October 11, 2010

Bide One's Time

Halloween is for Everybody
By Lee Prosser

Halloween truly is for everybody and for many reasons.

There is a sense of spiritual sharing involved with the Halloween season, and although this special time has its roots in different traditions and different countries, it is Pagan to the core. Being a Pagan is not a bad thing to be, and it is one positive approach to self-realization. Self-realization takes many paths, but if it is a positive path you select, that path will take you there.

So often Halloween is put down as either an evil time or a time for stupidity. Neither is the case. To the Witch or Wiccan or Pagan, it is a sacred time for renewal and getting in contact with nature. The tradition of Halloween and what it signifies is ancient.

To the people who take their children trick or treating, it is a pleasant time of costumes, humor, and collecting fruit and candy to eat! I recall the many times I went trick or treating with either my Uncle Willard or my mother, and each time was a different experience. I remember one time an elderly couple gave me a fresh loaf of round bread because I was the only one who had come to their door! Those are pleasant experiences, and what good Halloween memories are made of. Memories that sparkle with happiness.

I remember all of the times I took my two daughters out on Halloween to go trick or treating with them, and the look of delight they each had when they got candy. We also talked about the season and its meaning, and how it is an important celebration for many people.

In today's technological era, some of the wonderful ideas connected with Halloween still exist, but too much of it places an emphasis on candy and costumes. It should be remembered as a time of shared joy in the harvest of life's abundance. To share hope is important in these times of sadness, and Halloween is one way to share that hope. There is also a sense of joy about Halloween that is often overlooked.

Halloween has many names to associate with it: All Saint's Day, All Soul's Day, Hallowemas, and All Hallows Eve. By the year 1639, the use of the word, Samhain, was lost. For an interesting historical perspective on Halloween in the United States, take a look at the available Internet material about Halloween in the various states of the United States. A close look at the ideas of the Victorian Halloween should also prove to be interesting reading! Different eras held different approaches.

Halloween is healthy for those who enjoy it and helps let off stress for a pleasant night of looking scarier in costume than what lurks in the media headlines of real life! There are more scary horrors in the real world than in the children's approach to Halloween. There are numerous books written about Halloween. Two suggestions would be A Witch's Halloween by Gerina Dunwich and Halloween by Silver Ravenwolf. These two books give an honest, accurate appraisal about the holiday.

And you know what… for the most part, Hollywood still doesn't have a thing about the Witches right! They need to correct those stereotypes! Maybe next year?

Lee Prosser is Ghostvillage.com's book reviewer and a regular contributor. He is also the author of Missouri Hauntings. among other books. "Bide One's Time" is Prosser's monthly column on his supernatural musings.