Samhain on the evening of October 31st is a celebration and time of remembrance from the ancient Celtic tradition, now adopted by many people around the world, including other Religions.
Samhain is the time of year when the veil is thin between the two worlds – between our human world and the “other world” of loved ones and ancestors who have passed on. For this reason Samhain is often celebrated as the time of year when communication with the otherworld is at its peak, some believe a portal is opened for this reason.
Due to the portal being opened all kinds of traditions have developed around the world, including of course the most popular Halloween celebrations of modern day times. The tradition of celebrating Halloween was taken to America by the Irish immigrants, where pumpkins replaced turnips because they were plentiful and so much easier to find. Halloween has now cemented it’s place in American culture and traditions so much so, that many Americans believe it to be an American tradition and have no idea of its ancient & mythical Celtic origins ..
Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered.
After the harvest work was complete, community joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth.
Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death.
There was also a military aspect to Samhain in Ireland, with holiday thrones prepared for commanders of soldiers. Anyone who committed a crime or used their weapons during the celebration faced a death sentence.
Some documents mention six days of drinking alcohol to excess, typically mead or beer, along with gluttonous feasts
Samhain Ghouls & Monsters
Because the Celts believed that the barrier between worlds was breachable during Samhain, they prepared offerings that were left outside villages and fields for fairies, or Sidhe. ( pronounced “shee”)
It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them.
Some specific monsters were associated with the mythology surrounding Samhain, including a shape-shifting creature called a Pukah that receives harvest offerings from the field. The Lady Gwyn is a headless woman dressed in white who chases night wanderers and was accompanied by a black pig.
The Dullahan sometimes appeared as impish creatures, sometimes headless men on horses who carried their heads. Riding flame-eyed horses, their appearance was a death omen to anyone who encountered them.
A group of hunters known as the Faery Host might also haunt Samhain and kidnap people. Similar are the Sluagh, who would come from the west to enter houses and steal souls.
Samhain Mythology
One of the most popular Samhain stories told during the festival was of “The Second Battle of Mag Tuired,” which portrays the final conflict between the Celtic pantheon known as the Tuatha de Danann and evil oppressors known as the Fomor. The myths state that the battle unfolded over the period of Samhain.
One of the most famous Samhain-related stories is “The Adventures of Nera,” in which the hero Nera encounters a corpse and fairies, and enters into the Otherworld.
Samhain figured into the adventures of mythological Celtic hero Fionn mac Cumhaill when he faced the fire-breathing underworld dweller Aillen, who would burn down the Hall of Tara every Samhain.
Samhain also figures into another Fionn mac Cumhaill legend, where the hero is sent to the Land Beneath the Wave. As well as taking place on Samhain, it features descriptions of the hero’s holiday gatherings.
Samhain Through the Middle Ages
As the Middle Ages progressed, so did the celebrations of the fire festivals. Bonfires known as Samghnagans, which were more personal Samhain fires nearer the farms, became a tradition, purportedly to protect families from fairies and witches.
Carved turnips called Jack-o-lanterns began to appear, attached by strings to sticks and embedded with coal. Later Irish tradition switched to pumpkins.
In Wales, men tossed burning wood at each other in violent games and set off fireworks. In Northern England, men paraded with noisemakers.
Dumb Supper
The tradition of “dumb supper” began during this time, in which food was consumed by celebrants but only after inviting ancestors to join in, giving the families a chance to interact with the spirits until they left following dinner.
Children would play games to entertain the dead, while adults would update the dead on the past year’s news. That night, doors and windows might be left open for the dead to come in and eat cakes that had been left for them.
Religious Samhain
Christianity mirrored a Samhain celebration with All Saints’ Day, on November 1. All Souls’ Day would follow on November 2. and the month of November in many churches is a time for rembrance of loved ones passed.
Halloween
Neither new Christian holiday did away with the pagan aspects of the celebration. The night of October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, and contained much of the traditional pagan practices before being adopted in 19th-century America through Irish immigrants bringing their traditions across the ocean.
Trick-or-treating is said to have been derived from ancient Irish and Scottish practices in the nights leading up to Samhain. In Ireland, mumming was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. Cakes were given as payment.
Halloween pranks also have a tradition in Samhain, though in the ancient celebration, tricks were typically blamed on fairies.
Celtic Reconstructionists
Followers of Celtic spirituality who embrace Celtic traditions with the intent of reintroducing them faithfully into modern earth spirituality practices are called Celtic Reconstructionists.
In some Celtic Reconstuctionist traditions, Samhain is called Oiche Shamnhna and celebrates the mating between Tuatha de Danaan gods Dagda and River Unis. Celtic Reconstructionists celebrate by placing juniper decorations around their homes and creating an altar for the dead where a feast is held in honor of deceased loved ones.
Sources:
www.history.com
Samhain. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/samhain.shtml
Samhain: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Halloween. Diana Rajchel.
The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween. Jean Markale.
Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween. Lisa Morton.
Celtic Gods and Heroes. Marie-Louise Sjoestedt.