Halloween. Mmm mmm good!

It has been a super long time since I've written anything here. But since It's Friday and tomorrow is Halloween, it seems a fitting day for a post.

I LOVE Halloween. It has always been one of my favorites. I love ghosts and goblins, candy, trick or treating and all that good stuff. I also love the history behind Halloween.

Back in the day, the Celts celebrated their new year on November first. They believed that the veil between life and death was very thin at that time as the harvest had just ended and it grew very cold. So, on October 31 they celebrated a holiday called Samhain where they believed that the ghosts of the dead could return to earth and not only were these ghosts a bit on the mischievous side, damaging crops and things, but they also helped the Druids predict the future which was a very good thing. It gave them comfort through the long winter months.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During this celebration, the Celts wore costumes, fierce and terrifying, to honor the dead spirits.

The Christians, who were trying to convert these pagans changed the Holiday to represent a more "worthy" theme. They took the November first date and called it All Saints Eve or All Hallow's Eve," which mean the same thing. Then it was shortened to Hallow's 'een, then to just plain old Halloween.

No matter what the Christians back then did, they just couldn't take the "pagan" out of the people. And today, we still celebrate the dead by dressing up in costumes, handing out candy (to appease the dead) and just plain let the heathen out who still resides inside us, waiting to cause mischief and mayhem!

I'm a firm believer and in letting the heathen out once in a while. It keeps you from needing therapy!