Halloween is Coming!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Sep 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Violet Gargoyle	12 Sep 2002
I started to put the decorations up last night. I am going for a "Nightmare before Christmas" theme this year. Anyone else? What do you do to decorate for Samhain/Halloween/Day of the Dead? How early do you start?

midnightmerry	12 Sep 2002
Halloween is the official 'kickoff' of the entire holiday season for me (who want to wait 'till Thanksgiving?). It is right up there with Yule in importance. I do decorate- my husband says waaaay too much. I have a wonderful Witch effigy and Cauldron that actually reside in my private study next to my desk for the entire year, then they come out and make their presence known at Samhain. Also, skulls and pumpkins. And more Witches. To me, Witches represent the Wise Crone as Cerridwen so these images are meaningful and not just kiddie decorations. And also, the Corn Mother. So far, I just have one Halloween wall hanging up and one really big Autumn wreath that I made last year.

ihcoyc	12 Sep 2002
I usually try to get away early on Hallowe'en, then go and decorate the garage for the trick or treaters. Welcoming the trick or treaters into the garage is a custom that dates back to back when we had a large dog. It got to be a hassle welcoming the trick or treaters at the front door while trying to keep the dog from rushing them. I hang up old purple bedclothes, and put up a bunch of skeletons on the walls, and light candles and incense all around and up the driveway. I have a mix CD of appropriate classical and movie soundtrack music I play --- Bach, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky and so forth. I dress up as the Grim Reaper and carry around a scythe. Thanksgiving is a nuisance and an imposition; I wish it didn't have to happen. Exmas is that and worse; the sense of its inevitability drives me to helpless rage and despair. I stock up on groceries in mid-October so I won't have to go shopping between then and January, to try and minimize my exposure. If I were rich, and the world a better place, I'd spend November and December in Baghdad. But Hallowe'en I still enjoy, even if it is starting to begin in August anymore.

Rhiannon	12 Sep 2002
My decorations will go up on Oct. 1st. Anything sooner and the hubby would probably think I was nuts, even though he loves it just as much as I do. I have some decorations I leave out all year too! I have a witch that has wires in it and wraps around my stair bannister, and a little plaque I found in the craft store that says "Welcome Witches" on it, it hangs right beside my door. I'm really looking forward to this year! R })

Red raven	12 Sep 2002
I do the usual stuff. My favourites are the pumpkin lights. they're so.... cute! Parties are fun, too. A friend of mine is throwing a Samhain/Halloween Party. (Me & a friend are going as Jay & Silent Bob.:D) well, I just like costumes. ;)

Violet Gargoyle	12 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Red raven (Me & a friend are going as Jay & Silent Bob.:D) Which one are you going to be? I am either going to be Sally from Nightmare before Christmas or Queen Elizabeth I, using my wedding dress.

Violet Gargoyle	12 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Rhiannon My decorations will go up on Oct. 1st. Anything sooner and the hubby would probably think I was nuts, even though he loves it just as much as I do. I have some decorations I leave out all year too! R }) Hmmm, I started yesterday (So The white lights could be on outside for remberance.) I put the green lights around the living room late last night. The Autumn themed stuff went up today. The Halloween stuff will go up Oct 1. Then I will switch the halloween stuff with Yule things, but still use all the Autumn things for the winter holidays. Then everything comes down around January. My hubby already thinks I am a nut. :D

wavebreaker	13 Sep 2002
Just out of curiosity: where does Halloween come from, what does it celebrate? It's not celebrated in the Netherlands, but I wouldn't be surprised if it would be forced upon us by commerce within a few years. Just like Valentine's Day, we never used to celebrate that either, until the postal services, flower shops, candy shops decided that they could earn a lot of money by advertising it... ;)

lunalafey	13 Sep 2002
It is my understanding that All Hallows Eve is the night when all the underworld spirits come out...for what reason on that day..???.. the tradition of dressing up was a disguise for us mortals, blend in so the 'boogie man' wouldn't get us... I keep things simple. time is a factor. We do pumpkins and I love to make the costumes. There is a gathering in town with contests for the kids and then they walk the 1/2 mile down one side of town to all the businesses, Trick or Treating, and then the 1/2 mile up the other side. By then the bags are full...

