As the leaves change color and a crisp chill settles in the air, it can mean only one thing: Spooky Season is upon us! Whether you’re a fan of all things macabre or just looking for an excuse to cuddle up with a warm blanket and a hot drink, there’s something undeniably enchanting about this time of year.
Spooky Season, often associated with the month of October, finds it roots in a rich tapestry of traditions from around the world. It’s a time when cultures celebrated the harvest and the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead.
Halloween derives from the Christian tradition of All Saint Day, observed on November 1st, which celebrates martyrs and saints. Día de los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead) honors deceased loved ones with vibrant altars and colorful sugar skulls. The ancient Celts, celebrated a festival know as Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”). Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. It was believed that during Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred, and spirts could return to the earthly realm.
Is it no wonder that we love this time of year when the veil is thinner and we can feel our loved ones who have passed. And isn’t it curious that even though we commemorate this time of year with the ghoulish: skeleton’s, werewolf’s, witches, ghosts, and other frights, that these depictions are based on honoring loved ones, saints, the bounty of the harvest, and the transition to darker days.
I’m in a historic neighborhood that goes completely unhinged with decorations. It is a Halloween destination for trick-or-treaters from all over the valley. The build-up to October 31st is magical as the old homes transform into the creepy, the fun, or the enchanting. Even Mother Nature steps in to put her stamp on the festivities by sporting a myriad of fall colors, cooler temperatures, pumpkins & gourds, and the scent of dried leaves and apple cider. When I see the joy this season brings to young and old alike as they walk our neighborhood I see the sacredness in the scary.
Spooky Season is a time to embrace the mystical and the mysterious, to let your inner child revel in the joy of the season and to take time to commune with our loved ones whether they are here or have passed on.