I always love Halloween. There’s this energy, this buzz about
the day that’s just infectious. And it feels surreal. And
a little eerie. Although not in a frightening way, just in a
there’s-a-mysterious-energy-pulsing-about-the-day kind of way.
Ben told me once, on a Halloween
night before we started dating …
It was the night, in fact, that
the mystery of Halloween made me notice Ben in a way I hadn’t before. It was
the buzz and the excitement of the night. It was the confidence Ben had,
donning his “Devilishly Handsome” costume. And it was the sexy gleam in his
eye, with which he told me, “On Halloween night the veil between the worlds is
at it’s thinnest.”
And that is true. The veil
between our world and the worlds of mystery and of spirits and mischief, is at it’s thinnest. You can feel how thin the veil is
in that mysterious and eerie energy surrounding the day.
Many of our Halloween traditions
come from an ancient holy day the Pagans call Samhain. Samhain is a night when
our beloved dead are also able to cross that paper-thin veil. Our loved ones
whom we’ve lost are able to come visit us. And we, the living, celebrate them,
welcome them home and tell stories to remember them.
It’s a wonderful tradition that
is so completely absent in our culture today, the tradition of celebrating our dead,
of remembering them with festivities and fun and music and stories. I try
really hard to tell my kids often about my mom, their Grandma Donna. I want
them to know her and for her to have some sort of presence in their lives. It’s
the only way my kids will ever be able to know her.
So, in the spirit of the day,
Ellie and I were talking to Grandma Donna a little on Halloween.
In fact, it all started with
Ellie.
I’ve always believed little ones
have a much closer and an easier connection with whatever energies are out
there. Whether it’s the energy of our loved ones who’ve passed on, or of God,
or the Universe, or whatever it is you believe in ... I’m convinced children can
feel it stronger. Before, as adults, our culture has reasoned all the magic
right out of us.
So Halloween afternoon Ellie was
sitting in the living room. She was sitting by herself, snuggled up in the
corner of the couch, still a bit sleepy-eyed from her nap. She was sitting
there and just started giggling, laughing and saying, “Hi. Hi.” And I
immediately had this sense of my mom. I was flooded with the thought of her and
in love with the idea of Grandma Donna coming to visit. And Ellie, having no
filter, was completely open to it.
I mean, why not? Why wouldn’t my
mom’s spirit, or energy, or ghost, or whatever, want to come visit her adorable
granddaughter if given even the tiniest possibility?!
It had been raining. Constantly.
All day. It was just a totally stereotypical, completely soggy, Pacific
Northwest rainy autumn day. The clouds were dark and threatening and thick. All
day long. The chance of dry trick-or-treating seemed very slim.
So after snacks I told Ellie, “We
should ask Grandma Donna for some help with the weather.” So we asked her, out loud together, “Hi Grandma
Donna! So, if you have any pull with the weather makers, could you please help
get the rain to stop for trick-or-treating? We love you!”
And, low and behold …
Just in time for trick or
treating the rain stopped. When the first trick-or-treater of the night knocked
on our door, I opened it up and saw a small, but very encouraging, patch of
blue sky. By the time we were out trick-or-treating the sky was completely wide
open and I just marveled at all the shimmering, shining stars.
I was actually in awe throughout
the evening by how completely the rain had stopped. And what an absolutely
perfect Halloween night it had become, when it seemed so impossible just a few
hours before. Multiple times I heard people remarking, “ I just can’t believe it stopped raining.”
It definitely felt magical to me.
It felt mysterious and it felt surreal. And it really made me think of my mom. It made her feel very
nearby throughout the entire evening.
And you can say that it was all just
coincidence. That, logically, there’s just no chance my mom had anything to do
with the weather that night at all. But I say … who cares?!!
Who
cares if my mom’s spirit actually spent
the afternoon with Ellie, or if Grandma Donna was enjoying the rain-free
trick-or-treating with us. Who cares if it was “real.” It made me feel close to
my mom. That was real. It made me feel like I was sharing a real moment with
her, like she was a very real part of our evening. And in that way her spirit really did feel very much alive
to me on Halloween night.
And at the heart of it, that’s
the point of the whole day. The history of Halloween, its traditions we still
celebrate, are meant to remind us of the people we love so much whom we’ve
lost. It’s a time to celebrate them and be reminded of them in happy, fun,
joyful ways.
••••••••••
Have there been any ways this
autumn that you’ve felt connected to loved ones you’ve lost? What are some
special ways you remember people you’re close to who’ve passed on?