wavebreaker	13 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey It is my understanding that All Hallows Eve is the night when all the underworld spirits come out...for what reason on that day..??? Maybe it has something to do with All Saint's Day (1 November) and All Soul's Day (2 November)? We do know those days over here, although I think they're only really observed by Catholics. On All Soul's Day, it's customary for Catholics to visit the graves of their loved ones and to remember those that passed away.

blue_fusion	13 Sep 2002
i'm so jealous of you guys. we don't really celebrate halloween in that fashion. :(

kayne	13 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by blue_fusion20 i'm so jealous of you guys. we don't really celebrate halloween in that fashion. :( Same here... They try to encourage it in shops but it doesn't really happen. I think we are planning on having a Hallowe'en party this year though, just for fun! (Even though it's Spring in Oz...:P)

Rhiannon	13 Sep 2002
I'm hoping to get dressed up with a few friends this year and go bar-hopping. We did this last year (although it was a few days before halloween, can't deprive the trick or treaters) and we had a blast! R :)

Bella	13 Sep 2002
First, I'll take my daughter pumpkin picking, and buy some gourds, dried corn, etc, to make decorations. I'll start decorating at the beginning of October. I hang cut outs of "scary" stuff on the doors and windows. I'll hang a garland of blow up jack-o-lanters and drape "spider webs" with little plastic spiders in the hallway leading to my inside door. I'll put out a basket of gourds, and a real cut-out pumpkin with a candle inside. On Halloween, I'll take the little one trick or treating to just the neighbors that I know, cause she'll want to show off her costume (I think she wants to be Tom--the cat--from the Tom and Jerry cartoons). I'll probably take my pentacle out from inside my shirt, wear black, and put on a "witches hat" when I go around with her, just for the irony of it all. (yeah, i know, perpetuating the witch stereotype a little, but at least I won't be ugly and green warted..., plus my husband says...if only the neighbors knew the truth--that witches are really sexy and attractive!!--lol!)

jade	13 Sep 2002
samhain (pronouned sow-en) or halloween is oct 31 and is a pagan holiday. is the 'new years eve' for us. as nov. 1 is the beginning of the new year. this is the night when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest and so you can visit departed souls and they can visit you as well. in light, jade

Umbrae	13 Sep 2002
All hallows eve is (in ancient Celtic mythos) when the curtain between the worlds is the thinnest. The spirits can cross over into our world. It was important to display skulls, gargoyles, or demonic representations so that the spirits knew you were already haunted, thus – they would leave you alone. Wandering until they found someone un-haunted or un-protected.

