What does Halloween mean to you?

[Adrian]

Dear All,

Well soon Halloween will be upon us, and I am interested to hear how it is celebrated in your kneck of the woods - mostly by the kids of course - and what it means to you.

Where I live in the Isle of Man, Halloween is particularly special, because here is where it originated. Later it crossed a stretch of sea to Ireland, until eventually being exported to the USA about 100 years ago. Curiously it was only exported to England which is a stretch of water the other way for us - about a decade ago - so Halloween it has gone full circle.

Halloween is a very ancient Celtic Pagan tradition based upon the belief that his date represents the completion of the harvest and the coming of the harsh days and long nights of winter, when the people would be at the mercy of the evil spirits, which often resulted in deaths. I have seen full size replicas of the "round houses" made of wood and branches where they lived as families, and it is easy to see how survival was a struggle during winter. So every year at Samhein they would perform Pagan rituals to scare away the evil entities that could "take them away", so they could be protected by the good spirits. They would make a scarifice to the spirits of a cow or other livestock to appease the relevant spirits before feasting on it to keep them sustained during the long cold months.

The Isle of Man abounds with mysticism, folklore, fay folk aka faeries or fairies, witches and all manner of other beings. The island is named after Mannan mac Lir - the Pagan God of the sea. Every now and again a thick mist decends and covers the island, the mist being known as "Mannans Shroud". The island is also widely believed to be the true location of the Isle of Avalon of the Arthurian legends.

Of course down through the centuries Halloween has become embelished somewhat from its ancient origins- especially after it arrived in the USA

Halloween is a big occasion for the children here, keeping up the traditions in honour of its origins.

Walking from door to door this is what the children sing in Celtic - with an English translation for your convenience:

Shoh shenn oie Houiney; Hop-tu-naa   This is old Hollantide night; Hop-tu-naa
T'an eayst soilshean; Trol-la-laa.   The moon shines bright; Trol-la-laa.
Kellagh ny kiarkyn; Hop-tu-naa.   Cock of the hens; Hop-tu-naa
Shibber ny gauin; Trol-la-laa.   Supper of the heifer; Trol-la-laa.
'Cre'n gauin marr mayd ? Hop-tu-naa.   Which heifer shall we kill? Hop-tu-naa
Yn gauin veg vreac. Trol-la-laa.   The little speckled heifer. Trol-la-laa.
Yn chione kerroo, Hop-tu-naa.   The fore-quarter, Hop-tu-naa
Ver mayd 'sy phot diu; Trol-la-laa.   We'll put in the pot for you. Trol-la-laa.
Yn kerroo veg cooyl, Hop-tu-naa.   The little hind quarter, Hop-tu-naa
Cur dooin, cur dooin. Trol-la-laa.   Give to us, give to us. Trol-la-laa.
Hayst mee yn anvroie, Hop-tu-naa.   I tasted the broth, Hop-tu-naa
Scoald mee my hengey, Trol-la-laa.   I scalded my tongue, Trol-la-laa.
Ro'e mee gys y chibber, Hop-tu-naa.   I ran to the well, Hop-tu-naa
As diu mee my haie, Trol-la-laa.   And drank my fill; Trol-la-laa.
Er my raad thie, Hop-tu-naa.   On my way back, Hop-tu-naa
Veeit mee kayt-vuitsh; Trol-la-laa.   I met a witch cat; Trol-la-laa.
Va yn chayt-scryssey, Hop-tu-naa.   The cat began to grin, Hop-tu-naa
As ren mee roie ersooyl. Trol-la-laa.   And I am a slag away. Trol-la-laa.
Cre'n raad ren oo roie Hop-tu-naa.   Where did you run to? Hop-tu-naa
Roie mee gys Albin. Trol-la-laa.   I ran to Scotland. Trol-la-laa.
Cred v'ad jannoo ayns shen ? Hop-til-naa   What were they doing there? Hop-til-naa
Fuinney bonnagyn as rostey sthalgyn. Trol-la-laa.   Baking bannocks and roasting collops. Trol-la-laa.

Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.   Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa

(Loayrt) - (Spoken to the person who opens the door on Halloween)

Celtic

My ta shiu goll dy chur red erbee dooin, cur dooin tappee eh,
Ny vees mayd ersooyl liorish soilshey yn cayst
Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.

English

If you are going to give us anything, give it us soon,
Or we'll be away by the light of the moon.
Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.

So there you are

What does Halloween mean in your neighbourhood?

In Love and Light,

Adrian.

