October has always been one of my favorite months.  The weather is cooling down, the trees are changing colors, and it means that there is only one month left until my birthday.

As a kid I enjoyed it because on Halloween I got to dress up as my favorite characters and get candy from random strangers and then the following day getting birthday gifts and cake.

Over the years my love of Halloween has only grown and autumn still remains to be one of my favorite seasons.  My mother hates Halloween, she doesn’t like being scared and just isn’t thrilled with the idea of having a holiday that tends to run on the scary side of things.

Me, on the other hand, I don’t mind being scared every once in a while.  Like the other night my dad and I went on a haunted walk together.  I practically dragged him through the thing.  I have a horror movie type scream and every time someone jumped out at me I screamed and they would laugh.  At one point someone yelled, “Get out!” and I responded with “I’m trying!”.

My dad was cackling the other time because he wasn’t scared at all.  My dad isn’t afraid of anything, well he’s scared of snakes but that’s the only thing.  I remember one year we went on a haunted walk and a guy came out with a chainsaw and my dad looked at him and said, “‘Sup?”  No I am not kidding, he actually did that.  The man has no scare reflex.

You’re probably why wondering why I wrote Samhain (pronounced So-wen) instead of Halloween.  Well let me explain why.  I have been celebrating Samhain since I was sixteen.  Samhain is considered the pagans new year, it signals the end of the harvest and the festivities go from October 31st to sunset on November 1st.

For me it’s a day where I celebrate loved ones that have passed as it is said that the veil between worlds is the thinnest.  I have lost several people that I hold dear to me and I like to believe that they can come back and visit on these days every year.  I also see Samhain as a new beginning each year.  I let go of my past struggles and try to move forward with my life.  It’s a rebirth if you will.

So tomorrow I hope everyone has a happy Halloween and a blessed Samhain.  Stay safe out there and have fun with your loved ones.

*If you have any questions about Samhain I am more than happy to answer them.