Do you like Halloween? I do! Do you celebrate Halloween? I do! Trick or treat? What do you prefer — silly or spooky? Funny or ghoulish?
This year I and my children, we had a Fall Festival at school with the costume parade. It was a beautiful festival of Halloween costumes! We were all dressed up with fancy dresses: Vicky was a Spanish flamenco dancer (we bought her costume on a recent trip to Barcelona), David was Harry Potter and I was a Witch.
We loved to dress up, we even did some decorations at home and of course, ate unfathomable amounts of treats, candy, and chocolate.
Tell me, will you be taking the kids trick-or-treating? Throwing a little party? Did you carve pumpkins? Or… is this just a normal day for you?
Difficult topics alongside with the Halloween
I like children’s books about ghosts and fear. It is a nice excuse for me to talk about difficult topics. It can be a reason to have a chat with your child about what not to be afraid of and how to get your “monsters” under the bed. Or even make friends with them?
But I wouldn’t be myself, if I don’t write about traditions in my country of origin, Poland. We have our beautiful Polish All Souls ‘and All Saints’ Day, November the 1st.
Tradition and origin of All Saints’ Day and Halloween is the same but these two days are so different in their atmosphere! Although All Saints’ Day is celebrated among catholic all around the world this celebration is Poland has especially solemn manner.
All Saints’ Day in Poland is a holiday for everybody except for transportation and emergency services. The traffic on the roads and streets is very high since almost everybody had to commute to reach the family’s graves.
Poles take flowers wreaths, candles and votive lights into the cemeteries where graves of family, friends or national heroes are. It is worth to mention that the cemeteries in Poland are different than in any other country. Graves and tombs are big and very individualized. There is usually a guard standing at military graves on that day covered with stone some have soil with some planted flowers. They differ in their richness. Some of them are taken care of daily. Many older women, mainly widows, visit cemeteries almost every day.
But even the most forgotten graves are full of lights and candles on November, the 1st. It is believed that praying and putting candles on these graves can help their souls.
This year I cannot be at the cemetery to put lights on the graves of my family, but I will light a candle at my home instead that day.
Just to commemorate those members of the family who are no longer with us.
Halloween and November the 1st are just joyous holiday – just like our best memories of loved ones that we want to hold forever.
Happy Halloween! Hope you all have a spooky, fun, candy-filled day!
