I can never remember ever thinking of Hallowe’en as something other than a wardrobe problem. Hallowe’en comes one day after my birthday, thusly my celebration was marked by friends coming to my party dressed in their costumes.
In hindsight I’ve never really enjoyed Hallowe’en, and as a HSP it was and still too overstimulating.
But thanks to one of my favourite authors and artists, Jan Richardson I’m rethinking Hallowe’en and perhaps her thoughts will help me to reclaim it as a Christian festival. On her blog, Devotion Cafe, she writes:
Halloween [Oct 31], the Feast of All Saints [Nov 1], and the Feast of All Souls [Nov 2] has long been a favorite time for me—a thin place in the turning of the year. These days are haunted for me in a good way; they offer an occasion to remember, to reflect, and to offer thanks for those who have shaped my path by the path that they walked. These days remind us that in the body of Christ, death does not release us from being in community with one another.
All Hallows Blessing
Who live
in the spaces between
our breathing
in the corner
of our vision
in the hollows
of our bones
in the chambers
of our heart:
nowhere can they
be touched
yet still
how they move us,
how they move
in us,
made from the
tissue of memory
like the veil
between the worlds
that stirs at
the merest breath
this night
and then is
at rest.
What a beautiful way to think about our ancestors.
Who shaped your path? Offer thanks to them now.
Who lingers near still offering you unconditional love? Smile at them.
Who haunts you in a persistent, negative way? Perhaps tonight is the night to forgive, let go and rest.
Evelyn Ward de Roo 
What did this post stir up in you?