Have a Happy Halloween!

My family and friends know how much I love Halloween, at least the re-invented Halloween that we have created together and continue to create, out of our own lives, knowings, dreams and needs. Ancestor honor and remembrance is the seed of the new Halloween for us, and fun for the children is the flower. Fun for us is inevitable too, nothing like costumes and street theatre to liven up the soul of the declining (and fearful) neighbourhood, nothing like making little children happy, especially children who are disadvantaged by poverty. Or by fundamentalist religious hysteria. But glorious too was seeing dad and son carving pumpkins - and i mean they have created the most beautiful jackolanterns we've ever had. Most lovely of all, was dressing up little Pyper, like an angel for dad, we'll do the witch next year. She was beautiful in the candlelight, she fell asleep on the couch in her angel dress. Our Halloween is sacred, fun, family time, no monsters or horror allowed, only friendly ghosties, smiling good witches and jackolanterns allowed, only meditations and libations in the names of the ones we love who have passed, and in our own names too. This is the New Year celebration of the Old Religion, and of the Earth Religions of modern times too. When the mystery of death in the wheel of birth/growth/death/rebirth is marked with feasting, magic and music, when we say goodbye to the old year and plant the seeds of possibilities for the new year. And this writing is to celebrate our human right to freedom of religion too. But mostly, its a plea to the people of Nassau to hold on to the chrming, fun tradition of little children in costumes trickortreating on Halloween. Let the children have some fun, for God's sake. Get rid of wht you don't like about mainstream Halloween, create some more pleasing traditions of your own, you adults who have a problem with this holliday. But let the children have some creative fun, welcome them at your door, the intrepid mums who still try to take their preschoolers trickortreating will be very grateful. Have a happy Halloween