" This Is Hallowe'en ... "

"Boys and girls of every age

Wouldn't you like to see something strange

Come with us and you will see

This our town of Halloween

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene

Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright

It's our town, everybody scream

In this town of Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song"

~ Marilyn Manson ~ This Is Halloween ~

***

Halloween ~ Hallowe’en ~ All Hallows’ Eve ~ All Saints’ Eve ... 

celebrated every 31 of October.

This hallowed evening dates back to ~ 1745, a Celtic festival, marking the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.  The ancient Gaels believed that boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc, such as sickness or damaged crops, on Halloween.  

Although, scholars were still divided on the roots of origin, whether Christian or Pagan, during the ancient times, people wore masks and costumes in an attempt to mimic or appease evil spirits.  In current times, the media has popularized the festival, irrespective of region.  It is more about candy and costumes and less and less about anything else ...

Yet the ancient Celtic tribes, worshiped nature and believed in the spirit world.  The Sun, their chief god, was the focus of two festivals ~ Beltane, marking the beginning of summer and Samhain or Saman, marking the start of winter.  The end of summer, Samhain aka the lord of death, becomes powerful over the Sun god.  Therefore, on October 31, Samhain assembles all the evil spirits who had died the previous year and allows them a return home to visit the living.

The day after Halloween, the night of all fires occurs near large stone circles, similar to the one in Stonehenge, England.  The priests offer sacrifices to Samhain to ensure that the sun returned after the winter.  All fires, except the sacrificial one to Samhain, were extinguished.  Called the Vigil of Samhain, the embers from this fire would be used to light the fire in each household.

To appease demons, offerings of food and nuts were provided, believing if satisfied with the treat, he demon would not trick or cast an evil spell on the person ... hence the origin of present day trick OR treat.  

Legends have it that people would wear masks or other disguises to darken their faces, trying to pass unnoticed by the spirits ... 

Ironic how modern day has man wearing masks daily to disguise their true self, taking Halloween to a whole new level ...  Happy Hallowe’en !!!

www.walkstrong.ca

" Behind The Mask ... "

You sit behind the mask

and you control your world

You sit around and I watch your face

I try to find the truth

But that's your hiding place ...

I Walk around I'm suffering in my doom

When I come to you

Your sitting in your room

You sit around in the strangest place

So take off the mask, so I can see your face

Heaven must be wary 

You know where you've been ...

~ Michael Jackson ~ Behind The Mask ~

***

It is the night before Halloween and many are sorting their costumes ... capes, hats, clothing and masks.  Ah, Masks, they have long been a part of daily life as well.  From the past when tribal dancers wore them to worship their Gods, to the present where children wear them for special holidays.  Really it is just the extent to which we layer ourselves that varies as these masks stay with us until we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.

The masks we wear ... 

• are decorated versions of what we prefer to show to the world. 
• shield those parts of us that we don’t like or accept
• shield those parts of us that others need us to hide to make them feel more comfortable.  
• are complex and moulded from parenting, culture and society.  
• satisfy collective expectations.

And for the most part, we don’t even realize the masks are there ... 

There are costs to being masked - the inability to express ourselves, show real feelings and the expectations of living up to a false image.  You see, when propping up a persona, our behavioural choices narrow and the skills we may need to survive in an environment can stop us from having real needs met in another. 

It takes a lot of energy to keep a mask in place ...

Appreciate that masks are protective barriers that we put up to deal with our insecurities, and these masks are not to be confused with who we really are.  Whether it is to gain social acceptance, hide vulnerability, hide emotions, to deceive or to manipulate, we all wear masks at some time in our lives ... just don’t become attached to your projections.  

The core issue is not feeling loved by others and ourselves ... if we don’t love ourselves, then we depend on others to make us feel worthwhile ... an unstable foundation for our relationships and our psyche.  When we are conscious of our masks then we know we are not what we pretend to be.  

The real self has choices of how to be, but the false self depends on others for how it should be ...

Remove those masks and be true to yourself, your expression, your soul, and your light ... as each one of us are here to accept our unique qualities and to share them with others.  Use wisdom to protect your inner self by shining out to others and having grace for those that cannot appreciate it.  Believe that your mask can be used to create safety and security, rather than suffocation, so that your light burns brightly to the world ...