Celebrating Samhain
(Sow-en)
Halloween, modern day Samhain, is tomorrow and I’m super excited.
First, a very brief history. Samhain goes back to ancient Celtic times and marked the transition between the light and dark times of the year. Because the veil between worlds was at its thinnest on that day, it was also a time to honor the ancestors, inviting their spirits to come and visit for one night. Offerings of food were left to appease them and other entities that might be hanging around. The dark and cold time of the year was coming and they saw fit to formally recognize that.
In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III set aside November 1 as All Saints Day, or All Hallows Day, to honor Christian saints. The day before became known as All Hallows Eve. Over time, the words slurred together as ‘Halloween’.
There are tons of fun legends and stories about Halloween but most of those are less than two hundred years old while Samhain goes back for centuries. It all just adds to the fun, though. There are some who don’t celebrate because of the perceived connection to evil, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the roots of the holiday and is a much more recent fear brought on by extreme religious anxiety. Rubbish, if you ask me. Sometimes, I think that religious rules exist because they want to keep people in fear and don’t want anyone to have a good time.