Violet Gargoyle	13 Sep 2002
On the other Hand, Day of the Dead (actually 2 Days of the Dead) is a chance for the living to meet passed relatives. Pictures are decorated, alters are made, candles are little, flowers are placed all over the belongings of the loved ones, you even set a place at the table and leave gifts (like new clothes and candy) for the departed. The Mexican Christian culture truly sees it as a reunion with the departed and treats it as a festive party. American Culture sort of mixes this in. Here's a Rough Draft of an article I put together (it's incomplete so the bottom kind of cuts off-because I'm not done with it yet...): "I think I can safely say that my love affair with October 31st began when I was about 4 years old. I distinctly remember being outside, jumping in leaf piles, and going trick or treating door to door with my grandmother, wearing an out-of-the-box Laverne costume. That's right, I said a Laverne costume- as in "Laverne and Shirley". Anyway, it was my first real lesson in instant gratification: Knock on a door, listen to an adult say how cute you are, and get candy for said cuteness. From then on, I was hooked on Halloween- who wouldn't be? Over 25 years later, my love affair with the season continues. So what's the deal with the holiday anyway? How did we get from a celebration commonly attributed to origins over 4000 years ago, if you count when ancient peoples just had two holidays, being spring and autumn- to a kid in 1978 wearing a Laverne Costume asking neighbors for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? How did we get such a mish mosh of cultures celebrating alot of different things at the same time? A good start would be the Celtic culture and the origin of "Samhain", the pagan celebration of the holiday . By this point the spring and fall celebrations mentioned before became, to the Celts anyway, four fire festivals to catch the other seasons of the year too. Some believe that the name "Samhain" was derived as a feast day of sorts for what would be a Aryan version of a Death God, Samana. Others dispute this as a misconception of facts invented from some 19th century authors during the Victorian fad of "rediscovering" seasonal festivals and mythology. Another sources say that Samhain is a simple translation from Gaelic as "The end of Summer", which in turn means the end of the year in Celtic terms. In any case, like the Christians later on, the major holidays were actually celebrated the night before the given sacred day, hence the "Eve" part of the Hallows you hear so much about. Through the ages the Celts did use Samhain as a reason to connect with spirits, being that they saw the new year as a time when the veil was thin enough to communicate with those not in a human form, like visitors from an exotic land staying with you a couple times a year. The emphasis on these communications is more with the faerie folk and those family members who had died, much like modern Mexico's Day of the Dead. This visits were a happy occasion, a reason to celebrate, like a thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. Gifts and food would be left out to the "visitors" making a stop in the household. All this would change with Samhain's Christianization. Now, given the confusing possible origins for Samhain, lets throw the Christian origins of Hallow's Eve into this mix. The Christians (Constantine's era, around 350 AD), began to change the images of the beings that visited the people who still celebrated Samhain, now All Hallow's Eve. It is the belief of the afterlife that perhaps underwent the biggest change. As mentioned before, Samhain was a celebration of otherworldly visitors. The Celtic people did not fear death, since they did not have a concept of Heaven nor Hell, just an afterlife that experienced things much like their lives already were. However, with the introduction of Chrisitanity and it's version of death, Faeries became demons, the souls of the visiting dead were construed as damned spirits, for if they were visiting you, then they were not in Heaven. Celtic Funeral Pyres gave way to Christian burials, and a cyclical time system gave way to a linear one- meaning the belief that the soul has a final destination and stays there. To establish themselves further, the church would create All Saints Day, or Hallowmas (modernly attributed on November 1st, although it was moved a few times before that) around 700 AD, later followed by All Souls Day on November 2nd around 1000 AD in order to give the new Christianized lands an approved reason to hold ceremonies, mostly low-key and filled with prayers, at that time of year. With the days of reverance that came out of this (in Catholic cultures, this means 2 days of fasting and mass) came, about the 1700's and mostly with early American immigrants. what would become Mischief or Devils Night on the eve of All Saints Day. Coupled with the continued practices of harvest celebrations in localized areas, October 31st became associated with minor jokes and pranks played on the area neighbors, the tricks in "trick or treat", pretty much to get all of the funny business out of the way before you step into church. As the pranks got more elaborate, the need to defuse them became apparent. Therefore the practice of giving children of prankster age something to leave their house alone was introduced, evolving into the trick-or-treating custom somewhere between the world wars. With the growth of American lands and the melting pot associated with it, we get the communication with the dead back into the holiday by Victorian times, even if it was only acceptable to a certain degree. Looking into a mirror while you peeled an apple to get a glimpse of your future love is an example. Victorian America, like England, was also a time where appearance was everything. People started to author books about how to host the perfect Harvest or Autumn parties and made up the reasons for having them, what to serve, how to decorate, what games to play. . ."

Smack	13 Sep 2002
halloween is the best day of the year... and not just because it's my birthday ;) i usually don't start getting ready until october comes around.

wavebreaker	13 Sep 2002
Wow, thanks for including that Violet Gargoyle, that was very interesting! :)

napaea	13 Sep 2002
yes, VG, thanks for the article! i loved it and would like to print out the whole thing when you are done with it, so let me know! what is this article for, a magazine? tell tell tell... i too love Halloween. when i was a kid i loved to go around town in my costume, or go to school and do the festivals there. it was such a fun holiday in Southern California, cause it was always still warm enough to stay out late. here in Michigan, kids wear their coats over their costumes! no way! i grew out of Halloween as i got older, and as i became a more devout Christian. my friend and i used to go to parties people had and we would go somewhere together and spend the whole night praying for the kids trick or treating, cause we were worried they might get bad candy, or kidnapped for some witchcraft ritual. while i think it's great we were concerned for our community, i'm sooooo glad i no longer hold these misconceived ideas about witches, Halloween or spirits. now i love Halloween, and we want every year to be more fun and special than the last. i can't wait!!!!!!!

Sam	14 Sep 2002
Halloween! Halloween! This year my friends and I might go to a graveyard!

