Dear editor,
I like Hallowe’en. I have always enjoyed it. I see it as a good time for fun and communal enterprise. We can come together and have fun.
I was recently stirred by someone’s alert to the depressive nature of the skeletive imaging and other likewise nature characterizations that adorn our yards. Skeletons don’t bother me. I think of them as archeological phenomena. Angry and scary evil-intentioned faces do bother me in their spirit and quest for violence.
The history of Hallowe’en is rather interesting. It is thought to have originated by the Celts in the Druidic tradition some two thousand-plus years ago as the beginning of their new year celebration. In the evening before November 1 the Principle focus was the celebration of the god of death, Samhain
(I think it is pronounced as something like ‘sowane’).
I am not to get into the story of sacrifices offered to Samhain but perhaps one could view the idea ever-so-closely by viewing a window on Scott St. and Portage. There you will see an artistic window display of a would-be killer with a huge dagger in hand accompanied by the slogan “Have A Killer Halloween”. Now that supercedes just an angry face. It made me circle the block to have more certainty to what I thought I just saw leaving the intersection. We had a picture-taking session.
But not unlike the celebration of Christmas by beginning the season of Christmas with an ‘Eve’ before the actual day the Christian church opted the Druidic celebration over time into its own sense of ‘wholeness‘ to ‘holiness’. November 1 would become All Saints Day, whereby saints of the church, those canonized and those typical of doing good works are celebrated (We ‘catholic’ kids got a day off from school).
Hence, “Hallow E’en”, or “Holy Eve” for the night before. I wish everyone Fun!
Gerard Guimond,
