 |
| Halloween Dressup |
Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a
celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 of October, the eve of the
Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. Halloween is celebrated as a day
to commemorate the ancestors, Saints and Martyrs.These days, Halloween is
becoming popular day of celebration not only among kids but also the adults.
So, the day usually the houses are decorated with all scary, ghostly things
like, Cobwebs, Skeletons, Pumpkin - Jack o Lantern and anything that displays
some touch of spirits. So the Halloween parties of kids consists of celebration
by dressing up in ghostly cloths, games, food and plenty of lollies. The adult
parties are a mix of scary and stylist historic costumes like Prince,Knights
and Princesses or just anything that is different. Whatever it is, it looks
like the retailers made a good profit, this year by selling all those masks and
Costumes, lollies, electric lamps and Pumpkins. I asked few people but, no one
seems to know the origins of wearing the costumes originated from. However, I
got the information from net that, Halloween thought to have originated with
the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and
wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. Trying to scare ghosts away by
becoming more scarier than them.? Yeah, it looks like we are succeeding in this
effort. Well, all for fun and some good time. I came across these photos from
my friends Facebook page and she graciously agreed for me to post them on my
blog.
 |
| Halloween Finger food - Short Bread with Almonds |
I had some interesting feedback and comments from friends
about this celebration. One of my friend complained that, his son is refusing
to come for an evening walk with him because, one of the home's in their street
had this really, scary decor of Halloween, a dead body hanging with its throat
choked by a rope, in their front veranda, almost on the road. Another colleague
told me that, he heard few knocks on the door but, did not open the door
because, they are some kids coming to ask for Lollies and treat on the
Halloween eve. He explained me the concept of treat or trick which is, when
people come asking like that you either trick them by giving them a Gift pack
with nothing in it or with a note which says, "You are tricked" and
the other option is simply give them a treat, a bag of lollies, chocolates etc.
He can’t be bothered to do either and that's why he didn’t open the door.
 |
| Halloween jack o lantern |
Overall, I see the modern day Halloween as another form of
Celebration, having fun, doing something differently, get some happiness and
joy in the celebration. It is interesting to note that everyone in this world
is seeking Happiness. Not even a crazy person wants misery. In his craziness,
he does something crazy that he thinks will make him happy. Even people who go
into depression, it’s not that they want to be that way. It is not that they
don’t want to be happy. It is just that, they are unable to be happy. The holy
scripture called Vedanta Sutra 1.1.12(Vedanta means the pinnacle or end of
highest knowledge or Sutra simply means Rules) says, 'Ananda Mayo Bhyasat'- by
nature the living entities are pleasure seeking. Furthermore, it is said that
because we are spiritual beings nothing material can satisfy us. What this
means is that, Objects can satisfy the senses of the body. Various emotional
gratifications can satisfy the mind. But the heart is yearning, longing, to
love and to be loved. So we are trying to find that experience of pleasure in
so many ways in this world but, nothing material can actually satisfy the
heart.
Personally, I don’t have anything against Halloween parties
or all the fun people are having but, the main point the Vedic scriptures point
out is that we are trying to find the pleasure in wrong things and wrong
places. And, even if they find some happiness, that is for a short period and
fleeting and in fact actually can make people frustrated and angry. The final
and true place to repose our love or seek the ultimate pleasure is by
connecting with that possessor of that unlimited pleasure, the Supreme God. And
once someone experiences that supreme love and pleasure from God, they
experience the unlimited bliss and happiness which naturally extends to all the
living beings who are part and parcel of the supreme lords creation. This is
the love, compassion and happiness experienced by so many saints and devotees
of the God that we see in different religions of the world.
I Hope you all had a Good Halloween day celebrations..
