Sage Grass
Betty Crenshaw
It’s that time of year again, Halloween, the sweetest and most controversial of holidays.
Quoting Britannica, “Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain held on November I. It was believed that on that day, the souls of the dead returned to their homes, so people dressed in costumes and lit bonfires to ward off spirits.”
The actual year is not really known, but kids and candy companies don’t care. Just put that candy where I can reach it.
It might be considered animal cruelty now, but when my children were small, it wasn’t unusual for someone to set out a box of puppies or kittens. My youngest was about three years old when we walked into this scenario. He helped himself to a kitten and dropped it into his bag. Unfortunately, it was too late when I realized we were carrying a real live Halloween cat around; it was already scarred for life. Spooky seemed like a good name, and it did prove to be a bizarre cat.
So, Halloween has evolved over the centuries. However, according to at least two experts I talked with, its reputation is not totally cleared.
I asked my neighbor’s daughter, Hazel Sue Kingery what she thought about Halloween. She stated,
“My favorite part of Halloween is spooky decorations and funny costumes.” Thus, her hot-dog outfit with mustard right down the middle.
Hazel Sue, at six, already knows how to negotiate a bargain. Trying to persuade her to put on her costume for a picture, Megan promised, “Put on your costume, and you can have a piece of candy after dinner.” Hazel countered, “I’ll put on my costume for a piece of candy before dinner.” She also added, “I think pumpkins invented Halloween.”
Some logic there.
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Ava Claire didn’t hesitate to say as she demonstrated her poses, “I like the candy and all the costumes.” Henry likes to get caramel apples in his bag, “The best I ever had I got trick-or-treating.”
And, nine-year-old Henry also told me, “Very, very long in the past, when I was in third grade, my teacher told me people wore masks at Halloween to scare angry spirits.”
Hmmmmm…
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Three-year-old Ella said she is not afraid at Halloween because she can cuddle with her mother.
Olivia declared right away, “I like the candy.” Ten-year-old Hayden thought for a while. “I like Halloween, but it does have bad spirits. Christmas is good because it celebrates Jesus’ birthday.”
Realizing I had a deep thinker before me, I asked Hayden if he knew the origin of Halloween. He paused a moment before answering, “Well, I don’t know for sure, but I can give you an educated guess; I think it was Abraham Lincoln.”
