Halloween, Samhain, something else or nothing at all?

As the owner of the Healthy Hippie Trading Company in Old Town, Tehachapi, Sarah Rose meets people from all walks of life, faiths and practices that has challenged and altered her own beliefs and practices.

How she views Halloween is just one of those practices.

"I was raised identifying as a Christian even though my family didn't go to church and the only Bible I saw was collecting dust on the shelf. I wasn't baptized until I was 10 years old. As far as Halloween went, I celebrated it in what I would call the 'regular way' of dressing in a costume and going trick or treating in our neighborhood. I really didn't give Halloween much thought in terms of it's origins or that there is some controversy around it until I was in my 30s and had become more active in the church. Somewhere I read an editorial about Halloween that made me uncomfortable about participating in it so I stopped 'observing' it. Once my kids were grown, I really didn't give it much more thought. It was just another day as far as I was concerned," she said.

Sarah acknowledges that her decision to forgo Halloween was a personal choice and not one pressed upon her by her church.

"The church I was involved with actually held a Halloween celebration for the kids. It was just a personal choice to not be involved," she says.

Personal choice is a theme of her store, that she refers to as The Hippie.

"Because I carry metaphysical items such as crystals, sage and tarot cards, there are some who will not shop with us. I respect their decision. I am also grateful that the community as respected my decision to carry these items," she said.

The presence of these metaphysical items in The Hippie has attracted people from backgrounds and beliefs different than Sarah had been previously exposed to. She said, "I have learned so much from my customers over the last two years and I'm still learning."

One of these new lessons was around the celebration of Samhain, a Celtic festival which commemorated the end of the harvest season and the blurring of the line between physical and spirit worlds.

"When I first saw that word in print I thought it was pronounced 'Sam-hane,' she laughs. "Samhain is a Gaelic word that is pronounced as 'Sow-in.' I had a customer ask me if I was going to do anything special for Samhain. I was a bit embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what it was. I love learning, so the next thing I knew I was doing a deep dive into Samhain, All Saints Day and the history of Halloween. If anyone has strong feelings, one way or another, around Halloween, I strongly suggest that they do some studying of their own."

Despite all the learning, Sarah won't be celebrating Halloween, Samhain or anything else and said, "I'm just really neutral on the whole thing and don't have much interest one way or another but I absolutely support how others want to spend the day. You know, personal choice."

If you have any interest in the metaphysical, the Healthy Hippie Trading Co., located at 20418 Brian Way in the Old Town area of Tehachapi, has a wonderful collection of items for you to choose from. They are open Tuesday-Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.