HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Happy Halloween, my spooky friends! Tonight, I’m cozied up, watching Harry Potter on repeat and switching to Coraline when the clock strikes midnight. There’s something about these films—how they capture magic and mystery, exploring those darker corners of imagination. It makes me wonder how Halloween itself evolved from honoring the unknown to celebrating it with costumes, treats, and a touch of the supernatural.

Halloween’s roots reach deep, back to the Celtic festival of Samhain in what’s now Ireland and Scotland. For the Celts, October 31 marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter—a time believed to blur the line between the living and the spirit world. It wasn’t about worshipping evil but respecting the unknown and honoring those who had passed. Bonfires were lit, offerings left for spirits, and people even dressed as ghosts to blend in, all in the hopes of ensuring a safe, prosperous year. Definitely far from the ‘demonic’ label some attach to Halloween today.

As centuries passed, these traditions mixed with Christianity’s All Saints’ Day, evolving into a time to pray for souls and protect against spirits. By the time Halloween crossed the Atlantic, it began shedding its solemn origins. Colonial America welcomed Halloween as a night of community, mischief, and storytelling. Soon enough, a custom known as ‘souling’—where children begged for food or ‘soul cakes’ in return for prayers—transformed into today’s beloved trick-or-treat tradition. What was once a prayer became a playful ‘trick,’ and the humble ‘soul cake’ turned into candy bars.

It’s fascinating how Halloween’s primal roots of survival and reverence morphed into something distinctly modern. We’re no longer warding off spirits or honoring ancestors, yet we still gather, dress up, and, in a way, face our own fears of the unknown. And despite the costumes and the candy, Halloween holds onto its history—an annual reminder of life, death, and the cycles in between. It’s far from demonic; if anything, it’s about connection—to each other, to traditions, and maybe, just maybe, to things we can’t fully understand.

So, what about you? How do you celebrate Halloween? Are you out with friends, casting spells with Harry and Hermione, or finding comfort in the eerie warmth of a familiar film? However you spend it, here’s to Halloween—a night where we all become a little closer to magic.

Xoxo,

Victoria S