Jeff's Halloween Celebrations

Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, or Samain Night, the tradition of Halloween is celebrated in our house with joy.

My personal celebration of the greatest day of the year begins around the beginning of September as "Autumn Fever" begins to set in. Usually as Summer draws to a close, I get all fired up for some unique autumn creations. On this page are some of those specialty works and a few other Halloween goodies to mark the great autumn equinox, and "All Hallow's Eve".

A Bit of Halloween History.

The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening of/before "All Hallows' Day", also known as "All Saints' Day". It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions. Although All Saints' or Hallows' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day.

In Ireland, the name of the holiday was All Hallows' Eve shortened to Hallow Eve. Though it's seldom used today, the name is still well known. In Irish, the festival is known as Oiche Shamhna (Night of Samhain), or simply Samhain; in Scottish Gaelic it is Samhainn orSamhain; in Welsh, Calan Gaeaf to the Welsh; "Allantide" to the Cornish and "Hop-tu-Naa" to the Manx. Halloween is also called Pooky Night in parts of Ireland, presumably named after the puca, a mischievous spirit.

Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Irish tales of the Sidhe).

In Mexico, a similar holiday is celebrated for two days, October 31st and November 1st. "El día de los muertos" (The Day of the Dead) welcomes the spirits of the deceased back to the earth for a two day celebration. Food, treats, and drink are set out upon candle-lit shrines for the deceased loved ones to feast. There are dances, and a two-day party that celebrates this holiday.

Often, special "calaveras" (the spanish word for skull and in this case, special short poems) are also laid upon the shrines.

The Tale of
"Jack-O-Lantern"

An old Irish legend tells of Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from Hell as well.

Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favourite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern.

My Halloween Collectibles
Terry bought me this beautiful vintage Halloween mask from the 40's on one of our halloween trips to the coast. It still remains of my favorite collectibles.	This old vintage lamp, again I'm guessing that it's from the 40's or 50's, was bought for me by Terry at a retro antique shop.	Again, Terry was thinking of me when she bought me this fantastic Collegeville Halloween costume from the 50's.
This highly unusual piece is a wood carving, purchased around 1996 from a store that carries a different line every halloween. I really love this one. I call him "The Host".	Also a one-of-a-kind, this Lemax edition of "The Headless Horseman" was purchased several years ago.	I picked this one up at a Goodwill store some years back. I really like it. I'm not sure about the date, but I believe it's fairly modern, at least within the 80's or 90's
I picked this one up at a Goodwill store some years back. I really like it. I'm not sure about the date, but I believe it's fairly modern, at least within the 80's or 90's	I bought these two at the same store as the woodcarving. The store is called Present Perfect. They were a bit expensive, but I just could not pass them up.	Life is definitely worth living in our "retro room".
a part of my beloved Aurora Monster models. The entire Aurora legend that makes up a good part of my childhood can be found here.	This is an original 1964 issue comic book. This has a strong memory for me. You can read about it here.	This is an original 1964 "Monster Old Maid" set. As a kid, I just loved this set.

Jeff's Halloween Artworks
"I Have Been Here Before" Halloween Card 5 x 7"	"Chandra" Halloween Card 5 x 7"	"Samhainn Night" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Wilhelm" Halloween Card 5 x 7"
"Gaer Glen" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Santeria Danse" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Laszlo Antonescu" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Día de los muertos 1" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"
"Día de los muertos 2" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Dark Lord of Her Dreams" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"La Bruja (The Witch)" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"	"Dark Night" Halloween ATC 2.5 x 3.5"