All Saints Day

Last night a Seattle witch with red glasses handed out Junior Mints, Hershey bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups by the fistful.  In between, she took some scary "selfies" which reminded her again why she never does that.

We must have had 75 trick-or-treaters!  It was a fun. I wonder where these cute little kids live because you don't see hide nor hair of them around the neighborhood 364 days a year.

Today is All Saints' Day, with ancient traditions going back to the Roman Feast of the Lemures. Malevolent and fearful ghosts of the dead were exorcised from homes with offerings of beans and salted cakes, which apparently made them eat and then go away.  I should try it on our poltergeist, who still lives in the kitchen and likes to turn the TV on at 3 am.

Long after Roman times, Christians came together on the eve of the feast of All Hallows Day (Halloween) to ask for God's blessing and protection from evil in the world. In Ireland, where they never need an excuse for a party, people would dress as saints or evil spirits and act out the battle between good and evil around bonfires. This started in small Irish Catholic settlements and was later brought to American by thousands of Irish immigrants. Not surprisingly, Ireland is the only country where Halloween is a national holiday.

In early American history, the Puritans didn't celebrate Halloween. But between the Great Wars when my parents were growing up, Halloween became a wild, mischievous night.  At least according to their stories about soaping windows, tipping over outhouses and other types of archaic fun.



Tomorrow is All Souls Day, important in many places as a time to remember departed loved ones. Among Catholics, prayers are offered for all saints and also those unfortunates in purgatory, still waiting to get into heaven. In the spirit of the season, the Symphony is playing Mozart's great last Requiem tomorrow afternoon.  Have a good weekend!