I have been reading the post here about MF #24, I posted to the AOL board
and decided not to post here, but something's that have been said I thing,
IMHO need to be looked at, OK it was the Halloween issue, do you know what
All Hallows Eve is really about?  Are you aware that to some it is a high
Holiday, Threw the years Hallows Eve has been corrupted much as has
Christmas, Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End
of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest.  The dark winter half of
the year commences on this Sabbath.
 
It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer
November 1st  Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic
countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the
"wandering dead".  Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that
tradition.  Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the
spirits of ancestors and loved ones home.  Extra chairs were set to the
table and around the hearth for the unseen guest.  Apples were buried along
roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to
provide for them.  Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like
protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.  The Wee Folke
became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans.  Traveling after
dark was not advised.  People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore
disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool
the Nature spirits.
 
This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for
eating in the ensuing winter months.  Any crops still in the field on
Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits.
Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the
bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful
livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names.
 
Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning.  The
condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the
coming year.  Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure
unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and
bless the land.
 
Various other names for this Greater Sabbath are Third Harvest, Samana, Day
of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest
(Strega), and Samhuinn.  Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually
falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (that is celebrated November 11th),
Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.
 
Through the years we have lost the true meaning of Halloween, I am happy
to say my family, children and now grandchildren know it's meaning and
celebrate it as it should be.
 
Now my question when Easter comes would it be appropriate to show a ferret
hanging on a cross???  Wouldn't that be keeping with the Holiday theme?  Or
Christmas showing a ferret in a Santa suite, coming down the chinney to a
lite fire?
 
While we may know it is fake, what of the young child that see this in a
Pet Store, or Bookstore?  I can tell you I had to really use some
imagination to convince one child that it was not real, you see she knew
cartoons are not real, movies are not real, but she was told news is real
and so are photos, like of friends and family.  She was 6 and had a ferret
that she loved very much, as adults we can see things differently, but use
your eyes and see as a child sees, and it becomes a different thing
entirely.  I will or cannot condone Modern Ferret belittling of this
holiday nor cheapening of itself threw the use of shock, dramatic photos,
there are better ways to sell a magazine, and more respectful ways to.
[Posted in FML issue 2784]