 

[juliainkc]

Boooo!!! Ya ...

Hello Everyone ~

Taking off the mask, Adrian, I love this!! Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

Here in my part of the planet, Halloween's meaning has been totally hidden by commercialism and consumerism. Any surprise?

Two months ago, Halloween was already in the stores. Christmas has been in there since what we call here 'Labor Day'.

So, 'All Hallowed's Eve' has been for the moment forgotten. Mmm...

Due to others idea of Halloween as being 'evil', some have taken away the treats that I recall receiving as a child when the event was a momentous occasion. Children did not carry little sweet or candy holders, they carried grocery sacks and or pillow cases!! Talk about abundance.

What I will say is amusing as my dad said once while I hid behind the sofa and listened (promise me you will not tell him .

"I love Halloween, I get to eat all the Baby Ruths and Butterfingers." 

Hmm.. made this one smarter as I found ways to remove them from my bag. My brother and I actually had to hand over our bags so my parents could continue to feed the masses.

What I love about Halloween here is the expressions of the littlest wonders being carried by parents, who seem to be saying to me when I open my door, "Why are these people making me wear this hideous costume."

My daughter Sara bought a costume for our dog Jack and in the family photo of my precious Grandchildren and Jack last year, you and all would see this expression clearly. He looks bummed out and humiliated. I wonder if it is because she picked a 'pirate's' costume for him. Makes me laugh to recall this!!

Yes, for all who may read this response, Julia is sharing her quirky or weird view of this very humous picture. He was totally bummed out in this photo.

Forgive in advance, thank you, I've no doubt.

I enjoy learning and growing with you and all. My first introduction to Celtic was (pardon my spelling);

'It's a brae bricht moonlicht nicht tonicht do ya ken?"

A wonderful and Happy Halloween in Love to you and All ~

Julia

[juliainkc]

 

Wave, talk about talking as in the post Garden of Eden.

My beautiful (not shared Lightly) role models also known as daughters. That was a mouthful.

Julia, (formerly known as 'Mom'), Jack wasn't a pirate.

Yes he was.

Oh NO he wasn't. Being out numbered here. Okay! What was he..?

A Bat.

OMG!! That is F***ing Hilarious. I mean have you seen this 'dog's' ears?!? It's perfect.

Hmm... Imagine ... oh say... YODA. Truth.

[Mina-Laura]

The day before Halloween
Pumpkin art contest at the Hospital for Sick Children

The staff created/carved pumpkins which went for display, the people could vote for the best one: cost 1$ to vote, and 10$ for purchase - money went for children’s fun charity.

[Mina-Laura]

..and more pics - taken with my cell phone so i apologise for the quality

[Freedom]

Well, it is Halloween tonight ( 8.49pm australian time), and they just put spooky movies on tv.
They try to commercialize it in the shops, and even pubs, but on the whole , aussies just arent taken with it. Haven't had a knock on the door for years. Well, maybe once a few years ago, and once last year, and they were just teenagers for a laugh.

It doesn't seem to catch on here at all.
I am not into it myself either

Interesting to hear of others experiences and fun, of course

[juliainkc]

Hello All ~

Just sharing out loud from the corner facing the wall. Yes, Julia was naughty here last night!! Must have been something in the punch we were all sharing.

Laura, I absolutely InJoyed these wonderful photos!! Thank you for sharing them.

Love you All ~

Julia

[Mina-Laura]

Thank you Julia. I am glad you appreciate them.

This morning I was thinking about Adrian's description of old time Halloween.

Halloween is a very ancient Celtic Pagan tradition based upon the belief that his date represents the completion of the harvest and the coming of the harsh days and long nights of winter, when the people would be at the mercy of the evil spirits, which often resulted in deaths. I have seen full size replicas of the "round houses" made of wood and branches where they lived as families, and it is easy to see how survival was a struggle during winter.
 

Man!! Can you imagine that kind of life? And how far we have progressed in terms of comfort. When I hear people whining and complaining about what they don't have, and is not good enough and is not as fancy as they would like and that I'm pissed off because I don't have magic powers NOW!!!, and I... sort of thing...you know...
what more of a call for a reality check in exercising living in grateful feeling domain do we need??



love - Laura

[Adrian]

Dear Laura,

Thank you Julia. I am glad you appreciate them.

This morning I was thinking about Adrian's description of old time Halloween.

Halloween is a very ancient Celtic Pagan tradition based upon the belief that his date represents the completion of the harvest and the coming of the harsh days and long nights of winter, when the people would be at the mercy of the evil spirits, which often resulted in deaths. I have seen full size replicas of the "round houses" made of wood and branches where they lived as families, and it is easy to see how survival was a struggle during winter.
 

