Halloween

The month of October has been remembrance month for us. As part of Rachel's preschool program, we have been focusing on festivals celebrated by different peoples. In my research on Halloween, I discovered that it was a day to remember the dead in celtic culture. When that part of Europe was "christianized" the church came in and created "All soul's day," also a day to remember the dead.

For our remembrance month, we picked four people who were special to us who have passed away. Each week we focused on one person, creating a meal in their honor, telling stories about them around the dinner table, and lighting a candle in their memory. Dan even made up serious and silly songs about them! It was special to prepare these remembrance evenings and think about those who have gone on before us.

On Halloween we wrapped up our remembrance month by incorporating some traditional American festivities into our celebration. We carved jack-o-lanterns, made home made trick or treat bags, went trick or treating with friends, and ate another yummy meal, complete with pumpkin pie! Here are a couple of pictures of the kids and their friends. Rachel wouldn't get in the group photo!