I was surprised. She didn’t want to be Persephone in the school play.
I thought all the girls would have lusted after the part of the maiden, dancing with her friends amidst the spring flowers, her head crowned with a ring of blossoms.
But not 11-year-old Mira. She wanted to be Hades.
The clash
Each year, at the height of Spring, I make a new attempt to reconcile what I’ve seen as a jarring clash. Southern hemisphere Beltane, Whiringa-ā-nuku, Flowering and Sap Rise has been invaded, it seems, by the northern hemisphere festival of Halloween. At dusk, children form excited clusters, clad in black cloaks and spooky gear, and giggle their way down the streets to trick and treat.
Once upon a spring
This was unheard of when I was a child. Spring stood supreme, showering us with pollen and petals as we walked to school, raining its bounty over our heads and into the eager warm soil. The idea of death remained aloof.
We launched ourselves into outdoor games, swimming, and running freely once more over the hills. The cows came back into milk, hens were clucking and laying again, and calves were ready to be groomed for Calf Club Day.
Our mothers baked their soft airy sponges, dusted with icing sugar, our fathers cut their best cabbages, and we kids pushed pansies and daisies into sand saucers, ready for the flower show.
Spring was simple then: a season of awakening and enthusiasm as we shook off the shackles of winter.
Bad characters
“Why Hades?” I asked my granddaughter.
‘Because he’s much more interesting than Persephone. I like the sound of him. He’s a tiny bit evil and powerful too.’
Have you noticed how children are drawn to the bad characters? Maybe that’s the attraction of Halloween, imported into our southern hemisphere season of peak spring from America.
Spring captured!
Spring is full of the brightness of newly awakened oak leaves, lush grass, and a sea of rain lilies, the white crocus-like blooms that spring up like mushrooms after warm rain.
But then, spring in all her innocence, is abducted. The earth opens and Hades charges up from the underworld in his chariot, grabs Persephone and takes her down to the realm of death.
The dark realm is the current season of the northern hemisphere, on the brink of Samhain. In this Festival of the Dead, chaos rules and the usual social order is turned upside down. The importing of this festival to the southern hemisphere threatens to disrupt any spring celebrations.
My fantasy
But I have a fantasy. In it, two seasons live in one day. That day is October 31, the midpoint between spring equinox and summer solstice and a time of peak greening.
I imagine clusters of Persephones tripping down the streets, laying flowers on people’s doorsteps at dawn. Then at dusk, gaggles of ghosts and goblins prowling the darkening streets with their bags of tricks and treats. Not just the Halloween takeover, but space for flowers, maypoles, and maidenhood as well. Two hemispheres in one day, a kind of reconciliation.
Is there a way for the young ones to flirt with the shadow without being abducted by it?
What do you think? I welcome your thoughts.
Blessings of the season to you,
Juliet
PS And if you are in the northern hemisphere, this link will take you into your season, to help you prepare for winter.
Three books for the seasons
For guidance in aligning with the season you are in, my Seasons books are there to help you.
Sun, Moon, and Stars will inspire you to celebrate with your family or whānau.
Celebrating the Southern Seasons is a classic resource book to take you through Māori, Christian and European traditions for every season.
Dancing with the Seasons is a personal guide to the seasonal flow. It will guide you through three ‘tasks’ for each season, on the physical, psychological and spiritual levels.
Thanks for your support of spring and giving me more words to reject the alien Halloween invasion which I’ve never adopted.
Thank you Colleen, yes it certainly helps to have the words. I wish you a happy spring celebration.
Sorry, I would ban the import of Halloween. I know bans only strengthen things but I hate the USA Halloween in NZ it does not work and has no meaning. My family lives in the USA where Halloween is totally appropriate and the begging for sweets is a tiny part of the celebration.
but whole Streets decorating their front yards and getting together is the norm.
I understand that point of view Mary. I’ve gone through times of thinking the same. Thank you.
I’m drawn more and more to being with the reality within my own soul and the world around me of light and darkness in coexistence. In that understanding I’m responding to your suggestion with a yes. Thank you. Your newsletters always bring a new perspective
Thank you Hilary; I like what you say about the world of light and darkness in coexistence.
I love the idea of Beltane as a purely spring thing, just like I would prefer summer solstice not be marred by winter imagery. But I also delight in the kids delight of the spooky and vulgar, and their affection for the out-of-place Christmas pine. I don’t like to cut myself or my kids from the fun offered by being part of the crowd….I’m interested in ideas to subvert the seasonal blindness without being too pious/puritan
Thank you Hana. Being part of the crowd really matters to the kids.
Such a question you pose, Juliet! When my children were young I didn’t exactly ban Halloween in our home, but pretty close. At very least I wanted them to understand the imported nature of it, and that it was in fact All Hallows’ Evening, leading into a time to remember those who have died.
One of my daughters now has children, 8 and 9. She is taking them to a Spooky Disco because it is a community event, and gives them as sense of ‘being part of the crowd’. And she is very cross that she keeps coming across unseasonal spiced pumpkin chai, and the like.
I like the balance you strike, and my daughter strikes! .
Thank you for your thoughtful response Margaret. I think the community events have increased over the years, making it harder to ignore them.