Gratitude and Candy

     Fall is in the air and Halloween lurks at the end of the month. Pumpkins on the doorstep will soon be carved into ghoulish faces and lit with candles that cast eerie shadows on the path. Children will be running door to door for trick or treating to collect mounds of sugary treats.  This is the tradition in our neck of the woods.

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Halloween in Montana - Connie Herberg
All the little costumed tikes come tromping to my door
With bags and buckets ready, expecting treats galore
Costumes chosen with great care, from top of head to boot
Princesses and pirates plundering for loot


But, it’s hard to tell the costume that was chosen for this year
As they’re bundled all alike, layered in cold weather gear
As they arrive I must admit, I am a bit befuddled
I can’t determine which is witch, as on my step they’re huddled


With chattering teeth and frosty breath they ring the bell and wait
Amassing candy treasures from early eve till late
Frigid temps can’t deter these goblins tough and bold
It’s Halloween in Montana and for treats they’ll brave the cold.

     But, as with many traditions, time has a way of blurring the origin, practice and meaning.  Here is some historical clarification:

     “As ubiquitous as Halloween celebrations are throughout the world, few of us know that the true origin of Halloween is a ceremony of honoring our ancestors and the day of the dead. A time when the veils between the worlds were   thinner, and so many could "see" the other side of life. A time in the year when the spiritual and material worlds touched for a moment, and a greater potential exists for magical creation.
     Many cultures have ceremonies to honor their dead. In so doing, they complete a cycle of birth and death, and keep in line with a harmony and order of the universe, at time when we enter into the cycle of darkness for the upcoming year.
     As you light your candles this year, keep in mind the true potency of this time, one of magical connections to the other side of life, and a time to remember those who have passed before us. A time to send our love and gratitude to them to light their way back home.”  Christian Hummel
     
I like this explanation.  I especially like the thought of sending our love and gratitude to our loved ones – living and passed.  And, with Thanksgiving around the corner, I think this is a good time of the year to slow the pace a bit and work some gratitude into our daily lives.  I know that I have a basket full of gratitude for being born in America and having even better fortune for being able to live here in Montana.  What is your gratitude?