SHADOWFEST
by Aleena Ravenwood
The night grows dark as the ancient ones roam
They come to visit their loved ones homes.
Light a candle, say a prayer
Let them know you hold them near.
Eat good food, drink warm cider
Share some stories by the fire.
Celebrate this Shadowfest
With love and laughter for your guests.
As the sun comes up and your loved ones leave
Wish them all a Bewitching Halloween!
* * *
by Aleena Ravenwood
The night grows dark as the ancient ones roam
They come to visit their loved ones homes.
Light a candle, say a prayer
Let them know you hold them near.
Eat good food, drink warm cider
Share some stories by the fire.
Celebrate this Shadowfest
With love and laughter for your guests.
As the sun comes up and your loved ones leave
Wish them all a Bewitching Halloween!
* * *
All Hallows Eve, Hallowmas, Day of the Dead, Pooka Night, Shadowfest and Samhain(pronounced sow-en, meaning summers end). These are some of the names for Halloween. October 31 is not just a night to dress in costume and go trick or treating, it is a night to celebrate and honor your deceased loved ones, be they family, friends or pets. It is believed that the veil between the worlds is as its thinnest making it easier for spirits to roam the Earth.
There are many ways to celebrate the love you have for your lost loved ones on this night. One of them is by holding what is called a Dumb Supper. A Dumb Supper is a meal eaten in complete silence to which the spirits of your deceased loved ones are invited and served their favorite foods. I don't know about you, but my family can't eat a meal in silence. If it is the same with you, try talking about your loved ones and the silly things they used to do.
Another way to honor the spirit of your loved ones is to sit around a bonfire and instead of telling scary stories, share some of the times that your loved ones scared you. As an example( Barb and Brandy should remember this one), our Dad would gather us all up in his pick-up, drive us out to Okie Pinokie, drive down a long dark lane with the head lights off while telling us scary stories. He would stop in the middle of a circle drive surrounded by trees and scare the bejeebers out of us. Or the times that he would put a gorilla mask on and chase us around the house until we were ready to wet ourselves in fear.
In Mexico they have a day of great celebration called the Day of the Dead. With skulls and skeletons they parade around to honor their dead in a joyous fiesta. They even have cakes and cookies shaped in skull and skeleton motiffs. Sounds like fun to me.
Whether you hold a Dumb Supper, share stories around a bonfire or join in a parade of dancing skeletons, remember your deceased loved ones on this All Hallows Eve.
SIS BJ aka Aleena Ravenwood
There are many ways to celebrate the love you have for your lost loved ones on this night. One of them is by holding what is called a Dumb Supper. A Dumb Supper is a meal eaten in complete silence to which the spirits of your deceased loved ones are invited and served their favorite foods. I don't know about you, but my family can't eat a meal in silence. If it is the same with you, try talking about your loved ones and the silly things they used to do.
Another way to honor the spirit of your loved ones is to sit around a bonfire and instead of telling scary stories, share some of the times that your loved ones scared you. As an example( Barb and Brandy should remember this one), our Dad would gather us all up in his pick-up, drive us out to Okie Pinokie, drive down a long dark lane with the head lights off while telling us scary stories. He would stop in the middle of a circle drive surrounded by trees and scare the bejeebers out of us. Or the times that he would put a gorilla mask on and chase us around the house until we were ready to wet ourselves in fear.
In Mexico they have a day of great celebration called the Day of the Dead. With skulls and skeletons they parade around to honor their dead in a joyous fiesta. They even have cakes and cookies shaped in skull and skeleton motiffs. Sounds like fun to me.
Whether you hold a Dumb Supper, share stories around a bonfire or join in a parade of dancing skeletons, remember your deceased loved ones on this All Hallows Eve.
SIS BJ aka Aleena Ravenwood
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21 comments:
BJ
Very good poem. I am proud of you.
I have never thought of Halloween as a day to remember our love one that have passed. Thanks for giving me a new way to look at the day.
Yes, I do remember dad taking us down that horribly scary lane. We would be in the bed of the truck! I can remember how the trees would meet together above us. Like we were driving through a dark tunnel.
B.J. aka Aleena,
Awesome poem. I can't wait for you to share more with us!
I was pleasantly surprised when I read your post today. Yesterday, before I wrote mine, I spent some time looking up the origins of Halloween. I thought I might write about that, so I'm glad you touched on it here!
