Halloween: The night that Julian, the Jester shall debut in his colourful splendor. I am attending a viewing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a party. Tomorrow night I am going to my second haunted house.
I find myself being thankful today, a sentiment usually reserved for THANKSgiving, but it is where I am. So, in the year of 2008, I shall dub it Thankoween and Hallowgiving. It will make the turkey that much spookier (Oooohhhh)....
My thankfulocities include:
My friends, Jay and Karen whom have generously opened up their hearts, lives, and home to me to live until I have found my own dwelling while the house-hunting of drama lingers on.
Their son, Quin, who is like my nephew, a son, a friend, and an effervescence in my days... I love him.
The ability to write and articulate my thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
My little late night viewing sessions of "The West Wing" on my adorable DVD player that is my bedmate.
Music: A few months ago I stumbled onto a composer's youtube videos. His name is Scott Alan and he wrote a song that spoke to me. I researched him and I enjoy much of his material. What a talent. Music unifies, it creates, it informs, it enriches, it heals. I wrote him on facebook and we had a brief exchange. That is the brilliance of facebook: the ability to connect with people whom you would never get to otherwise.
There are four constants of music for me (some newer gems and others are the pillars of my heritage):
Sandi Patty
Gavin Creel
Aladdin
Wicked
I am adding him to that cherished list. His lyrics, songs, stories soothe, entice, entrance, and awaken me. I will perform some of this material including that aforementioned grief number soon.
To all these things and much more, I lift my hands to the stratosphere and proclaim, "Glory!".
And glory to you on this day where we dress up like other creatures and, in my case, jovial people from the past. We should dress up more than on Halloween. (There should be some career path where that presents itself... wait... BLANK STARE and winks.)
I have included a few photos of haunted houses, one of some artistic Halloween masks, and a jester in homage of Julian, the jester that is struggling with juggling (one day he shall get it).
Also: As a footnote, I have included information about Halloween that I researched online and that I found informative.
Glory,
Dustin (Julian, the Jester for tonight)
FOOTNOTE OF WONDER:
The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.
The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.
The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.
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