Halloween Symbols

In keeping with the season, you get a Halloween E mail today about some of my favorite Halloween traditions. I think the colors of Halloween are vivid integral to it. I guess because the holiday is in fall, when leaves change color and life ends or goes dormant for creatures and things color is as important to Halloween as cold weather is to Santa Claus. Color is a symbolic part of every Halloween decoration. In the U.S. black and orange are the primary Halloween colors but here are some of the others and what are represented by each.
Black- death, night, witches, black cats, bats, vampires
Orange- pumpkins, jack o' lanterns, Autumn, the turning leaves, fire
Purple- night, the supernatural, mysticism
Green- goblins, monsters, zombies, aliens
White- Ghosts, mummies, a full moon
Red- blood, fire, demons, Satan
I think the favorite costume for most people today is the vampire, a mythical creature that is always seen at Halloween. We can thank a British author, Bram Stoker, for creating the vampire character that is many things to many people. Count Dracula and friends is as symbolic as the colors of Halloween. Dracula can symbolize, terror, evil, sexuality, death, seduction, cultism, power, immortality...and many more I can't think of off the top of my head.
Another popular modern symbol of Halloween is the pumpkin, which has been carved into the face of a menacing look that is supposed to scare evil spirits away from entering a home. Despite the colorful legends of the past about term jack-o'-lanterns, the term jack-o-lantern originally meant a night watchman, or man with a lantern. I should put put a jack-o'lantern to scare away all those cell phone monsters who drive me crazy.
The meaning and symbolism of the witch and witchcraft have changed with the centuries. To many, it still means an old crone with moles and straggly hair casting evil spells on children and propped in front of a full moon on her broomstick. But witches also have an image that shows feminist or environmental activists (men or women) who seek wisdom and self empowerment from a contemporary blend of the world's earth-centered religions -- Hinduism, Native American Spirituality, European witchcraft, etc.. Today they are called "wiccans" and seem more respectable.
The spider and its web is always a favorite Halloween background decoration. To many the spider and its web symbolize the weaving of life and the cyclical ways of nature. But in the context of Halloween, it points to dark, scary places, haunted by ghosts and hidden from light and dust mops. Uh...sort of like my mail box.
Ok, that's a few of the many symbols. I left out many more, the black cat, ghost. cemetery, the broomstick are just a few. What symbol of Halloween is strongest for you. I think the pumpkin is my favorite? It is the most endearing of all, non threatening and almost magnet for small children (those little human goblins. Happy Halloween to you and all of our favorite Halloween symbols.