Halloween

Today (tonight, actually) is Halloween, the day when when evil, bloodsucking creatures swoop down on their unsuspecting prey, and legions of the undead lurch blindly around in search of brains.

But enough about the IRS and Congress.

My friend Mary is always a good source of interesting linguistic items, and she came through the other day with this word she spotted in a pub in Dublin, Ireland: samhainophobia - "a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of Halloween, despite conscious understanding by the phobic individual and reassurance by others that there is no danger."

The origin of the word traces back to the Celtic word Samhuin which, in turn, is derived from two Old Irish words: sam, meaning "summer", and fuin, meaning "end." Christians refer to Samhain as All Hallows Eve, although the feast of Samhuin predates the introduction of Christianity to Ireland, by at about 4000 years.

So, if you're afraid of Halloween in general, rather than of zombies, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, or Republicans specifically, you suffer from samhainophobia.

Take two wolfsbane tablets, wear a garlic necklace, stock up on stakes and silver bullets, and call me in the morning.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo