Where Halloween Came From

Well here we are again, the season of Fall in the month of October. Fall is my favorite time of the year and October my favorite month. I love the colors and the feeling of the energy in the air at this time, as the veil between the worlds grows thinner. It's a time to celebrate the last of the 3 harvests as the earth prepares to rest while we travel through the dark side to the year. Samhein, better known as Halloween, is the time to honor our ancestors and those who have gone before us, A time to think about endings and think about new beginning for the coming of the new year. Do you know what Halloween is really about? Well, climb aboard your broomstick and come fly with me as I fill you in on the true meaning of Halloween...

What is Halloween? Where did Halloween come from? Why do we dress up in costumes, go trick or treating and place lighted pumpkins in our windows and on our doorsteps? Like Christmas, the real meaning behind the Holliday, including it's name, and what it represented during the ancient times, has been lost. Let's take a trip back to ancient times and discover where Halloween came from.....

Did you know the name Halloween is actually a contraction of All Hallow's Eve? When Christianity arrived in the Celtic countries, the church discouraged communication with the spirits. November 1st was created as a day for celebration of the Saints of the Church, with the hope of displacing the pagan customs. This holiday was called All Saints Day, or All Hallows Day. The night before was called All Hallows Eve, or Hallow'een, as we know it today. Many Halloween traditions, as many other Christian celebrations, are disguised adaptations of the more ancient pagan and Celtic traditions better know as Samhain.

Samhain, pronounced 'sow-in' or 'sow-een' or 'sav-en' means the end of Summer and the last harvest. When the Earth says it's farewell to the Summer and prepares for winter. This is the time for reflection and to honor the Ancient ones who have passed on before us. The Veil between the worlds is lifted at this time, making communication with ancestors and departed loved ones easy. A magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended.

Samhain is an ancient festival that roots back as far as ancient Egypt. When celebrating the end of the harvest and the long days of summer are replaced by the coming of winter, have long been in existence. It is documented in folklore sources such as "The Golden Bough" by Sir James Frazer, that the circle of birth, death and rebirth has been linked to the seasons and harvest, in many cultures.

Since ancient times in the Celtic cultures, October 31st has been celebrated as a feast for the dead. This day marks the new year and the beginning of the cold months to come. The last harvest of crops is celebrated with fairs and festivals. In addition to its agricultural significance, the ancient Celts also saw Samhain as a very spiritual time. October 31st is exactly between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice and considered a very potent time for magic and communication with spirits. This is the time when the "veil between the worlds" of the living and the dead was said to be at its thinnest. The dead were invited to return and feast with their loved ones. Ancient customs vary from placing food out for dead ancestors, to performing rituals for communicating with those who have passed over.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today this traditions is still practiced. A candle was lit and placed in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for the unseen guests. Apples were buried along roadsides for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. This was a night of magic and chaos, when The Wee Folk became active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white, like ghosts, wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as someone or something different from themselves, so not to be recognized, in order to fool the Nature spirits.

Crops left in the fields on Samhain were considered taboo and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, originally called bone-fires, where bones were thrown into the fire as offerings for a healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year. Stones were marked with names and tossed into the fire and retrieved the next morning. The condition of the retrieved stone would predict the person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity. The ashes were spread over harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas, Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest, and Martinmas (celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

Hence, is where today's Halloween came from..

As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life. .....

Happy Halloween! Happy Samhain! .....