halloween party 3 mourning tea

Sunday morning, we had reservations for the Halloween mourning tea. Mind you I booked this event 6 months ago because the year before I tried making reservations two months in advance and it was sold out!
It was at the famous Hawthorne hotel. Everyone was dressed in Victorian mourning clothes. High tea was served (coffee, tea, scones, pastries, sandwiches, cakes and other yummies) We started off crafting memorials for our departed. I brought a photo of my Aunt for the memorial and put funny stickers with drawings on it in her honor. For those who wanted to we then stood up and talked about our departed. It was a bit emotional, sad but in a cathartic kind of way. I stood up and talked about my Aunt. I know she would've loved being the center of attention. This was just one way to keep her spirit alive. I asked her to send healing energy to my cousin(her daughter). I told her that "we are having way too much fun. I need her to stay around".
You just never know ;-)
.Maybe some people would think it was "depressing" or "creepy" but being the saint that I am and having the custodial privilege of  keeping souls alive I felt honored to be a part of this gathering.
At the end, we had a lesson on tea reading. I had an "M" in my cup (my Aunt's name is Marie) and two ladies dancing (I'm guessing that is her and her best friend Kay dancing) plus little sparrows (meaning bits of happiness in life's journey)
I loved the fact that my husband joined me as well. Many guys would make snide remarks or be discouraging but he was very supportive. :-)
All in all, this entire Halloween weekend was insanely fantastic.
I just love this holiday!