Halloween is right around the corner…

Hi, kids–

So how is everyone feeling about Halloween? I know some parts of the country are going to get some snow this weekend (holy crap–I’m so not ready for this…), so that might put a damper on your festivities (I hope not), but why not dress up ANYWAY? Just cuz? It’s not every day, after all, that you get to put on something gory/goofy/freaky/totally off the wall and wear it around town and nobody bats an eye.

I’m not suggesting you go supah mac daddy like THESE folks (but those are pretty awesome), just that you put a little Halloween in you and get into the spirit. It’s a festival with a long tradition embedded in the shift in seasons from fall to winter, and the mystical aspects about that. Ancient Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the boundary between worlds was at its most transparent, and the shift in seasons mimicked the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. Samhain celebrations were often marked by bonfires, and that tradition still continues in areas of the British Isles.

And if that’s not quite up your alley, then perhaps indulge in MY favorite holiday, Día/s de los Muertos.

source: destination 360

That holiday’s roots come from indigenous cultures of Latin America, and for all its macabre iconography, it’s actually a celebration of life — when the living acknowledge their ancestors and people who have died before them, some family and friends, others not. They celebrate the lives of those people, and reflect on life in general. It’s a little wink at death, which claims us all, and a recognition that life, and the people in it, can be absurd. I like those juxtapositions.

So have yourself some fun n’ games!

Happy Friday!