Issue #16
This is Halloween🎃👻
It’s October, which means it officially Halloween season. Also known as Hallowe’en, All Hallow’s Eve, or Samhain, it’s celebrated on October 31st every year.
As a kid, trick-or-treating is obviously the main draw of the holiday. There was nothing better than dressing up as something scary and receiving more sweets than you know what to do with for your efforts. One year I even managed to make my haul last until almost Christmas.
Once you age out of trick-or-treating, scary movies become the best bit of Halloween. Now, if you’re like me (someone who is easily scared by horror) you may skip on quite a lot of traditional Halloween movies. Personally, my favourite Halloween movie is Practical Magic (1998). But, it is fun to watch the occasional horror film…in the day time…and then watch a Disney movie straight after. The approach of Halloween every year also brings up the age old question: is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween film or a Christmas film? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments below.
Halloween coincides with Samhain, a Celtic/Pagan festival marking the end of their year. It takes place halfway between the autumn equinox (Mabon) and the winter solistice (Yule) and heralds the arrival of the dark season; when the nights are longer than the days. Samhain is a festival dedicated to celebrating the lives of people who have passed on during the year and paying respects to ancestors. There is also a belief that the veil between this world and the Other is at it’s thinnest on Samhain, making it easier to communicate with lost loved ones.
Fun fact, the tradition of dressing up for Halloween actually stems from a Samhain custom. While the thinning of the veil allows for communing with the departed, it also allowed for contact with the aos sí (fairies or Fair Folk). While the Fair Folk can be appeased with offering of food, drink and even sacrifices, it was considered wise to disguise yourself so they couldn’t see your true form. In that same vein, you should never tell one of the Fair Folk your true name as it gives them power over you.
Samhain is also a good time for cleansing rituals, and makes for a great time for particularly powerful divination.
And that’s that on that🫡
xoxo curiosity curator👀