Source: Poughkeepsie Journal
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061030/LIFE/610300322/1005
For most Americans, Halloween is a secular holiday of costumes and candies.
To the ancient Celtic people of the British Isles, Halloween marked the final harvests and the beginning of winter. They saw close parallels between nature's transition between seasons and the transition of human life to spirit life. Halloween was a time to honor the earth and their ancestors, to be aware of good and bad spirits walking among the living.
"They believed the veil was so thin between the worlds at that time of year, they needed not only to honor the ancestors and dead that walked, but protect themselves from them as well," said Rhianna Mirabello, owner of Dreaming Goddess gift shop in Arlington.
For many people, these beliefs are not mere history, they are part of a vibrant spirituality called paganism.
Paganism is an umbrella term for non-monotheistic, earth-centered worship. It includes Wicca, witchcraft, shamanism, Native American spirituality, South American tribal practices and other traditions, often ancient.