The start of October seems to split people – those that live and die for Halloween and those who do not care for any of the festivities. Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31st, is a day rich in traditions and rituals which date back thousands of years. The Celts, who inhabited modern day Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France 2,000 years ago celebrated their new year on November 1st. In order to bring good luck into the new year,  the Celtics hosted the festival of Samhain on October 31st, in which they would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. This evening before was initially known as Hallow’s Eve, and later Halloween. This day marked the end of summer and harvest and the start of a dark, cold winter which was often associated with death. The Celts believed that Hallow’s Eve was a night when the worlds of the living and the dead became unclear. They celebrated Samhain because they believed the spirits of the dead returned to Earth. Originally, the bonfires were designed to be sacred, in which people gathered to burn animals and food as sacrifices to Celtic spirits.

This rich history is largely what has created Halloween as we know it. The traditions many people celebrate in the modern day stemmed from the Celtics and their traditions during what many consider “spooky season.” Among those are wearing costumes, lighting bonfires, and bobbing for apples. Many people, much like Nash Baker, like the idea of scary things and “the fun festivities like carving pumpkins and watching scary movies.” The idea of fall would be so different without them. Others, like Mahala Erlandson, believe that the so-called “Devil’s month” brings negative energy and questions: “what is the point in wasting your money just to be scared?” An additional outlook on it from Mrs. Ermer claimed that “we all have different sides to us and to be able to celebrate a different side or a darker side is fun for a lot of people.” Ermer believes in the importance of celebrating Halloween because “it is a safe environment to dress up, where people can experience what it’s like to be someone or something else.”

Regardless of what you believe, how you choose to celebrate (if at all!), or who you are – Happy October-ing Fossil!