All Hallows' Eve

The name of this post was the original one for the day we now know as Halloween. Originally it was the day before All Hallows' or All Saints! Day.

But this particular day goes back much further in time as in pagan times it was called Samhainn here in Scotland which roughly translates as "summer's end". It was a day to protect yourself before the onslaught of winter, against evil spirits such as witches, hobgoblins and the like. For that purpose there were bonfires on this day, people hang sprigs of rowan over doorways and sprinkled salt on thresholds. And these pagan rituals were carried forward into the christian equivalent.

In the words of Sir Walter Scott:

On Hallowmas Eve, e'er ye boune to rest,

Ever beware that your couch be blest;

Sign it with cross and sian

it with bead.

Sing the Ave and the Creed

I have to admit I find the old Gaelic name for this day a lot more attractive and today, as well as according to the weather forecast tomorrow, are living up to their summer's end name as the sun was shining brightly in the sky, but with a cold wind.

By one of those wonderful examples of serendipity I am meant to make skinny pages for Betsy in November. She had chosen as her theme Halloweenand what could be better than make these pages in time for the actual day! She wanted her Halloween pages to be fun so not the really dark side, that would have been my own preference. As you can see I used one of my paper - fabric collages on top of green fabric for both pages. This collage uses Alpha Stamps Halloween stamps in the background. I added images from an Artchix Studio Halloween collage sheet to the mix, a Boo ribbon as well as a fierce orange pumpkin embellishment.

Have a scary but fun Halloween!