In the season leaves should love,

since it gives them leave to move

through the wind, towards the ground

they were watching while they hung,

legend says there is a seam

stitching darkness like a name.

Now when dying grasses veil

earth from the sky in one last pale

wave, as autumn dies to bring

winter back, and then the spring,

we who die ourselves can peel

back another kind of veil

that hangs among us like thick smoke.

Tonight at last I feel it shake.

I feel the nights stretching away

thousands long behind the days

till they reach the darkness where

all of me is ancestor.

I move my hand and feel a touch

move with me, and when I brush

my own mind across another,

I am with my mother’s mother.

Sure as footsteps in my waiting

self, I find her, and she brings

arms that carry answers for me,

intimate, a waiting bounty.

“Carry me.” She leaves this trail

through a shudder of the veil,

and leaves, like amber where she stays,

a gift for her perpetual gaze. – Annie Finch ( https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/annie-finch )

We have so much abundance as the living that we share it not only with each other, but with the dead and the denizens of faerie as well. Today is Halloween – All Hallows Eve. Over the next few days we will celebrate: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Samhain, and Dia de los Muertos. Tonight we celebrate by sharing with our neighbors and friends our gifts for the living. We gather for parties and fun. Legend has it that the various members of the faerie courts might join in. Their presence increases the risks of enchantment, so masks are worn to confuse the unseelie and seelie courts lest they cause mischief to us simple mortals.The tricks of the increasingly powerful winter’s unseelie court are much more dire than those of the fading power of the summer’s seelie court. Honoring the mischiefs, children go round the neighborhood chanting the ancient threat “Trick or Treat!” We then assuage the masked merrymakers with treats so we may avoid their tricks.

Samhain, Dia de los Muertos, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day have over time, with cultural accommodations, been relegated to the same set of dates. Samhain (prounounced Sah-win) seems to have been a more fluid celebration than the modern task of assigning calendar dates to holidays is equipped to handle. Some research on its historical dates pointed to that subject being a long standing discussion. It’s an ancient festival held at the end of harvest as the light fades towards winter’s short days. In the Northern Hemisphere this would be October/November. It’s also where we share our abundance with not only the living, but with the ancestors as well. I’m no expert on Samhain but I love this site’s Druidic discussion.

https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/samhain-festival

Dia de los Muertos is a large part of the Halloween weekend here in New Mexico. Many of the cities here were officially founded during the time of the Spanish Colonization of what is now the American Southwest. We share long-standing ties with the indigenous populations and the descendants of the colonial populations. Dia de los Muertos is another blending of local traditions with Catholic traditions. Originally the indigenous cultures of Mexico celebrated their ancestors and sought to share their gifts with their spirits in order to assist them in the after life during the summer months. Celebrations still include: vigils in the cemeteries, offerings of food, drink and flowers, music and prayers. The church changed the timing to align with All saints day and All Souls day in order to reduce friction between religious systems. The church has implemented this strategy throughout its history, incorporating local festivals and trappings within the standard teachings of the churches.

https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/old-town-transforms-for-dia-de-los-muertos/

All Saints Day and All Souls Day, have been celebrated in the fall since the early church. All Saints Day was a time to remember the martyrs of the church once they became too numerous for individual days of honor. It was the first and it is believed to go as far back as 5th century CE. With its date set at November 1st, there are quite a few opinions as to why but nothing set as fact. All Souls Day has been tied to Odilo of Cluny. He was an Abbot of the Cluny Monastery in Troyes, France around 1000 CE. The date of November 2nd was set by Odilo, seemingly so it could be tied to All Saints Day.

Both of these days are still celebrated with masses and prayers for the dead. Families visit graveyards. They light candles and care for the graves of the deceased adding their prayers for the hope to lessen the trials of the souls of those who have passed. When I was young, all the souls were thought to lie in purgatory until they were cleansed of their sins. We’d light candles, say prayers and make an offering to help the soul of our loved one be at peace. We were sharing our abundance, our wealth, and our time with the dead so that we could help the dead on their journey.

When, and if, the young come by your house this evening, share your wealth with joy. This season, no matter your belief system, is about recognizing the abundance of our lives and how important it is to share the gifts we are given. Whether it’s with the living, our ancestors, or the mischiefs hiding among the masked, our generosity is a powerful tool for good.