We’re all guilty of following traditions without understanding why. For example, how do you recognize Samhain? — A Gaelic festival that’s more commonly known as Halloween. Today the GroWise Be Well team discusses what Halloween means to them and how they celebrate it. From Samhain to the Mexican Day of the Dead, we open the conversation by talking about how differently Halloween is celebrated across the cultural spectrum. For Lindsay, Halloween is a stepping-stone towards Christmas, an occasion that she prepares well in advance for. With a focus on Thanksgiving, we discuss the importance of questioning our traditions and who they serve. Kayli provides some insight into this, commenting on how she reimagines traditions so that they resonate with her. For some of the team, this can mean doing your spring cleaning during fall or replacing Thanksgiving with Mabon, a festival that happens one month earlier. We touch on how each team member experiences Halloween before exploring the German ‘wild women’ night of Hexennacht and how Hollywood has distorted the image of witches and voodoo. After chatting about our favorite Halloween movies — Hocus Pocus gets a mention — Sarah highlights this episode’s key theme which is to find the reason that you partake in traditions. And if they bring you joy, then that’s reason enough. Tune in to hear more on how the incredible team behind GroWise Be Well recognizes Samhain

Key Points From This Episode:

• Comparing how people from different heritages celebrate October 31st. 
• How Lindsay ties Halloween in with her Christmas preparations. 
• Seeing communities come together to make Halloween a magical experience.
• Exploring Thanksgiving and questioning the purpose of tradition and who it serves.
• Easter versus Ostara and the importance of recognizing the story behind the tradition. 
• Reimagining traditions according to how they fit into your life. 
• Spring cleaning in fall; hear why Kayli has been cleaning her home for Samhain.
• How German women cut the neckties off of men during Hexennacht.
• The historical transition from being scared of spirits to wearing them as costumes. 
• How Hollywood has distorted our views of witches and voodoo. 
• Celebrating Halloween by staying in, eating chocolates, and watching movies. 
• Why having fun is a good enough reason to engage with tradition. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Sarah Southwell on LinkedIn

GroWise Be Well

The Hershey’s Company

The Suicide Squad

Hocus Pocus

Halloweentown

Practical Magic

Sandra Bullock 

Nicole Kidman

Freddy Kruger

Michael Myers