Issue #35: Halloween Edition

Halloween History

About 2,000 years ago, the ancient Celts(people living in what’s now Ireland/UK/France), had this ancient festival of Samhain(pronounced "sow-in"). It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, often associated with death. They believed that on the night of October 31, the boundary between the worlds of the living the the dead blurred, allowing spirits to roam the earth.

Little did they know, that today, we don’t need a special day for the spirits to roam the earth, we let them roam the earth daily, especially on certain nights of the month when the flashlight in the sky is at its brightest.

Anyways, back to the Celts. They believed on that night ghosts of the dead returned to earth. To ward off harmful spirits people wore costumes, often animal heads and skins, and performed rituals to honor the dead and ensure a good harvest. Large bonfires were lit to honor deities and protect against evil spirits. Druids, who were the priests of the Celts, would make animal sacrifices as offerings. People wore costumes to blend in with wandering spirits and avoid being recognized as humans. This practice eventually evolved into the Halloween costumes we see today.

With the spread of Christianity, the Church attempted to replace pagan festivals with Christian observances. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints' Day, a day to honor all saints and martyrs. The evening before, October 31, became known as All Hallows' Eve and later, Halloween. This shift allowed for a smoother transition from pagan practices to Christian observances.

Of course had the 8th century Christians witnessed the Halloween of today, they would’ve been surprised to see the holiday go back to its pagan roots in some ways.

Halloween in Costa Rica and the Machuca Valley

Today’s Halloween is predominately a North American tradition which like a lot of American culture is steadily being exported globally. It hasn’t exactly made its way to San Mateo, but of course the ex-pat community with large contingents from US and Canada celebrates it every year. RWS School was all-in on costumes this Thursday with every kid and teacher dressed up, transforming the school into a fairy tale, complete with demons, cats, zombies & hockey players(must be a Celtic thing). The staple of course has been the annual LEV Halloween party where LEV residents dress up in costumes and kids run around EcoVilla from house to house, grabbing delicious treats. There is usually a best costume award and a best dessert award with each household trying very hard to win the coveted prize.

This year was no different in some ways, but kinda different in others. At some point it felt like people who don’t live in LEV, dress up, and come to LEV to collect some sugary candy for their kids, only to find to parent’s delight and kid’s dismay that there is neither sugar nor candy, and its mostly some combination of cacao, nuts, dates & fruits in various forms with an occasional cookie. The rain didn’t exactly help things either which seemed to have intensified the minute everyone went trick or treating, causing parents to seek shelter. On the MV ballot this year is a proposal to move Halloween to a less rainy time of year - perhaps February? We’re making our own rules anyway, why not make things a bit more convenient. Meanwhile kids continued their search for sweet pleasures and boy did they get rewarded!

Julianne’s Yummy Deserts

The Best Desert winners are: #4 Amanda, #3 Carlotta, #2 Kristen #1 Julianne (special mentions: Rosa and Vero!). These results were a tight 3-to-1 decision by the Supreme Torte:

In the evening, festivities moved into ESM for the first ESM Halloween party, complete with DJ Marcelo’s mp3 collection from his Napster days that he carries with him to every event, constantly reminding us of how old we are. One day there’ll be an ESM resident DJ, but until such time, it’s wedding music!

While I have a laissez-faire approach towards Halloween, I am truly impressed when I see people channel their creativity and effort into an amazing costume. I wore a business suit twice in my life, once when I got married and again after slaving away at a Wall Street bank for 15 years and getting that big promotion. Both events I really enjoyed, but hope to never repeat again. So when I see someone wear a suit, in the middle of a hot and humid Costa Rican jungle, purely of their own volition, I am at awe. Florian, you win my heart:

The runner up would have to be JP(or Veronique who probably gets the credit for the idea):

And of course the obligatory Seinfeld-inspired version:

Not a Seinfeld fan? This one is a classic!

In the end, for me Halloween is about being asked the one question that I wish was asked more often, probably the only question that actually matters and the one we spend most of our lives figuring out, rarely finding an answer: So who are you supposed to be?