Happy Halloween

Taken from Wikipedia

Today, I'm going to share the origin of what some consider an evil holiday, specifically one listed as celebrated most frequently.  Sadly, I outgrew celebrating when my children aged out, and I tend to hide in the basement to avoid answering the door.  Yet another sad fact...the doorbell hardly rings anymore, so hiding the past few years has been a total wasted effort.  I think stangers lurking in the dark who aren't part of the holiday, razor blades in apples, and poison candy or popcorn balls has spoiled what was once an opportunity to bring a smile to a young face.  While often deemed the "day of the dead", I don't think any youngster sees anything but candy in their future when October 31st rolls around.  :)  I know my grandson was really upset when the school deemed costumes could no longer be worn there...you know, we must be politically correct at all times. I have mixed emotions about this issue since the school thinks it's fine to have sock hops during school hours and charge admission.  It's not okay to make those who don't celebrate feel otracized, but it's okay to ostracize those who can't afford to attend.  Huh?  But I've gotten totally off topic.

I'm copying this directly from Wikipedia (sans the footnotes):

Halloween, or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwiːn, -oʊˈiːn, ˌhɑːl-/; a contraction of "All Hallows’ Evening"), also known asAllhalloween,^] All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countrieson 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance ofAllhallowtide the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows),martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals,with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain.Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Typical contemporary festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related "guising"), attending costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing and divinationgames, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lightingcandles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although in other locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more commercial and secular celebration. Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although most no longer require, abstinence from meat on All Hallows' Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption ofapples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

So...for those who participate...Happy Candy Gathering!!!!