Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"When beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." -- William Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar"

(Thanks to stevendj for mentioning that someone else had pointed it out in reference to Hal Clement's passing and the solar flare.)

I was planning on trying to get some other things done first, such as checking to see which costumes I can re-assemble by tonight without having to buy anything, trying to figure out which parties I have any way to get to (if any), and sorting through some email, but other folks' journal entries have got my brain all distractified, so I'm going to core-dump now and get to the other stuff later.

First, to the folks who celebrate this holiday and call it Hallowe'en: Happy Hallowe'en! As for the folks who celebrate Samhain, well there's some confusion about that which I'll go into a few paragraphs down, but for now, Happy Samhain!

Me, I'm a Christian, but I think All Saints Day is just a little ... weak. Everything I like about All Saints Eve (aka All Hallows Eve (Hallows E'en (Hallowe'en))) is really Samhain stuff that the Church failed to obliterate when it stuck All Hallows on top of Samhain's date. Yeah, a lot of Pagan imagery and customs persist in Christmas and Easter, but the Christian significance of those holidays is impossible to miss. With Hallowe'en, the Christian aspect is buried in the Celtic Pagan stuff.

Which puts me in an interesting spot: Hallowe'en/Samhain is my favourite holiday, but the holiday I'm celebrating is really from someone else's religion. (Easter, for the record, is the one I consider the most important holiday, but Samhain is more fun.) I don't really celebrate Hallowe'en; I celebrate Samhain. I just call it Hallowe'en part of the time to avoid confusing people who have no clue what Samhain is. In this regard I'm in the same boat as at least one person on my friends list, whom I'd point to except that she wrote about it in a locked entry.

Anyhow, in addtion to starting to explain my personal feelings about this holiday (more on that later), the little historical asides set up the confusion bit: You see, Samhain was the Celtic new year. And the Christian church tried to cover it up with All Hallows. Which suggests that Samhain would be 1 November, not 31 October. And I'd always thought that was the case -- that either the holiday starts at sundown, or that the big fuss is a Samhain-Eve party just like we make a big fuss on the evening of 31 December and have quieter traditions on 1 January (such as comparing hangover rememdies, watching lots of television, and eating black-eyed peas). But, of course, just as all the fun stuff and symbolism overwhelmed the weak attempt to cover it up with a new Christian holiday, all of that is attached to the 31 October date ... so everyone who focuses on those aspects is going to refer to 31 October, not 1 November, as Samhain. Here's my confusion and my queston (which I've also posted in comments to other people's journals): have I been mistaken all the years I've wished folks "Happy New Year" on the first of November instead of the last day of October? Or are the folks saying that Hallowe'en == Samhain being sloppy?

Either way, happy "night between the years, when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest", whether that's properly Samhain or Samhain-eve. Or happy All Hallow's Eve, for the folks for whom that's more appropriate.

It's my favourite holiday. And now I've said why.

And I'm listening to a song that, by rights, I should listen to every day of the year except today. :-)

"They say, 'why are you dressed like it's Hallowe'en? you look so absurd, you look so obscene'
Why can't I live a life for me?
Why should I take the abuse that's served?
Why can't they see they're just like me?"