Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain

Okay, Halloween is the best holiday of the year, hands down. When else can you decorate with vibrant hues, purple lights, dress up in crazy outfits, make green gooey cakes, and eat candy like its going out of style? Oh and trick-or-treating. Really, this is awesome. We sat out on our front drive this year on our lawn chairs, passing out candy and toys to kids dressed in everything from princess gowns to bloody chainsaw monsters. And us? My hubs was dressed as a medieval knight and I was a 20’s flapper with bright pink hair and sparkly silver shoes (apparently TOMS no longer sells these in the US, but they are available via their UK site). Now how awesome is that? This year we made sure to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project, we had our painted pumpkin right next to our orange one. And we had lots of gluten free, peanut free candy with small toys also as options. Even our dog got in on the fun and was dressed up in his little bumblebee costume. He hung outside with us for a while until he started getting cranky, and then Mr. Crankypants had to go inside. Along with little kids we did get two dogs trick-or-treating, and we were prepared for them! We had pumpkin dog treats. Both of them liked the treats, although I have to say the tiny Chihuahua, Chloe, was so beyond adorable!! (I am kinda partial to Chi’s…) The other joy of this day is the meaning of Samhain. This is the Gaelic (Celtic) holiday marking the end of summer/harvest and the beginning of the cold days. It is the Celtic New Year. I find this a meaningful and significant time of the year as for many of us it is does mean a time for a shift, not only in weather, but also in life. The temperatures get chillier in the northern hemisphere, we move from active days outside to more time spent together inside during the holidays. Many people begin thinking of what they want to do better in the months to come, changes to make and things to accomplish. I’ve always found this part of the holiday especially meaningful. Being of Irish decent myself, I appreciate the holiday and enjoy being part of something that not only delights children with costumes and candy but encourages all of us to come together and think about a new day. I do hope you had a Happy Halloween, and as time ticks away tonight, I’m going to curl up on the couch with my favourite two guys (hubs and dog) and watch some Netflix as we drift off into November.