In a few days it will be 2026. As the new year approaches, I tend to look back at the past year.
This year’s travels included a cruise on the Great Lakes, a family wedding in Maine, and a visit with family in Oklahoma. All good times, except for the accident I experienced when touring the Grand Hotel in Michigan as part of the cruise on the Great Lakes. I’d been coming down the stairs when I missed a step and landed on my knee. Fortunately, I didn’t break it, but I severely bruised it and had to get medical treatment as well as physical therapy to help heal.
The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan where I fell and injured my right leg.
I’m grateful for so much. Time with family, time with friends, belonging to great writing groups including two critique groups which inspired and encouraged me. I’ve gone on to write a new novel and several memoir pieces.
Writing along with creating art have been my strongest interests. I’ve enjoyed the watercolor classes taken in Montclair, the writing workshops, and the time I’ve had to practice my crafts.
My watercolor painting of jams and fruit exhibited at the Montclair Art Museum.
A few of my watercolor paintings were exhibited at the Montclair Art Museum. Some of my travel articles got published in a community magazine. In addition, I finished work on my third young adult novel which I intend to revise, edit, and submit in the new year.
One of several watercolor paintings I did of floral arrangements.
For some, a new year means making resolutions. I prefer to set goals. These include adding more steps when walking, writing more often, continuing to work on watercolor painting and art in general, and traveling with my family. I’ll also participate in a couple of book events to promote my published books and attend a writer’s conference.
To help with goal setting, I use a calendar, a planner, some on-line programs, and checking in with friends who are also working on their own goals or resolutions for the new year.
I also plan to be easier on myself. To quote a line from “Pick Yourself Up” when things go wrong, all I need to do is “pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.”
Halloween, a time of pretending, a time of remembering other times, and a time that has an interesting history, one not far removed from today’s traditions of wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and telling spooky or horrific stories.
It echoes back to centuries ago with Celtic roots coming from the ancient Irish and Scottish spiritual tradition called Samhain, pronounced sow-win, which for an agricultural society meant to welcome in the harvest and mark the start of the dark days of winter. Generally Samhain is celebrated from October 31 to November 1.
Trick-o-Treating
The tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween comes from the Irish tradition of mumming where participants put on costumes and went door-to-door singing songs of the dead.. There’d been the belief that faeries could play tricks on the unwary so it was best to provide the treat or you might be tricked. Treats were given in the form of cakes, also called soul-cakes which are like cookies. The notion of trick-or-treating stems from these earlier traditions, but today we hand out candy instead of soul cakes, and the tricks which might be played could include smashed pumpkins, toilet paper on one’s lawn, raw eggs thrown, or other nasty tricks.
Pumpkins
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Pumpkins are a symbol for Halloween which stems from the earlier Celts. In Ireland, for example, it was common to carve turnips and put candles into them to ward off evil spirits. The legend of Jack-o-Lantern comes from the Irish story of a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil. The devil had given Jack a burning coal which Jack put into a carved-up turnip. The Irish called it the Jack O’Lantern, and when both the Irish and the Scottish immigrated to America they brought this tradition with them. However, they switched to pumpkins because it was easier to carve up than a turnip.
Ghosts
In the spiritual tradition of the ancient Celts there is the belief that the barriers between the physical world and the spiritual world break down. The notion of ghostly apparitions and contact with the departed is supposed to be strongest at this time of year. Hence, the use of divination in the form of card reading, seances, and spirit contact of some form.
In earlier times and still today in parts of Great Britain and Ireland, bonfires are lit and there’s the belief of communion with the dead on October 31.
Witches
Wicca, a pagan religion, celebrates Samhain as the passing of the old year and beginning of the new. It is a celebration of the harvest and is considered one of the most important Sabbats for Wicca. A few ways that this is celebrated is by lighting bonfires or candles if you can’t build a bonfire and calling out to the dead, telling stories about departed loved ones or spooky stories, a silent supper with an empty chair left out for the spirit of the departed, and placing apples and pomegranates before the photos of the departed loved ones.
Apples are associated with death, and pomegranates with life. That’s interesting in several ways. We’re often told that an apple a day keeps the doctor away; the apple is considered the forbidden fruit as it represented wisdom in the Book of Genesis and has been given to teachers who impart wisdom. Some mythologies interpret apples as life giving. The pomegranate is considered the fruit of life because of its many seeds, and in ancient Greek mythology it represents eternal life. An interesting connection to Halloween is the use of apples at the party game of bobbing for apples. Candied apples, cider donuts, and apple cider are found at a lot of farm stands and in grocery stores during the autumn season.
Wearing Orange and Black?
The traditional colors worn on Halloween are orange and black. Orange is considered a Fall color and representative of the harvest, and it is the typical color of pumpkins. Black is typically symbolic of darkness and since Halloween celebrations generally commence at night, it has become a symbolic color for Halloween. The color purple, one of my favorite colors, is also symbolic of Halloween as purple represents mystery and magic.
Writing and Halloween
Two of my young adult novels, A Kiss Out of Time and its sequel A Dance Out of Time, are about hauntings in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a place I love to visit.
My current fiction writing is a young adult paranormal with elements of magic as a teenage witch is learning how to responsibly use her powers in dealing with the trouble makers at school.
Halloween is my favorite holiday for many reasons, not the least of which is the storytelling and the dressing up. I think it goes back to my own Celtic roots.
My interest in art began as a child living in Greenwich Village, New York, a great place for aspiring artists. I enjoyed coloring books, paper dolls, and drawing pads. I doodled in notebooks especially when bored or stressed and took a minor in art in high school. Even after college where I majored in English and education, I dabbled in art. That included photography.
I spotted this leopard on a ledge during a safari in Kenya in 2024, and managed to capture his photo while in the safety of a Toyota Land Cruiser.
When I bought a Pentax camera, I had to learn the mechanics of photography, and I took a weekend class on how to develop photos. One of my photos won a local prize and was exhibited on Staten Island. Nowadays, it’s even easier to point and shoot with my iPhone, but there’s still a bit of skill in knowing how to compose the picture, use lighting, and find a good subject.
In middle age, I took adult ed. courses at a local high school which helped hone my drawing skills, introduced me to watercolor and pastel artwork. I’ve continued to study and work on improving my art skills through senior art workshops and art classes at the Montclair Art Museum.
I’m still an amateur but am getting more proficient.
To me art provides a moment away from worldly matters. I’m finding beauty in some of the simplest objects, noticing the shapes as well as the colors, and having fun. Art is my therapy!
