I’ve always loved Halloween.  I come by it naturally, as it’s also my mother’s favorite holiday.  She used to make our costumes herself — and not just one but usually three, for each of us — one for school, one for church, and one for trick-or-treating.  And we almost always won the costume contests.  I love the costumes, the trick-or-treating, the whole scary-but-fun atmosphere. And then there’s the fact that it’s the only time of the year a straight guy can be flamboyant without apology in this homophobic American culture.

So when I became Pagan, I was ready to embrace Halloween as a Pagan holy day.  I was disappointed to learn that most Pagans celebrate Samhain as a kind of Pagan Day of the Dead or All Souls Day, with little to no connection to the secular celebration of Halloween.   Continue reading “Forget Samhain: Halloween as a Pagan Holy Day” →