the TAO of CHANGE

a boots-on-the-ground view of the change that's a-foot

Posts Tagged ‘culture’

Happier Halloween - ghoulishly green

Friday, October 30th, 2009

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

It’s a FULL MOON HALLOWEEN TOMORROW! ENJOY THE LUNAR ENERGY!

Although as a kid, what I best remember about Halloween is an ongoing stomach ache and mood swings (we all hid our hoards of sweets under the bed and gorged for days, right?), but as an adult, I’ve come to enjoy a day where we are encouraged to put on a costume and take the darkness of life lightly. I’m not just referring to ghosts and goblins, but the idea that accepting and honoring what is no longer living. You know, all that pagan stuff - birth, life, death, rebirth - all celebrated and honored.

As we many of the commonly recognized holidays today, we adopted many of the pagan rituals of “All Hallow’s Eve”  or Samhain - jack o’ lanterns, cauldrons and apples. Yet, somehow, the mainstream culture seems to gravitate towards one overriding aspect of each (Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny come to mind…) With Halloween, the candy companies have cashed in, But between unfair labor practices on sugar and cocoa farms, and chemicals used in candy and costumes, it means the environment and farm workers have to cash out. What’s a green goblin to do?

Buy Fair Trade, organic candy or at least those sweetened naturally, here’s a list of some greener goodies.

Make your own or rent your costume. Consider the safety of face paints or hair sprays and go with natural ingredients for die - I mean, dye.

Get your pesticide-free pumpkin from a local farm and be sure to compost or feed to wildlife afterwards.

And all that stuff about honoring the dead? The pagans used to set a place at the table for the dear deceased, inviting them to visit. Now, THAT’s spooky.

As The Man Burns

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Cyber-Shopping Decreases Energy Use

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Ho Ho Hold the Holiday Haul - they’ll understand

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Don’t Be A Turkey This Season

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

X-Stream Cleanup - Update on Chad Pregracke and Living Land & Waters

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Fireworks - an Independent Point of View

Friday, July 4th, 2008

Practice Yoga…and then what?

Monday, June 2nd, 2008


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