It is time for this month's Flash 55 Challenge. The rules of this prompt have not changed: Write a piece of poetry or prose on a subject of your choice in precisely 55 WORDS.
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| This is Halloween by polish-girl DeviantArt (2007) No Infringement of Copyright intended |
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PLUS!
Samhain, All Saints' Eve, Halloween... Call it what you will, the night of 31 October has its own significant spot on the yearly calendar. Centuries before it became what it is today, Halloween served as a night of prophesy rather than partying. Samhain, the festival for the Celtic new year, marked the day when summer ended and winter began. Associating winter with human death, the Celts believed that the border between the living and the dead became blurred, and the dead would return in the form of ghosts. It was thought that in the presence of these spirits, the Druids, or priests, were better suited to form prophesies. People would build a bonfire as a sacrifice to the Celtic gods while wearing costumes comprised of animal heads and skins and attempt to predict each other’s futures. They would later light their own hearth fires with the bonfire’s flames for protection from winter’s devastation.
Though some scholars believe Allhallowtide developed from these rituals, others maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots, as the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.
The optional extra prompt today, invites you to write to the theme of Halloween.