Man!! Can you imagine that kind of life? And how far we have progressed in terms of comfort. When I hear people whining and complaining about what they don't have, and is not good enough and is not as fancy as they would like and that I'm pissed off because I don't have magic powers NOW!!!, and I... sort of thing...you know...
what more of a call for a reality check in exercising living in grateful feeling domain do we need??



love - Laura

Thank you the wonderful pictures of those pumkins - so much talent went in to them

Over here there is a big debate as to go back to using turnips which were used originally

As for the living conditions of the ancients - it was perfectly normal to them. Living conditions in the UK have improved dramatically in this lifetime. We had no PC's Internet. video games, DVD's etc back then. In the long evening I went to my bedroom and if I had a book from the library I read that.

That said - aspects of ourselves are experiencing those ancent times as well as the very earliest years. Everyone will have "died" under horrific conditions in various timelines - all part of the experience.

Those incarnations are filtered from human memory otherwise the person would be so traumatised they would be paralysed by the horror and resultant self-pity, they would not being able to continue.

Well we have had three groups of kids to the door so far this evening

In Love and Light,

Adrian.

[juliainkc]

Hello All ~

Adrian, you have had three groups of trick or treaters? Would you send them to my house please? I've only had two children and I really would like to pass the candy love on. Anyone?

I would like to ask you a question. Elijah's dad mentioned to me this evening that the term 'Trick or Treat' came from the origins of Halloween when paupers would go door to door looking for food. He said some people would put poison in the pies they gave them and it would lead to their death. Is there truth in this statement?

Laura, yes, we really do have so much to be grateful for. I feel it with you. Abundantly.

Good Night All, Sweet dreams,

Julia

[Mina-Laura]

We had a great time

Well... I guess that's it for now. This year Halloween was more subtle compared to other years. Interesting that there was nobody at the houses that in the past years used to have really scary props, with sounds and skeletons and so on, I remember my girls being horrified and afraid to go there.

There were a lot of kids on our street. Very, very cute with all kind of costumes. Our neighbourhood is a safe and nice area and we were lucky indeed to have a sudden change in weather. From -10C 2 days ago to +15C tonight. I am glad for all the fairies and princesses, ladybugs and so on.  It was a pleasure to walk trick or treating accompanying the girls and !! one nice lady gave me a box of tea.

So thank you very much Adrian for starting this thread, and thank you Julia, Freedom for participating and for the nice words of pumpkin appreciation. lol

love - Laura

[juliainkc]

Dearest Laura,

Thank you for sharing these photos as well. The children are sharing their joy here as you have in turn shared with us.

Great guitars!!

Love to you Always,

Julia

[Pindrop]

Loved it as a kid.  Trick or treating was a very big deal, and there was always some form of celebration in elementary school. Through college, there were always costume parties.  It was a wonderful way to introduce fall into full swing, and fell less than a week before my birthday.  Then, there was Thanksgiving. It's just a shame that the scourge of "political correctness" affected celebrations in schools to ruin the fun.  It's fascinating to learn the origins with the harvest.

[Mina-Laura]

Dear All,

Hope you and your lil ones had a great candy picking time and they got to flaunt their costumes. As in every year I could not escape getting dressed up (with the help of my daughters!!..lol..).

Remember to send Light to the ones that are passed on.

******************************************************************
A bit about what Halloween means in Transylvania:

What is known as Halloween in this part of the world, the place I come from is known as The Day of Illumination (bringing of Light) and /or  The Day of the Dead.
 
Usually families celebrate the passed on, relatives and ancestors. They gather in the cemeteries where family the graves are. If people happen to live in other cities they return specifically for this day and sometimes they travel quite a distance.
At the grave they bring lots of candles, gifts of food and sweets for the children, mounds of flowers usually Mums are the ones in seasons therefore always Mums are associated with celebrating the dead ones. The local priests are also in the cemeteries and they go from grave to grave to sing a blessing as per families requests.
 
Is a lot of fun - people tell stories about the deceased and thus children come to learn about some awesome great-great grandfather or grandmother - is an afternoon and night of remembering and celebrating. The graves are laden with lit candles. This is the night when the spirits get a huge heaping of Light which is supposed to help those in the afterlife.
When the night falls and is dark you can see these hills bathed in the candlelight. Really beautiful.
 
 
Have a great Halloween
 
love and light
 
Laura