Although celebrating “Carnival†is largely lost in our society, Halloween remains as one of the last vestiges. In the intro to Loren Eiseley’s, The Star Thrower,†W.H. Auden wrote:
“ ‘Carnival’ celebrates the unity of our human race as mortal creatures, who come into this world and depart from it without our consent; who must eat, drink, defecate, belch, and break wind in order to live and procreate if our species is to survive…We oscillate between wishing we were unreflective animals and wishing we were disembodied spirits,for in either case we should not be problematic to ourselves. The Carnival solution of this ambiguity is to laugh, for laughter is simultaneously a protest and acceptance…The escape from social personality is symbolized by wearing masks.â€
The earliest known mask has been dated back to 9,000 years ago, but some anthropologists think they were probably used as far back as 40,000 years.
The origin of the Halloween mask dates back many centuries to the Celtic festival of Samhain, a celebration that honors the end of summer and the beginning of the darker, colder winter period. The Celts believed that, during this period, the boundary between this world and the next was very thin and that spirits could pass through the living world and wreak havoc on people. To scare away evil spirits and prevent them from entering homes, the Celts dressed up in costumes and wore scary masks, since they believed this would trick the spirits and keep them from knowing people’s identities.
Children in the US have no need to know the history of masks, however, it is quite possible that they are intuitively connected to ancient tribal customs. The latest social benefit of wearing masks seems to be to get some free candy and induce levity and laughter.
Laughter just may be one of the most important spiritual gifts. In fact, it is the outward expression of inner hilarity, mirth, joy, enthusiasm, excitement and other spiritual manifestations. If God has his “small interpreters†teaching adults, nowhere is this more profoundly apparent than the laughter of children. Their laughter is spontaneous, contagious, pure and not stained with cruelty, hatred, ugliness and grubby obscenities.
For many kids the emphasis of Halloween may be on gathering candy and other treats, however, they may unknowingly be participating in an ancient spiritual ritual that allows children and adults to laugh at the enigma of being human.