The actual doorbell rang; this was before RING. The word ring actually means “the bell rung”. It was about 5:00pm, before the twentieth century ended, the time period in the Western World where guests are always a surprise unless they called ahead. Apprehension and tension flooded into my veins as I walked towards the door wondering, “Are we expecting guests? Is everything okay? Is everyone home and safe? Who is it?” I opened the door and “Geeaugh.” I realized…Awww mee-an. It’s October Thirty First, evening, right before dark. Who would ring my bell? Not the meter reader; not the mailman, not the milkman, because that doesn’t happen anymore; it’s definitely not Jehovah’s Witnesses; because I am one and it’s you know…that day. And then I had another realization: “Oh! So, this is how people feel when they receive a surprise spiritual visit at 10 a.m. in the morning.”

Geeeaugh: (not in dictionary)

a muttered expression by which you start to say God, but then you don’t want to utter God’s name in vain, so you end it in AUGH.

Use in a sentence: See example in previous paragraph.

Augh (English)

onomatopoeia

expressing simultaneously with a sharp burst, breath, and language annoyance, dismay, embarrassment or frustration without the use of vulgar words.

Use in a sentence: “Augh! Why did I take this call and I don’t recognize the number and it’s a recorded message!”

My door was wide open at this point, and I slowly processed the spectacle unfolding on my Southeast Queens Street. It was a New York City masquerade with pretty faces on parade, sugar spiked, hyper stimulated little squealing witches, princesses, Batman and the occasional Buzz Light Year - canvassing the neighborhood with the thoroughness of a national census taker, while plainclothes parents stood at the end of each walkway repeating their Mantra with a slight intonation at the end: “What do you sayyyyyyy?”

It was a grey and dreary fall day. Call him Duante* stood in front of my family’s door. He was a gangly, lanky, scraggly youth barely filling his blue jeans and sneakers, capped with a four week old high fade, bringing him from five foot six inches tall to a grand total of 5’7”. My inside voice whisper yelled and scrawled across my face: “Bruh, aren’t you a little too old for this?” Duante stood there, no greeting, no hello, no trick or treat. Duante was a man on a mission. He looked at me and still with no words said: “You know why I’m here. I know why I’m here. Let’s just get this exchange done.”

I answered his silence with: “Brother man. I don’t celebrate Halloween for reasons that I would be happy to explain to you if you would like. But if you come back any other day in the year, I would be happy to give you candy.” Duante turned around and strode away purposefully.

WEEK AFTER HALLOWEEN

The doorbell rang. It was about 4:00pm. I opened the door; a young man stood silently on the porch. “Can I help you?” I asked. It was Duante, again…and he still simply stood there and looked at me. I looked back at him, raised my eyebrows slowly and opened up my hand with the who are you, what’s up, “yes, can I help you?” gesture. He stood waiting silently. After a few seconds, he mumbled a little garble of: “You…said I could come back.”

“Hold on a minute.” I went inside, found the red wrapped starlight mints, you know the circular red and white grandma-pa peppermints that grandparents keep at the ready for guests in the floral open flower-glass dish in the living room. I scooped out a few mints and found a chocolate bar in the fridge. I opened the security door slightly and placed the treats in his opened palm. He looked at the paltry 5 mints and a Hershey bar, muttered something of a thank you, and walked away.

Duante was a big kid, a little man of few words. He was a bit weak in the interpersonal skills department, but tracking efficiency and follow through - impressive. 2-3 hours, 1-3 minutes per house, approximately 70 homes in a square block radius in Southeast Queens, some of them two-family homes. I’m estimating 150-250 households. Doctor Diligent Duante remembers my home, without recording it on paper and definitely not on a phone because it was pre-smartphone era. He had the efficiency of a JDUB* returning before the week is out because you accepted a Bible discussion. Wherever you are today, Duante, I wish you success in coding, national census, forensic accounting, or as an anesthesiologist.

By the way Duante, in case you were wondering about my stance.

HISTORY

Who? Druids.

What? New Year. Night of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), Summer’s End.

Where? Britain, Ireland, Wales

When? 2,000 years ago, last night of October by the night of the moon.

How? Grimacing pumpkin heads glow with burning candles made from human fat, doors drip with human blood. It was believed that spirits of the dead mingled with the living. Druids roamed the streets with lanterns and, when they reached a house, demanded money as an offering for Satan.

“What was forbidden was allowed, and what was allowed was forbidden”

Where? Haiti, Grand Cemetery

What? Fèt Gede (spirits of the dead) pronounced https://www.howtopronounce.com/french/fet-gede

Ingredients: Altars, veves (ground drawings made to attract the gede), special food and drink offerings, sacred dances and polyrhythmic drumming.

