Here I am in my latest jewelry creation , a necklace of  black stones, decorative beads, and of course, the noble bone skulls. It is approaching one of my favorite holidays, Halloween, an occasion of much celebration here  in my town of Sedona  and other areas in the Verde Valley. This particular piece is for sale in the Heritage store in Jerome, AZ 

It is a very ancient celebration , dating  some  2,000 years back to the Celtic celebration of Samhain. It was the end of summer; the crops were in; it was time to celebrate before the dark and death of winter time. There was a belief was  that on October 31st, the ghosts of the dead could return to earth, before their Celtic new year of November 1st.  

In 1000 AD, the Catholic church made November 2nd "All Saints Day" to honor the deceased. In Mexico, it became Dia de los Muertos, day of the dead. It was the immigrant  Celts, the Irish,  who brought  this  holiday  to America, with candy and costumes, a long tradition.  What a melange of the ancient, the  religious, and holiday spirit has evolved into this modern day celebration.So I like to celebrate by dressing up and creating some fun fashion for  this magical, mystical holiday. Comments?