Halloween, or better yet All Hallows’ Eve, is literally the Eve of All Saints’ Day, a Christian celebration held on November 1st. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. They used to wear masks to hide themselves so they could not be discovered by the ghosts of the dead that returned. Thousands of years later, people are still wearing masks. Just as the Celts were scared of being found, fear still has a hold on us and many of us are hiding in this modern day society.

One of the most common reasons we wear masks is because of Imposter Syndrome- the fear that the world is going to find us out. One of our greatest fears is that if we show our true selves, we will be rejected by society. But just simply being ourselves is the best way to be. When we hide a part of who we are, we are denying a part of ourselves that does indeed exist. We are also not being our authentic selves, and therefore have to act upon something that is not true to our nature, and that is exhausting. We all go through tough times and sharing how you really feel when you are down instead of throwing on a smile and faking it through the day only makes you feel worse. And then you feel like you have to hide some more. Worst of all, you start forgetting who you really are. When we wear masks, we carve a piece of ourselves out- withholding parts of ourselves as unworthy. But in relationships, we can’t be truly healed unless we offer up all the pieces.