Seek and Share Joy and Love

Do you realize “Happy Halloween” is hardly a global greeting? Of the 195 countries in the world, as counted by the UN and reported by BBC Science Focus, 37 of them celebrate a holiday on October 31, according to World Population Review. (I’m avoiding referencing AI).

Not all 37 commemorate the date as Halloween. The holiday has a variety of names and origins and traditions. Some cultures don’t consider it a day with secular or pagan origins even though staggering income generated from those influences might overshadow the religious significance.

In Ireland you might hear “Oiche Shamhna shona daoibh go leir” for “Happy Halloween to you all.” Samhain is Gaelic for November, so Celtic festivities on the last day of October note the beginning of winter - the darker part of the year.

French Halloween activities (la veille de la Toussaint) resembling ours didn’t pop up until late in the twentieth century, perhaps influenced by potential positive economic impacts. November 1, La Toussaint or All Saints’ Day, is a public holiday. All Souls’ Day, for honoring family members who have died, is slated for the day after, but many meld the two since schools and workplaces are closed on Nov. 1.

In 610 AD Pope Boniface IV designated May 13 as La Toussaint, but in 853 Pope Gregory IV changed it to November 1, the half-way point between summer and Christmas. Later it was the time of French potato harvest, so kids were out of school to help. (School breaks sometimes stick to the calendars long after the need passes. My parents spoke of school vacations to pick cotton, and here we have deer harvest season that runs into Thanksgiving. How odd that must seem to Doniphan newcomers.)

Halloween is not the same as “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) celebrated in Mexico and by those of Mexican heritage, though some aspects seem similar. One can trace its origin back 3000 years to the time of the Aztecs. The revered holiday honors with celebration and memorial the loved ones who have died. Some families fashion an altar called an ofrenda, adorning it with flowers, photos of the departed, candles and sugary treats and decorations. The dates are November 1 and 2, though October 31 and November 6 are sometimes included according to locale.

This year, the date of the lunar-determined Hindu holiday Diwali falls on October 31, though it’s nothing like Halloween. Signifying the start of the Hindu New Year, the date depends on location and the moon cycle since lunar calendars and solar calendars don’t jive exactly. Five days of celebrations follow for this festival of lights and include feasts, prayers, rangolis and fireworks. Homes, temples and workplaces are illuminated with lanterns, lamps and candles - to note the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

A Diwali greeting: “May the mirth and merriment of the magical festival of lights give you endless moments of joy and love.”