It's More Than Just a Charlie Brown Moment

It’s Halloween and the autumn leaves crunch beneath my feet as I shuffle down the sidewalk, kicking little puffs of them up into the air and listening as they land with a soft thip, thip. The air is filled with the fragrance of hearth fires, candle wax, and singed jack-o’-lanterns. Orange persimmons hang like heavy globes from the trees and pumpkins grow among lush vines in the garden.

It is the time of the harvest. In my neck of the woods, the grapes are being harvested from the vineyards. Large, succulent, and sweet, they fill lumbering gondolas with varying shades of purple and green.

It is a time of honoring our ancestors, celebrating the Day of the Dead. The veil is thin and spirits cross over. Tonight I light a candle on my altar, chant a blessing to those family members and friends who have died this year. Blessed Be to you and yours.