October 31, 2005

Halloween is here.

And I say to you, "Happy Halloween."

Today is the day we celebrate fear.  The "fun fear," as I have previously discussed.  We want to hear ghost stories that dare us to walk through graveyards or slip into an decrepit deserted house.  We know most of the tales we hear aren't true, but we love to imagine that maybe, just maybe, they could be true.

Yet Halloween's birth comes from a time when there was no doubt concerning the events of the day, or night.  Not only was there a fear that the dead would return, but the very real fear that soon you might join them.

October 31st marked the end of the year for the ancient Celts.  The warm security of summer was over.  Winter was coming.  With the harsh cold came death.  On the evening of this last day of the year, the plane of the dead came too close to the plane of the living.  The deceased could cross over.  Food and treats were left on the outskirts of their town, hoping to distract the previously departed.  Huge bonfires were lit on hilltops while the citizens danced in costumes, praying for hope.

This was fear.

Today, most of us sit in our safe homes with paper skeletons on the door.  We don't rely on the fires that light our jack-o'-lanterns to protect us from anything other than a stumble on the otherwise dark porch steps.  The treats we give out attract the monsters of the night rather than repel.  We have no genuine fears that the dead will labor their way back into our lives on this hallowed night.  All we know this evening is happiness.

History often shows us the broad brushstrokes of where we are headed.  We have taken a ritual that displayed genuine terror and, in time, converted it into a happy celebration.

So again I say to you, on this delightful night of excitement and joy,

"Happy Halloween."