This month we are focusing on the spooky celebration of HALLOWEEN!  Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is officially on October 31, which falls on a Thursday this year.  Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).   The Celts-who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France-celebrated their new year on November 1.  This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and beginning of the dark, cold winter-a time of year that was often associated with human death.  The Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.  On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.  In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, The Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.  For people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. 

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.  During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.  When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

These same traditions continue today, with costumes, telling of tales, and believing that ghostly spirits walk the earth on October 31.  This year, MPOA will celebrate these traditions with an adult scary movie, ‘Friday Fright Night' October 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Dolphin Beach.  On Saturday October 20, come and participate in a ‘Costume Swap' at the MPOA office from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., or enjoy our ‘Boo Cruze' for 12 and under at Kids Dominion from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.  Meet some of your neighbors, check out these new activities, and enjoy celebrating a tradition that began over 2000 years ago!  Hope to see you there!