sapphire wrote:Looking backwards, the modern version of Halloween is a corruption of the Celtic holiday of Samhain, also called the Witch's New Year. It was a time when the veil between the living and the dead became thin.
Many of the current customs of Halloween are some sort of rip off of the traditions from Samhain. So witches (practitioners of Wicca) and symbols of the dead are appropriate to the celebration.
I believe that trick or treating derived from the custom of leaving out apples for the wandering dead.
I tend to look to folklore for inspiration for costume ideas for this reason.
As a dedicated wiccan, I couldn't have summed it up better! Top marks, sapphire! I should, of course, be 'deeply offended' by the many and various depictions of witches (I'm not really a "Harry Potter" fan!) but, if it (eventually) brings our 'way of life' to the masses, so be it. It does mean, for one evening, I can go 'over the top', without feeling guilty! Many of the folk I know (or used to work with) are fully aware that I am, indeed, a wicca (pronounced witch-a) as opposed to a female wicce (pronounced witch-ay). Wicca is
not a religion, as such, although many pagan practices are based around it.
Intriguingly, most of the womenfolk(!)
assume that it is perfectly normal for me to wear a long, black skirt (or dress, I suppose!) at times of 'celebration' (such as the Winter Solstice - I don't 'do' Christmas). Team said skirt with a suitable tee-shirt (in my case, from Wychwood Brewery!), a long, dark cape and knee boots (NO heels -yeuk!) and 'there yer go', as they say, a 'modern' interpretation! Most of the kids who do come round about are chaperoned by at least one parent, the only others are a trio of teenage girls. If it gets 'em used to seeing a 'nice bloke in a skirt' (albeit 'costumey'), then that's how they'll associate it. About the only thing that brings out any community spirit, round here!
