For many kids, Halloween is about costumes, candy, ghosts, and jack o'lanterns. For Pagan parents, Halloween marks something much more important. But what exactly are the origins of Halloween?
Halloween today is a mix of pagan and Christian practices. Its exact beginnings are buried in the shadows of the past, but it is generally accepted that the holiday we refer to as Halloween was celebrated as Samhain by paleopaganagan Druids and possibly throughout all the Celtic regions.
The Celts divided their year in two parts rather than four seasons as we do today. Summer was from Beltane to Samhain and winter from Samhain to Beltane. Samhain, pronounced "sow-in," means "summer's end." It is often said to have been the most important festival because it may have marked the beginning of the Celtic Year. Samhain also marked the third and final harvest and the coming of winter. Animals were killed for winter stock and the last of the harvest was gathered. It was the time to prepare to spend a long, dark, and cold winter indoors, probably under crowded conditions. But before the winter arrives, it's time to celebrate a bit. The Samhain festival included feasts, animal sacrifices, bonfires, music and storytelling.
At Samhain, people looked at their past, at what they'd harvested that year and the family and friend they'd lost. As the New Year arrived, they looked towards their future. These two themes - the past and the present, endings and beginnings, death and birth - are intertwined in Samhain.
It's only natural that a time between seasons, a time between the past and the future, should be considered magical. For the Celts, the veils of life and death became thin and the dead walked among the living during Samhain. These spirits were hallowed, seen as sources of guidance and inspiration, not as dreadful beings.
Over the years, Christianity tried to eliminate Samhain, but had little success. The holiday was eventually assimilated and transformed. Samhain becomes Halloween, All Hallows Eve, and All Saints Day.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Cosette Paneque's Pagan Parenting topic, please visit the Discussions page.