Samhain
Blessed Samhain to you all! I bet you’re wondering what Samhain is, aren’t you?
The word Samhain (pronounced “Sow-een” or “Sah-veen”) literally means ‘end of summer’ — it is the end of the old year and the beginning of a new year. It is a time to honor the souls of the departed, for it is believed that the veil that separates the living world from the spirit world is thinnest at this time of year. To the general population it is known as “All Hallow’s Eve”, or Halloween.
How It Began…
The origin of Halloween dates back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts referred to this season as the time of little sun — an end to the growing and hunting season. To commemorate these festivals, huge bonfires were built where people gathered not only to bond, but to burn crops and offer animal sacrifices to the Celtic Gods and Goddesses. They believed these ceremonial fires offered protection and good fortune for the New Year.
They thought that as the old year died, the souls of the dead returned to this world wreaking havoc — causing damage to crops and homesteads, as well as searching out living bodies to inhabit. Because the focus was on endings and the thin line between life and death, it was the best time for works of divination to foretell the future.
People dressed in ghoulish costumes to keep away roaming spirits, and lit reeds from the sacred fire to relight their hearth fires — believing this would protect the home during the long winter.
By 43 AD, Romans had conquered much of the Celtic territories, and two Roman festivals became intertwined with the Celtic tradition. The first was “Feallia”, celebrated in late October to honor their dead. The second was to honor ‘Pomona’, Goddess of the apple tree — explaining the significance of the apple at this time of year and leading to customs such as bobbing for apples.
In the 800s, with the rise of Christianity, Pope Boniface deemed November 1st All Saints Day, to honor saints and martyrs. These Christian festivals were called Hallowmas, then later Hallows Eve — still celebrated with bonfires, parades, costumes, and the poor begging for food. The first ‘treats’ were small pastries known as ‘soul-cakes’, given out in return for the promise of prayers for the dead, a practice called ‘going-a-souling’. In time this evolved into candies and pennies handed out in return for a promise that no destructive acts would fall upon the home!
The Black Cat…
It was actually the church that introduced the black cat to Halloween lore. Because cats are nocturnal and roamed at night, their eyes seemed to glow in the dark and their sleek movements made them the embodiment of mystery. Black cats were locked inside the church on Hallows Eve to keep ghostly spirits from destroying the interior. Later the legend of the black cat became synonymous with witches — partly because many an old widow gave shelter to a stray cat for companionship, hence, a witch and her familiar.
Enter The Witch…
One of the most popular symbols of Halloween is the witch! The word witch is from the Old English word ‘wicce’ meaning to bend — as in a witch’s ability to bend or shift energy.
With the onset of Christianity, many people refused to accept the rules and belief system of this new organized religion. Pagans, as they were called, chose to follow the Old Ways: celebrating and worshipping the cycles of nature, the moon and the tides. They were the bards, the musicians and the herbalists — the early doctors treating maladies from nosebleeds and sprains to assisting in childbirth. Because of the Pagans’ refusal to conform, a religious power struggle ensued. Everyone not following Christian rule was presumed a witch. The old widow with her black cat — a witch. The grossly ugly spinster — a witch. The beautiful woman dressed in bold colors — a witch. Anyone out of the ordinary was thought to be a witch.
The Jack-O’-Lantern…
The custom of carving pumpkins stems from days of old when our ancestors were head hunters! They believed that the spirit inhabited the head and that by displaying the head of an enemy killed in battle they could control that departed spirit. This practice was greatly modified when Christian rule took over, yet people still carved vegetables to keep away harmful spirits. When Halloween found its way to America, the colorful and much easier to carve pumpkin replaced the turnip of old — and the ever popular tradition of pumpkin carving was born!
How did we get to a $6.9 billion commercial holiday? As European immigrants, mostly English and Irish, arrived in America they brought with them their various Halloween customs. By the 1800s Halloween had become a time of parties for both young and old. The tradition of Valentine’s cards became common in the United States during the 1850s when Esther A. Howland of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. And so a deeply spiritual Celtic festival became the beloved, candy-filled celebration we know today.