How? In addition to the veve tracings, elaborately constructed altars, and specially prepared foods for the gede (dead), music, drumming, and dance performances are rituals that are central to Vodou ceremonies. Since the gede are said to be the liveliest of all the lwa (spirits), the polyrhythmic sounds and fast-paced movements of the dancers are used as further attractors for them to manifest themselves here in the realm of the living. Each and every sacred object and performance is an invitation for the gede to travel to this realm as well as give an opportunity to honor and celebrate them. Every ritual performed and offering made during a gede fest is geared toward attracting the lwa (spirits) of people who have died to celebrate with their living descendants. Participants of this celebration pour hot pepper infused alcohol on their bodies and appendages and dance evocatively and provocatively to the pleasure of onlookers.

When? The first few days of November.

Why? to make devotions, perform precise rituals, and generally honor the deceased, a way to pay respects to loved ones who have passed on.

“Souviens-Toi Que Tu Es Poussiere ”

— "remember you are dust"

Where? Italy

What? Ognissanti (All Saints)

Ingredients: food, chrysanthemums, gifts

When? End of October, November 1-2.

Why? Tradition holds that the souls of the deceased come back to visit their living relatives.

How? During Ognissanti people decorate cemeteries with fall chrysanthemums. They leave food and gifts out for visiting spirits.

“Chi mora mor', e chi camba cambe.”
Literal Translation: “Who dies dies, and who lives lives.”

Meaning: Life goes on.

Where? Mexico.

What? El Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

Ingredients: Ofrendas (make-shift altars) food, water, tools, cempasúchil (bright marigolds), red cocks’ combs, tortillas and fruit, calacas (skeletons), Calaveras de Azúcar (sugar skulls), Atole (corn based drink), pan de Muertos (bread of the dead), soft sweet roll sprinkled with sugar and topped with small bone-shaped bread decorations.

When? According to legend, on November 1st and 2nd.

Why? On the Day of the Dead, it is believed that the border separating the spirit world and humanity’s world dissolves. During this brief period, the souls of the dead awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance, and play music with their loved ones.

How? The living family members honor the deceased as guests in their celebrations by leaving the deceased’s favorite foods and other offerings at gravesites or on the prepared ofrendas with candles, bright marigolds, and red cocks’ combs alongside food.

“The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in London, because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death…jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his favorite toys and his most steadfast love.”

— The Day of the Dead, Octavio Paz

Where: China and parts of Asia.

What: Festival of Hungry Ghosts, Zhongyuan Jie 中元節.

Ingredients: prayers, food, drink, Joss Paper money (ghost money).

When: The 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Why: As the gates of the underworld open up, spirits and ghouls of the departed escape and roam the earth, spirits are believed to return to Earth to haunt the living.

How: People light incense and may make sacrifices of food on an offering table to appease the hungry, unhappy ghosts. People burn paper money (ghost money) because they believe it has value in the afterlife to soothe and appease the angry spirits. They place red painted paper lanterns in the community including business and residential areas. During the festival a large feast is held wherein people bring samples of food and place them on an offering table to appease the spirits. Fourteen days after the festival to ensure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, lotus-shaped lanterns are lit and set afloat on water to guide symbolically the lost souls of ancestors and other ghosts back to the underworld. When the lanterns go out, it symbolizes that they have found their way back to their destination.

昨日不会重现
zuó rì bú huì chóng xiàn
No one can call back yesterday.

Where? Japan

What? Formal Name: Gozan no Okuribi (五山の送り火); What everyone calls it: Daimonji.

Ingredients: Fire, dancing.

When? August 16th, 8:00pm, marks the end of the Obon season, the time of the year when the souls of one's ancestors return from the other world on their annual visit .

Why? The purpose of the bonfires is to guide the souls of ancestors back to heaven

How? annual lighting of massive bonfires of the characters or shapes that have been cut into the mountains that surround Kyoto.

Where? Europe

What and When?

· Hallow Even | Eve of All Hallows | Halloween – October 31 the eve of the feast to honor all saints

· All Saints Day | All Hallows Day - November 1 - to remember all saints and martyrs during Christian history

· All Souls Day – November 2 – reciting prayers in order to help souls waiting in purgatory to attain heaven

· All Hallowtide – Period from October 31 – November 2 – a triduum of days to celebrate life, death, and what lurks unseen between.

Ingredients: Pranks, pumpkins, parties, costumes, candy.

Why? Some families view Halloween as a fun activity to dress up with their children. Semra, who is an empath, healer, and a witch said in an interview with Jessica Lindsay entitled, 6 real witches share how they are spending Halloween: “Halloween is a really important time for me and my work. It’s the time of year when the veil between the spirit world and our world is very thin; so, it’s the perfect time to communicate with the otherness and get involved with the metaphysical. “It really is a time to honor our ancestors or anybody that’s passed over and also the ideal time if you want to communicate with your spirits, ask questions or seek guidance.”

How? In medieval Britain, people went from door to door asking for food in return for a prayer for the dead, and they would carry hollowed-out turnip lanterns, the candle of which connoted a soul trapped in purgatory. The ancient Celts tried to appease wicked spirits with sweets and wore masks to blend in with the spirit activity of the night so they would not be troubled. The church later encouraged celebrants to go “souling” on All Hallows’ Eve, asking for cakes in return for a prayer for souls.

Irish Wake Toast: “Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.”