I remember the gorilla mask. I remember he used to keep it in a closet, and I would always look for it when I came home to visit. I wonder where that mask is now.
Remembering loved ones is a great way to spend Halloween! Great post.
SIS Bren
Thanks so much for sharing your poem BJ/Aleena. It's never easy putting one's creative work out there for the world to see. I'm glad you took the plunge, so to speak! SHADOWFEST was eerie and warm at the same time. Great mood setter!
As to your post, I learned something new today! Actually lots of new things. The origins of Halloween are certainly more fascianting than just dressing in costume and trick-or-treating!
I never experienced the Okie Pinokie (love that name) scary adventure. Good thing. I'm sure I would've died of fright!
SIS Beth
Great of you to bring up all the NON "K-Mart Costume" aspects of Halloween, BJ! One of my favorite "offshoots" of Halloween actually starts AFTER Halloween, on All Saints' Day, Nov. 1 -- El Día de los Muertos, The Day of The Dead.
From Wiki: The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls' Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls' Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.
After honeymooning in Mexico for a week, I got a great appreciation for not only the holiday, but also the ENORMOUS amount of macabre art that has sprung from this tradition. (EXAMPLE, click HERE!)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Rich
One more thing -- my "TREAT" this Halloween ---
I GOT A SIGNED NOVEL, I GOT A SIGNED NOVEL!! WOOHOO!! :) THANKS, BETH!
BJ,
I love this post. When I get home I will comment but just wanted to let you know I was here.
SIS Barb
Brandy, Thankyou. We should take our kids there to scare them. It would be fun.
SIS BJ
Bren, I will share some more poems from time to time. I think that gorilla mask is still around. I remember how you liked to put it on and scare us.
SIS BJ
I first learned about the Day of the Dead in a Trixie Belden mystery when I was a teenager. :)
Beth, Thankyou for the vote of confindence. i am happy you learned something new today. Next time you come for a visit I might have to take you there. I promise it will be during the day.
SIS BJ
Hi Richard, I love the Day of the Dead. I like how they honor their loved ones. We seem to forget to remember the goodtimes we had with our lost loved ones. Glad you finally got your signed novel.
SIS BJ
BJ,
I had forgotten that we are supposed to remember those who've passed on on Halloween. Thank you for the reminder.
Okie Pinokie! More great memories! Do you remember where that is? If not I bet Mother could tell me how to get there. Do you remember when he woke us up in the middle of the night and drove us to Kentucky to see some of his relatives? I will always remember that trip.
Beautiful poem. Incredibly well written. Please share more.
SIS Barb
Hi Barb, I tell people about that trip to Kentucky all the time. I would have to ask for directions to Okie Pinockie.
Thankyou for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
SIS BJ
I remember where okie pinokie is. I can get us there!!! That kentucky trip is a really good memory. I was pretty young, but its just one of those things I'll never forget.
Is it really pinokie? I always have said finokie!
Brandy,
You have to get us there next time I'm home! I don't know if it's Pinokie, Finokie or Buttokie, I just remember it was fun. Maybe we can buy some Old Milwaukee and toast Dad!
SIS Barb
Barb
It's a date! It will be pretty hard for me to get the old milwaukee down though!!! You and BJ can laugh at me.
Brandy,
I just typed Okie Pinokie in the Yahoo search and it came up Pinokie. Also, I was surprised at all the sites that came up, all of them referring to a scary, haunted place in Peru, In and one mentioned something about 8 dead bodies...
Off to read more!
SIS Bren
Brandy,
It'll be ice cold and we'll do it just as a tribute. After that you can switch to Bloody Mary's!
Bren,
Can you tell me what site you're on? I want to read about that!
SIS Barb
Okay,
Just read tons about Okie Pinokie and I'm not sure I want to go there anymore. I will wear the "chicken" title proudly! Spooky stuff!
SIS Barb
Whaa??
I never experienced the Okie Pinokie adventure. I was grown and gone by that time. But if Barb's research is making her leary of visiting again, I say, "Whaaaa?"
Must google.
SIS Beth
Off topic (as they say).
Have you noticed the majority of comments on SIS posts are from us (the sisters)? Yet, (says I--the statistics geek), we get bukoo visits. So, what? We're an Internet reality show??? I don't know whether to shudder or say, "Cool."
SIS Beth
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