Skeletons In The Fields
Honouring the dead, country style!
In North and South America from October 31 through November 2 there are various celebrations related to the dead.
Halloween on October 31 is primarily a USA and Canada event, though the Irish and Scots also participate. Originally known as All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve, it is held on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints Day. It is a time dedicated to remembering the dead.
With pagan roots from the Celtic tradition of Samhain, some believe that the early Christian church tried to adapt an existing pagan holiday to the purposes of the Church.
The Day of the Dead, held on November 1 with celebrations continuing into November 2, originally began in Mexico. It has since spread throughout Latin America. While associated with All Saints Day, it is a more joyful celebration of remembrance of those who have passed.
Originally the North American celebrations on October 31 took the form of an opportunity for children to dress up in costume and visit neighbours who generally gave them treats. Over the years it became more and more commercialized and became more of an adult party occasion. While children still have their events, adult costumes and adult themed parties have become big business. At least in the bigger cities.
In the little town where I live, the child-centered focus of Halloween continues alive and well. Actually, calling it a town is a bit grandiose. I live on a small island in the Gulf Islands on the west coast of Canada. It is connected to another slightly bigger island by a bridge. Access to the islands is by ferry, so it is mostly pretty isolated. Particularly during stormy winter weather.
We don’t really have a town centre as such. On the bigger island, there is a small shopping area with a dozen or so small businesses. And there are a few other businesses spread out around the island. The businesses are basic services: grocery store, hardware store, book store, liquor store, gas station, bakery, restaurant, and pub. Not much else. Even the one hotel is only open six months of the year.
There is little entertainment as such except for what islanders put on for themselves at the community centre. During the winter months, it is pretty quiet. Given that the average age of the population is about 65 years old, that sort of slow-moving, quiet culture seems to work well.
There are a few holidays that the islanders do enjoy. Halloween is one of them. It is an opportunity for families with children to gather and participate in group activities. Houses are so far apart on the island that door-to-door visits are not that practical, unlike in cities where there can be a hundred houses in a few blocks.
There is one family here on the island that really enjoys the Halloween season. They spend a lot of time with their children making and setting up Halloween dioramas along a walking path for the entertainment of all.
I spoke with one of the family members and she explained that this year the plan was for there to be treats for the children at one end of the trail and perhaps along the path as well. However, the main entertainment will be the various physical vignettes that they have set up. I took pictures and have shared some here.
There are a variety of movie themes within the dioramas. For example, there is the Jurassic Park theme:
And there’s the Star Wars theme:
There’s a knight and dragon theme:
There’s the Pirates of the Caribbean theme:
Then there are the more traditional motifs:
I’ve never seen anything this imaginative or this much fun in a city. In most places, if these items had been left out where anyone could get at them, they would have been stolen in no time. Not here.
This is one of those places where people don’t worry much about locking their doors. It doesn’t mean there is no crime, but it is so rare and so minor that it is hardly noticed.
I love living in this slice of paradise!
Have a happy and safe Halloween!
Thank you for reading my article.
I am frequently inspired by other writers on Medium. Here are some I’ve particularly enjoyed reading recently:
Last month Mukundarajan V N posted an article that does a wonderful job of explaining the power and importance of kindness in one’s life. It was likely the best article I read this past week, which is saying a lot because there are some truly fine writers on Medium!
Christyl Rivers, Phd. shared an excellent article on the importance of learning critical thinking skills for oneself and passing those skills on to your children.
If you are a mathematics aficionado like me, Alper Aslan has created a list of ten recent mathematics books that are worth reading. I found several that appeal to me. This will make Christmas shopping easier for my wife!
I wish to thank new people who recently chose to follow me and my writing. Your interest encourages me to continue writing.
Zuzanna Żak, Dr Victoria Powell, Sparky Von Plinsky, SoftTeco, Rry
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Additionally I would like to thank people who recently commented on my writing. Given the changes going on at Medium it is unclear when and how individual articles are distributed, hence this list of tags. If any of you would like to be excluded from my tags in future, please, please let me know!
GB Rogut, Mia Verita, Joyce Nielsen, Sparky Von Plinsky, Dr. Preeti Singh, Kelley Murphy, Duncan Klein, Saba Haider, Michele Maize, Mawde Olssen, Habib Rehman, Zuzanna Żak, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Mukundarajan V N, Barbara Mac, Charlotte Kingsbury- Fink, Plum Street Chili, Gauri Sirur, William J Spirdione, Teresa Roberts, Elizabeth Kaldeck Smith, Kimberly Carlson Aesara, Yana Bostongirl, Jenny Lane, Marie A. Rebelle,
And finally, I want to thank Dr. Preeti Singh, Yana Bostongirl, and Sahil Patel who, as the editors of Reciprocal, for the incredible support they provide to writers.
I wish you well!
