Happy Halloween!

Brian

Have a fun night!

(especially if you have kids)

TreeLuvr87

Was going to start a new thread but look, here's one from six years ago!

Anyone else get really excited about the holiday? It's always been one of my favorites, though I never go all out on a costume or anything. I'm going as a traditional witch this year. If you celebrate, what are you going to dress up as?

Simonthepilgrim

We used to have a few Pagans here so, for them, best wishes for Samhain. May you come safely through the dark times.

Nirvana

That's a no-brainer!

Albert Einstein, as usual!

(Sorry, no pics, out of respect to the dear fellow.)

Jason

Instead of snatching bags of candy this year, I'll be spending Halloween meditating and listening to a Dhamma talk from Ajahn Passano. Happy Halloween!

Simonthepilgrim

Jason wrote: »

Instead of snatching bags of candy this year, I'll be spending Halloween meditating and listening to a Dhamma talk from Ajahn Passano. Happy Halloween!

A meditation on death would be appropriate.

Cloud

Nah, not on death... on the essence of tradition and ritual. It's a holiday after all.

silmaril

I find it auspicious to meditate on death today...um, this evening. I find it special also because my tantric practice/deity yogo involves my yidam, Yamantaka (Terminator of Death). What a better way to "dress up" than to visualize oneself as a deity!

Simonthepilgrim

Cloud wrote: »

Nah, not on death... on the essence of tradition and ritual. It's a holiday after all.

"The essence of tradition and ritual" would take us into very dark places at Samhain (All Hallows' Eve, Hallowe'en) Our ancestors understood that we are now in the perilous times: storms, sudden frosts, dark nights. Remember that this is a Northern European tradition, even if it has been 'tamed' into yet another commerce-fest. The Christian Church, confronted by the pagan and folk tales of the walking dead and demons, instituted the Feast of All Saints - which was, in my youth, a Holyday of Obligation when attendance at Mass was compulsory. The great monastery of Cluny, in the 11th century, added All Souls' Day on the 2nd.

Meditation on death and the rotting of the body, on the superstitions around post-death survival, on "hungry ghosts": not for the faint-hearted but appropriate to the season.

Not all 'holidays' are fun times, nor should they be.

andyrobyn

A priest who I was fortunate enough to become friends with, shared a memorable homily on the pagan background of another celebration - Christmas.
With the benefit of hindsight I have seen over the years that it was his gentleness, compassion and pragmatism which was the main reason I was able to continue to go to Mass for so long.
Saturnalia was a festival held between 17th and 24th December, which began in the days of the Roman Empire. This was a week of feasting, gift-giving and basically, he told us, an " excuse for an orgy " during the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice.
The objective of the debauchery and dancing around (caroling) was to send a message to Mother Earth to begin reproducing for the spring.
To quote his homily which had such impact on me, with no historical evidence to prove what date Jesus was born on, a the season, or even a definitive year, the important thing as he understood it was for Christians to be reminded to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Father Dominic maintained that it didn't really matter when the birth was celebrated; the important thing is to celebrate it.
Although celebrating the winter solstice was strictly forbidden by the early church, the customs survived anyway and over time Christians joined in the solstice feast in honour of the Pagan god Mithra and essentially the church provided an alternative with a festival in honour of the birth of Christ and big celebrations as well.
As others have shared I also find Halloween is a great time to reflect on the aspects of the season.

jj5

andyrobyn wrote: »

A priest who I was fortunate enough to become friends with, shared a memorable homily on the pagan background of another celebration - Christmas.
With the benefit of hindsight I have seen over the years that it was his gentleness, compassion and pragmatism which was the main reason I was able to continue to go to Mass for so long.
Saturnalia was a festival held between 17th and 24th December, which began in the days of the Roman Empire. This was a week of feasting, gift-giving and basically, he told us, an " excuse for an orgy " during the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice.
The objective of the debauchery and dancing around (caroling) was to send a message to Mother Earth to begin reproducing for the spring.
To quote his homily which had such impact on me, with no historical evidence to prove what date Jesus was born on, a the season, or even a definitive year, the important thing as he understood it was for Christians to be reminded to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Father Dominic maintained that it didn't really matter when the birth was celebrated; the important thing is to celebrate it.
Although celebrating the winter solstice was strictly forbidden by the early church, the customs survived anyway and over time Christians joined in the solstice feast in honour of the Pagan god Mithra and essentially the church provided an alternative with a festival in honour of the birth of Christ and big celebrations as well.
As others have shared I also find Halloween is a great time to reflect on the aspects of the season.

Fascinating!

Palzang

A recent poll in the US showed that 66% of people celebrate Halloween in some form or other while only 37% vote.

Palzang

unsui

Palzang wrote: »

A recent poll in the US showed that 66% of people celebrate Halloween in some form or other while only 37% vote.

Palzang

I wish I could say I found that surprising. :facepalm: