Glow-in-the-Dark Skull in My Garden 2014

A week or so ago I decorated for Halloween. My decoration for this celebration is singular--a large glow-in-the-dark skull that I hang on my blackberry trellis.  As usual, I get at least one negative comment regarding the presence of this decoration.  Normally I just listen to all the reasons why I should not have this skull in my garden and nod politely.  This year, however, I've decided to put forth my thoughts on this topic--just because.

Easter and all the related religious celebrations are celebrations of life and hope and spring. All these celebrations as most of us know had their original roots in primitive pagan celebrations centered around the spring equinox. No one religion or group owns exclusive rights to these celebrations.

Halloween is a celebration of the harvest, the gathering of the seeds for the new year, and death--another stage in the cycle of life. Some form of death in all of nature is necessary for rebirth and regeneration--whether we are talking about Humans, animals or plant life. Halloween is also a time for remembering those who have gone before us with Nov 1 celebrations such as Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and All Saints Day.

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in fall.  These fallen leaves then nourish the new leaves for the tree in the coming spring. Many plants wither and die in the fall, leaving behind the hope contained in their seeds for the coming spring. It's all a part of the cycle of life.

All true believers know that even Jesus Chrisit died on the cross and on the third day arose from the dead.  Dying metaphorically and/or physically is a necessary prerequisite for rebirth and transformation.  Most will agree on this one point even if there are almost as many people as opinions regarding what forms are taken in the rebirth stage.

Here is the skull in my garden in October 2013 as a reminder of another stage in life.

The ending of a life in its current form is as much to be celebrated as its beginning. To deny this celebration is to be in denial of the cycle of life on this earth. Thus I hang a representation of a skull in my garden among my dying plants as a reminder that death is a part of the cycle of life. All must die at some point in time in order to be reborn into a different form--metaphorically and physically. I put the skull in my garden each October as a reminder and in respect and recognition of this stage in the cycle of life.

 Thus I celebrate Halloween just as I celebrate Christmas--a celebration of light and hope for the world and I celebrate Easter as a time for when the hope is fulfilled.  Halloween is no more or no less a pagan celebration and all the other celebrations for the changing of the seasons.