The living and the dead

Samhain, now popularly called Halloween, is celebrated on the night of October 31, as per the Celtic belief that this is when the lines between the living and the dead are blurred, and the dead come visit the living. Homes, mostly in the Western hemisphere, are decorated with spooky symbols and characters - ghosts and ghouls, skeletons, witches and spiders, and hollowed out pumpkins carved into shape like faces, with lamps placed inside. The festival also marks the end of summer and the advent of winter, coldest part of the year also associated with death.

On the second day, Pomona, the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees was propitiated, and the apple became a symbol of these celebrations. It is also All Saints' Day, when tribute is paid to martyrs and saints. Then comes the Church-initiated All Souls' Day on November 2 to propitiate the dead, an add-on to the Celtic Samhain on October 31.

It is an occasion to think of and revere our ancestors, just as was recently done during Pitru Paksha observance by Hindus, wherein homage is paid to forefathers long gone. It is believed that three preceding generations of ancestors reside in Pitra Loka, a space between Heaven and Earth, presided over by Yama, God of Death. Whichever way we remember, venerate and celebrate the dead, it is a global cultural practice to remember one's ancestors and pray for their souls, as well as hope for good tidings for the living.