Samhain or Halloween is considered the day when the barrier between the natural and the supernatural is thinnest. On this day I enjoy the revelry, the creativity, the community as people dress up and party and generally enjoy themselves and indulge in way too much sugar. However I also see the practical in the party.
Carved pumpkins and gourds were a means to scare away ‘Old Jack’ or the devil and his minions. It was a means of protecting the house and the ones that you love. Bonfires were burned on every high point to keep angry spirits at bay and keep the fields and the live stock safe from predation and mischief. Costumes were worn to hide the identity of the living from the angry and vengeful dead. Magic is strongest on this night and so witches were said to work their worst magic and so people gathered in groups to protect themselves by numbers and to make sure that everyone was accounted for and no one was spell making.
Tonight let the pendulum swing to a middle ground between wild abandon and unreasoning fear. Have a great time, laugh a lot, and be safe. Use common sense, don’t drink and drive, and remember to be grateful for all that you have and all that is to come. Happy Halloween.