not scary.

I like Halloween in all, but I have been feeling weird about it lately. I can't figure out why either. I used to love Halloween and I really do like dressing up in a costume, I guess I just feel like it's just another holiday for companies to push more product... Meh...

The spooky aspect of Halloween comes from all saints day being nov1. The night before allows all the dark manifestations to revel and party before the dawn. Mussorgsky wrote music of it called night on bald (bare) mountain. Now college football bands play it on 3rd downs.

reply to post by NowanKenubi


This is what I mean about people not understanding Halloween. Death is associated with Halloween because Halloween is believed to be the one night out of the year that this world and the next are closest. Speaking simply, those who are knowledgeable in the practice may lift the veil between the worlds and interact with powers which usually present a certain modicum of difficulty for those who attempt to delve into them.

reply to post by natalia


And some of the costumes are really cute. But when we were young, there was no such thing as buying costumes. And my dad did send us out to get candy, of which he took from us and ate. Maybe that's why I never liked it.

I think really it is commercialized, and November 1, Christmas will be in the stores. I don't think people need to buy expensive gifts. I think that gifts should mean something and come from the heart, not the wallet. But that's me.

At least the commercialization has turned into family time. Parents took their children to the zoo that day, at least. But the kids are forced to sit on a strangers lap, they just get candy from strangers. And that I think gives a double standard to children, don't talk to strangers, but on these days you can get candy and sit on the lap of a stranger...

I don't think as a parent I could do that, I would have problems with the double standard. I don't have children so I can only guess as to what kind of parent I would have been.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by NowanKenubi

 

This is what I mean about people not understanding Halloween. Death is associated with Halloween because Halloween is believed to be the one night out of the year that this world and the next are closest. Speaking simply, those who are knowledgeable in the practice may lift the veil between the worlds and interact with powers which usually present a certain modicum of difficulty for those who attempt to delve into them.

And in the attempts, some things can be raised that are better left alone...

I just think it is kind of silly though that a Ninja Zombie comes across the veil. But then again, maybe Ninja Zombies do come across the veil. It's not even the longest night of the year, so perhaps getting candy was an early form of sacrifice that people did believe if they gave something sacrificial to appease Ninja Zombie, it would not throw Shirukin stars at them?

Now I have to go buy a bag of candy to sacrifice to the Ninja Zombie...

I'm staying in though, so perhaps I am still safe. I know all of this is tongue in cheek, but I suppose if the original believers couldn't sacrifice cows or sheep at that time, then candy would suffice?

reply to post by WarminIndy

I'm staying in though, so perhaps I am still safe. I know all of this is tongue in cheek, but I suppose if the original believers couldn't sacrifice cows or sheep at that time, then candy would suffice?

There are far less barbaric methods than sacrifice. Sacrifice is usually a technique employed when attempting to trade energy. The sacrifice is converted into the energy needed to fuel whatever task you're preparing for, much the way wood is burned to provide light or heat. Or so the theory goes.

Now, if you're just communing or "bringing down the moon", so to speak, you don't need to sacrifice anything. You just realize it through your imagination and power of intent. Sacrifice is overkill, and may introduce energies that sully the process.

WarminIndy

How do you perceive Halloween?

edit on 10/28/2013 by WarminIndy because: (no reason given)

To me, it's the observation of the cross quarter between the Autumn equinox and the Winter solstice. For a lot of us, it's new years day. For practical purposes, I've always went along with January 1st (when in Rome and all that).

It is when the veil is thinnest for many but I find that true of all cross-quarter sabbats. It's a time to honor those that have passed and, if you are of the type, practice some significant divination.

The lesson to be learned is by observing the season and seeing that death is required for the new birth of the following year. For me, it's much deeper than that but that is what is common among many who celebrate it as Samhain. As with all the sabbats, it is an opportunity to align yourself with the goddess (or nature, etc) and sort of calibrate your bearings. Living according to her cycles is a way to honor yourself and all others who exist on our planet.

In my signature, there is a link for Samhain ideas if anybody is interested.

Cuervo

WarminIndy

How do you perceive Halloween?

edit on 10/28/2013 by WarminIndy because: (no reason given)

To me, it's the observation of the cross quarter between the Autumn equinox and the Winter solstice. For a lot of us, it's new years day. For practical purposes, I've always went along with January 1st (when in Rome and all that).

It is when the veil is thinnest for many but I find that true of all cross-quarter sabbats. It's a time to honor those that have passed and, if you are of the type, practice some significant divination.

The lesson to be learned is by observing the season and seeing that death is required for the new birth of the following year. For me, it's much deeper than that but that is what is common among many who celebrate it as Samhain. As with all the sabbats, it is an opportunity to align yourself with the goddess (or nature, etc) and sort of calibrate your bearings. Living according to her cycles is a way to honor yourself and all others who exist on our planet.

In my signature, there is a link for Samhain ideas if anybody is interested.

How interesting is this..?? I clicked on your link to Samhain, and saw that it was posted exactly a year ago today

Ok, I can understand what you mean by "calibrate your bearings". That's like some people say "center yourself".

It's kind of a midpoint for you. That's easy to understand how it can apply. I suppose the Christian way of doing that would be to go to church on Wednesday evening. It makes perfect sense, thank you for explaining it that way.

WarminIndy
I don't celebrate Halloween (sorry, your kids are not getting candy from me), because it is a religious holiday for some people.

It's a religious holiday for a handful of people ...
But it's roots were actually Christian.
November 1st is the mass for the Saints in Heaven ... the hallowed.
The night before was the eve of the mass of the Saints in Heaven .. hallowed eve.
It later morphed into nothing more than a candy holiday for kids.