Pollux	14 Sep 2002
My Catholic past made me hate November the first, and the prevous and following days too. We had a huge number of rehearsals for the liturgy - I used to serve the mass. Now it's all SO over... I decided I would start celebrating the Sabbats at least this year, despite my family and neighbours and all. To start living that part of the Craft too. Halloween did not exist here till a couple of years ago. Then Merchandise, Advertisemenet and Firms started getting interested. To this add the fact that Italians, misrespectful of their culture, love so much to "steal" celebrations that never existed, In brief, now some people celebrate Halloween too. Especially in the big cities. (I won't go into the political side of it, but there are some nice implications) In Naples, for example, it is really big since there's a huge American community, and they like to keep it going. They started the dance, and it seems like the people joining it increase every year. I still don't know if I mind... :P What Tarotlady says is true: we do have 1st abd 2nd November - and supposedly they are scraps of some pagan past that the church transformed, much as the other sabbats a bit. And the commercial intentions behind it are real as well. No Halloween existed before for me, just the February Carnival... ANYWAY - Samhain is a Sabbat. And I want to celebrate. So, I asked some friends... and it seems like we'll do something too. Apart from the fact that clubs are stuffed with disguised people - I think it is a bit predictable, so we probably skip clubbing at least on Halloween - I think I would love to have a ritual, and then dress up and patrol the city. Just going around dressed, idle and playing around... That would be my fav way. I hope we'll come up with something nice. NOW, I was thinking: back to the original question, ARE YOU SURE HALLOWEEN IS COMING? There's still a whole month and a half to that! AND, isn't it a bit early for decorations? I thought they were organised in the few previous days, and dismantled soonafter, the following one... TV led me on... ;)

wavebreaker	14 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux No Halloween existed before for me, just the February Carnival... OOH, I loved the February Carnival!! Unfortunately, it's hardly celebrated in the northern part of the country, where I live now. But in the south, where I was born and grew up, it was three full days of fun and madness! :D :)

Violet Gargoyle	14 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux No Halloween existed before for me, just the February Carnival... NOW, I was thinking: back to the original question, ARE YOU SURE HALLOWEEN IS COMING? There's still a whole month and a half to that! AND, isn't it a bit early for decorations? I thought they were organised in the few previous days, and dismantled soonafter, the following one... TV led me on... ;) Well, it will EVENTUALLY be Halloween, I actually go nuts for the Fall Season in general. And since I collect Halloween stuff....you could call it obsession. I like Hallow's Eve much more than any other holiday of the year, partially because its the only one where I don't have to deal with family get togethers (they're okay if we visit my hubby's relatives, this side of disatorous for my own bloodlines.) Its an intimate thing with me and nature. Plus all the extras: Jack o Lanterns, making pumpkin wine, putting up lights while the weather is still warm, etc. And when I do it right, all the decorations last me through the new year. I love winter too (especially if a warm place is nearby, I like the season. Cant stand the feeling of freezing toes.) Carnival isn't celebrated too much in the states, we get Marti Gras parties here and there, and those can be fun (I would really like to go to New Orleans for the big shindig.) Of course I would also like to see Rio's Carnival someday too....

midnightmerry	14 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Violet Gargoyle I actually go nuts for the Fall Season in general. And since I collect Halloween stuff....you could call it obsession. I like Hallow's Eve much more than any other holiday of the year Hi VioletG, All I can say to your above comments is: me, too. Love everything about Fall: Halloween, the weather, Samhain, the chill, dressing up to answer the door on THE night, the leaves, the beautiful scent in the air, the lore, everything. Speaking of collecting Halloween stuff, the greatest water-globe followed me home from Target last night: there is this wonderful witch inside it and she is black as midnight. Shake the water and black bats fly around her. It is musical, too. I love it and now have it sitting right on top of my desk. Going back for the flying witch windchimes today! :) Really, this season is waaay too much fun.

DarkElectric	14 Sep 2002
I don't usually decorate, but if I do, it's birthday decorations, because Nov1 is my B-day. I think this year, I'm going to go out for Halloween as a bat. An OLD BAT! Hahahahahaha! Naw, I guess I'm not really old. I just don't like the idea of getting that way :P Unless I can grow up to be like Red Emma :)

Liliana	14 Sep 2002
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday too, I went trick or treating well into high school years just because i loved it too much to stop. I dont really decorate tho, just dont have the time, but kidding the kids dressed up and taking tem door to door is great, I go for the enire time alotted, and sometimes if a neighboring community does their trick or treating a different night i go twice lol.The air is so clean, and the fall leaves, love rhem, I live in Penns Woods after all :) :THP

The Halloween is Coming! thread was originally posted on 12 Sep 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.