Everybody gets in the mood for the Spooky Season every time October comes up, and what fun it is! When we were kids, we couldn’t wait for the costumes or the candy. As a college student; we can’t wait for the parties, some of us go all out on our costumes and Halloween turns into turning ourselves into somebody else. Have you ever wondered why the specific colors? Why the Jack-o-lanterns? And, can you guess how actually witchy October 31st really is? If you love the History channel their website has gnarly articles and segments about one of the most celebrated seasons in the year if any of you want to get deep into Halloween this year. Yes, we know Halloween has passed, but the spoopy season is still with us.
Halloween has been around far longer than a lot of people think. Even now, there are some countries that are only recently getting to celebrate Halloween, but more because of how the U.S has celebrated it for the past century and making it about not being ourselves, according to WordPress user mholloway63 assessment on the Wiccan New Year. From 2000-3000 years ago the Celtics, mainly around Scotland celebrated Samhain (sow-in), it still celebrated today by the Wicca religion, and it means ‘the end of summer’ since then winter came and killed off the crops. It also meant that the veil between our world and ‘the next’ became so thin that the spirits walked among the living. So, this old tribes would disguise themselves to both pay tribute to the dead and ward off evil spirits. In modern days, Halloween still holds the same significance as before Christianity spread out through Northern Europe and reaching almost every corner of the world; on All Hallows Eve, little ceremonies are made by modern witches that follow the old pagan ways.
(Samhain bonfire- Circle Sanctuary Samhain celebration)
Modern Wiccans, like Emma Cueto from Bustle, tell how these celebrations have nothing to do with Devil Worship or dark practices, she explains in one of her articles. It’s a good-natured celebration to honor ancestors or loved ones that have passed away recently, just like any other tradition it comes with the preparation of food also being a big part of the festivity. Old traditions turned into fun and games when capitalism took its turn on Halloween. The commercialization of this old pagan festival made the marketing of ready-to-go costumes a steady business for many companies like Walgreens, Hot Topic, Party City and, among others.
Who would’ve thought that Halloween had so many layers, huh?