Halloween
Halloween. On the eve of October 31st, the sun sets and sidewalks are transformed by children dressed in costumes of all descriptions, even adults embellished with face paint, – to celebrate a festival of ghosts, goblins, a few hours of zany merriment. Adults are allowed to give expression to the inner child, to participate as whatever character arises within their imagination.
The origins of Halloween are Celtic. The festival of Samhain (Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”) was a religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer. People would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward of ghosts. Since we have banned ghosts from our secular society, it is apt that we don costumes to welcome their return on this one night of the year, is it not!
One of our neighbors in Batavia features a life-sized Halloween diorama in their backyard, year by year. There’s no doubt this annual work of visual story telling is expression of creative delight in the joy of Halloween. I captured these photos yesterday.
