One word. Death.
I write books about magic and magi, but I have to say this one really isn’t my cup of tea.
We know the history of how Halloween was originally celebrated as Samhain by the Celts. It was where people wore costumes to scare off the ghosts intent on scaring them. All because the Druids believed that for one night between the summer (life, harvest) and winter (death, cold, misery) the line between the two wasn’t so stable and the dead could wander the earth and they could tell the future. Then there was the sacrificing of animals and the wearing of dead animal parts.
Muahaha… right.
Romans showed up on the scene and the holidays they mixed in did little to remedy this death-centered celebration–but they did bring apples.
The Catholics managed to continue the tradition of making this day cheery by adding in the Day of Souls–yet another honoring of the dead because we didn’t have enough emphasis on it by this point. At least they brought some religious-themed costumes to the skulls and furs of past celebrations.
Whew. Ok.
So, now that we are sufficiently depressed, let’s talk about why we attempt to overdose tiny humans on candy every year. America did as America does and attempted to take the “frightening and grotesque” out of the previous 4 holidays that all centered around death–except for that one about the apples.
The going door to door for mandatory candy thing kind of evolved from parent-approved European traditions, but around the 1950s it ended a way to try and keep children from vandalizing homes.
I’m sorry, but I think I will just spend tonight sitting in my cave with Phillips Hue lights in purple and green at my computer. Then, while listening to something like this by Neoni, I’ll write…
…books about demons, monsters, and magi.
Who needs Halloween when I can be this creepy every day?
All my love and gratitude,
LMJ