If you don't want to get in costume and eat candy ... whatever.
The rest of us will have fun ...

AfterInfinity
reply to post by WarminIndy

 

I'm staying in though, so perhaps I am still safe. I know all of this is tongue in cheek, but I suppose if the original believers couldn't sacrifice cows or sheep at that time, then candy would suffice?

There are far less barbaric methods than sacrifice. Sacrifice is usually a technique employed when attempting to trade energy. The sacrifice is converted into the energy needed to fuel whatever task you're preparing for, much the way wood is burned to provide light or heat. Or so the theory goes.

Now, if you're just communing or "bringing down the moon", so to speak, you don't need to sacrifice anything. You just realize it through your imagination and power of intent. Sacrifice is overkill, and may introduce energies that sully the process.

edit on 28-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

I think I wouldn't want the Ninja Zombie to take my energy..then I become a zombie too. I don't think I would like that very much.

I saw a show last night about a young man who had sacrificed a cat and what he had said was "blood for blood" The blood is the life of the body, so I suppose it does carry in it intrinsic properties that carry the electro-chemical processes in our bodies.

I have Multiple Sclerosis and am very interested in why it affects the body in this particular way. I have a theory, but because I'm just a patient (the medical community doesn't think I should be an expert, I just live with it) and that is this...for some people, the electricity that goes through the body, perhaps in some cases that electricity is overamped, causing the particular areas of damage in the myelin sheath. I thought of this after thinking about hot dogs that are roasted over a fire. Suppose that inside the hot dog, it is what gets too hot, the same as what would happen to the myelin sheath. So the damage comes from overamperage?

I know that I have a low resistance to electricity, I worked at a factory that made computer resistors and we had the diagnostic equipment that tested the resistors to make sure they were within range. We used to test ourselves on this, and I was the one with the lowest resistance.

Maybe those others who have lower resistance to electrical impulses are those who are more readily able to be affected by energy changes? I say this because we don't know all the diseases people carried back then, but MS was considered at one time to be a Celtic curse. Suppose the Celts did have a lower resistance to electricity and therefore did feel the effect of energy changes in the atmosphere?

I do feel when the barometric pressure drops, so I know a storm is about to happen. Perhaps the ancient people felt this also? As Cuervo points out, it is about observation. But suppose some people have the ability in them, genetically, to actually feel the difference in energy?

Maybe that's why some people naturally can cause the veil to rip? If it is energy between the two worlds, then a lowered resistance means that you can tolerate a higher energy exchange. And if you could learn to manipulate this energy exchange, then anything is possible.

Jesus did say that if you speak to the mountain, then it will be removed and if your faith can do that, then nothing is impossible to you. Even Jesus teaches that there is some kind of power by our faith, but acting on that faith, we can cause things to happen. That frightens me to think what some people then could be capable of, if some people aren't thinking about good things.

FlyersFan

WarminIndy
I don't celebrate Halloween (sorry, your kids are not getting candy from me), because it is a religious holiday for some people.

It's a religious holiday for a handful of people ...
But it's roots were actually Christian.
November 1st is the mass for the Saints in Heaven ... the hallowed.
The night before was the eve of the mass of the Saints in Heaven .. hallowed eve.
It later morphed into nothing more than a candy holiday for kids.

If you don't want to get in costume and eat candy ... whatever.
The rest of us will have fun ...

Actually, it is Samhain, older than Christianity in Britain and Ireland. Cuervo wrote a good post about it on his other thread. I read it, it's very good.

I didn't mean to sound harsh, I was trying to be funny. Sorry, you didn't get my humor, it's all good.

As Samhain was indeed part of a religion, and still is to people who celebrate it, I don't think I would be under any obligation to celebrate, I don't celebrate Ramadan either. I was trying to be respectful toward those who celebrate their religion. The Catholic church had faced trying to get converts (before the forced Inquisition) and found it necessary to incorporate imagery and symbolism found in what we consider paganism.

I'm kind of leery about just saying paganism, because that's an umbrella term that originally meant "folk religion". That's why I specifically said Celtic Paganism. They didn't have the exact same symbolism in ancient Ireland that is in Estonia. But November 1 is All Hallow's Day. That is the saints day. But why would the Catholic church in those days place All Saints Day the morning after Samhain?

Samhain is not Catholic, we simply call Halloween that because the early Catholic church just emphasized their position.

reply to post by WarminIndy

We come now to the bit of evidence that may link between this comet business and Halloween.

As it happens, the end of June and the end of October/beginning of November are the times when the Earth passes through the Taurid stream. That means that the event that marked the boundary between the Pleistocene and Holocene (present epoch) must have occurred at the end of October.

It was a day when the boundaries between the living and the dead became very thin, because nearly every living thing on this planet perished and the memory of this event has come down to us in the 'End of Summer' commemoration we call Halloween, known in the Bible as the Flood of Noah.

Where do the witches come in? Well, hang on, we are getting there.

www.bibliotecapleyades.net...

reply to post by WarminIndy

Some are Gardenian Wiccans, while some are eclectic or solitary.

Yes. LOTS are 'eclectic' and 'solitary'. The latter is what I practiced.

Solitary....

Meaning, you do whatever seems to 'fit' with your understanding of the elemental-force access. It varies for EVERYONE....

just like Christians aren't all the same.

reply to post by Cuervo

The lesson to be learned is by observing the season and seeing that death is required for the new birth of the following year. For me, it's much deeper than that but that is what is common among many who celebrate it as Samhain.

Has anyone mentioned yet that it's pronounced "SOW-an"?

Brightest, cuervo.