Have you ever wondered about the origins of Halloween, and why we dress up in costumes and carve pumpkins? Well, it all goes back to a very old Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"), which is also one of the 8 Sabbots celebrated in the pagan wheel of the year. Samhain, a word that literally means "summer's end," is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It's celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, a time when the days grow shorter, and the nights grow longer. The Celts believed that during Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred. Sounds very similar to Dia de los Muertos eh?
Samhain has deep roots, dating back over 2,000 years this festival was held in an area in modern-day Ireland called "Rathcroghan... says archaeologist and Rathcroghan expert Daniel Curley". It was one of four major Celtic festivals, along with Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. The Celts celebrated Samhain as a time to give thanks for the harvest, but they also believed it was a time when the spirits could return to the earthly realm. To honor their ancestors and ward off malevolent spirits, they would light bonfires and wear costumes made from animal heads, skins, and anything else they could use. This is where the tradition of costumes and bonfires at Halloween originated! In the community of Rathcroghan, they believed that if caught, these spirits would drag them into a local passageway named the Oweynagat cave.
In ancient times, Samhain was a time of communal gatherings. People would come together to feast, tell stories, and use divination to predict the future. They also believed that the spirits could offer insight into the coming year. Food and drink were set out as offerings to the spirits, and people would go "souling" (similar to modern-day trick-or-treating) to collect these offerings for themselves. This tradition is the ancestor of our modern Halloween candy-seeking activities. For Pagans, Samhain is often seen as a time to honor and connect with our ancestors. Pagans create ancestral altars adorned with photos, mementos, and offerings like food and drink. It's a time to express gratitude, seek guidance, and remember those who've passed away. With the arrival of longer nights and shorter days, Samhain also acknowledges the balance of light and dark in the natural world. It's a time for self-reflection and personal transformation. Many Pagans perform rituals to release what no longer serves them and to welcome the new year with open hearts. This holiday is also an excellent time for divination and scrying. Many use methods like tarot, runes, or scrying mirrors to gain insight into the future and connect with the spiritual realm. Lighting bonfires or candles symbolizes the transition between the seasons and acts as a beacon for ancestral spirits. Some Pagans may carve sigils or intentions into candles to charge them with specific energies
Fast forward a few centuries, and you can easily see how Samhain has evolved into Halloween. Today, it's celebrated in various ways around the world. In Ireland and Scotland, where it all began, there's a resurgence of interest in traditional celebrations. In the United States and many other countries, Halloween is a beloved holiday characterized by costumes, spooky decorations, parties, and, of course, candy. People still carve pumpkins, although they used to use turnips and other root vegetables. Trick-or-treating is all about dressing up in costumes and going door to door for treats, much like souling. Halloween parties and haunted houses are popular too. And, of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without horror movies and ghost stories around the campfire.
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