DRUIDS AUTUMN EQUINOX 2009 by Brianparkin

The Celts, who lived in the British Isles and France, observed Samhain or Summer’s End. They believed Samhain, the Lord of the Dead, came to collect the souls of all who died during the year.

On October 31, after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter, the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet on the hilltop in the dark and would light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. When morning dawned, the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.

The observances go back to Ancient Greece and the cult of Dionysus. The Romans contributed their harvest festival with its apples and nuts, as well as the ancient rites on November 1, Feralia, a day of prayers for the dead, one of the reasons spirits and ghosts are such an intrinsic part of Halloween.

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Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Mexican Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Due to occurring shortly after Halloween, the Day of the Dead is sometimes thought to be a similar holiday, although the two actually have little in common. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration, where partying is common.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern holiday to indigenous observances dating back thousands of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl. In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe and in the Philippines, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

Source: Wikipedia

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Surprisingly, the first Jack O’Lanterns were not made from Pumpkins. The spooky faces were carved by the Irish from turnips and potatoes. Their legend is of an Irishman so stingy, he was “kept out of Heaven,” and so mischievous, the Devil wouldn’t admit him to Hell. He was condemned to wander the earth with a lighted lantern until Judgment Day.

It was not until the 1940’s after many Irish immigrants arrived, that Halloween as we know it was celebrated throughout the United States. Our Halloween combines elements from ancient festivals: Druid, Roman and Christian.

Source:  The New Pumpkin Book, Mary Bettencourt, Cookbook Chairman 1981, Half Moon Bay Main Street Committee for Beautification 1975, 1981

While they have proven their popularity in pie, bread and even soup and ice cream, pumpkins prove their versatility throughout the year on the Coastside as inspiration for art to wear, admire and absorb.

Own a genuine glass pumpkin instead of settling for a copy of Cinderella’s glass slipper.

“My very first experience was in a workshop with Dale Chihuly [the most famous glass artist living today] and I just loved hot glass,” said Barbara Grauke, who is co-owner of Moonside Bakery.

“After all, we are the self-proclaimed pumpkin capital,” Grauke said, “so I do a blown pumpkin and wine stoppers and solid paperweights. I get to work with a large pallet of colors. One day I’ll do blues and greens, then the next day I’ll do purples and reds. I’m having a good time with it.”

Excerpts from an article written by Mary Knippel in the October 2008 issue of CoastViews Magazine.

Photos by Mary Knippel.