Samhain's History
Samhain (pronounced Sow-en), dates back to
the ancient Celts who lived 2,000 years ago. Contrary to what some believe, is
not a celebration of a Celtic god of the dead. 
Instead, it is a
Celtic word meaning "summer's end." The Celts believed that summer came to an
end on October 31st and the New Year began on November 1st with the start of
winter. But the Celts also followed a lunar calendar and their celebrations
began at sunset the night before.
Many today see Halloween as the pagan holiday. But that's not really
accurate. As the pagan holiday of Samhain is on November 1st. But their
celebrations did and still do, start at sunset on October 31st, on Samhain Eve.
During the day on October 31st, the fires within the home are extinguished.
Often families would engage in a good "fall" cleaning to clear out the old and
make way for the new. Starting the winter months with fresh and clean household
items.
At sunset on October 31, clans or local villages begin the formal ceremonies
of Samhain by lighting a giant bonfire. The people would gather around the fire
to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. It was a method
of giving the Gods and Goddesses their share of the previous years herd or
crops. In addition these sacred fires were a big part of the cleansing of the
old year and a method to prepare for the coming new year.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, and danced around the
bonfire. Many of these dances told stories or played out the cycles of life and
death or commemorated the cycle of Wheel of Life. These costumes were adorned
for three primary reasons.
The first was to honor the dead who were allowed to rise from the
Otherworld. The Celts believed that souls were set free from the land of the
dead during the eve of Samhain. Those that had been trapped in the bodies of
animals were released by the Lord of the Dead and sent to their new
incarnations. The wearing of these costumes signified the release of these souls
into the physical world.
Not all of these souls were honored and respected. Some were also feared as
they would return to the physical world and destroy crops, hide livestock or
'haunt' the living who may have done them wrong. The second reason for these
traditional costumes was to hide from these malevolent spirits to escape their
trickery.
The final representation was a method to honor the Celtic Gods and Goddesses
of the harvest, fields and flocks. Giving thanks and homage to those deities who
assisted the village or clan through the trials and tribulations of the previous
year. And to ask for their favor during the coming year and the harsh winter
months that were approaching.
In addition to celebrations and dance, it was believed that this thin veil
between the physical world and the Otherworld provided extra energy for
communications between the living and the dead. With these communications, Druid
Priests, and Celtic Shamans would attempted to tell the fortunes of individual
people through a variety of methods. For a people entirely dependent on the
volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and
direction during the long, dark winter.
These psychic readings would be conducted with a variety of divination
tools. Such as throwing bones, or casting the Celtic Ogham. There is some historical evidence that
additional tools of divination were also used. Most of this comes from writings
recorded by Roman invaders, but there are stories of reading tea leaves, rocks
and twigs, and even simple spiritual communications that today we'd call
Channeling. Some historians have suggested that these early people were the
first to use tiles made from wood and painted with various images which were the
precursor to Tarot Cards. There's no real evidence to support this, but the
'story' of these tiles has lingered for centuries.
When the community celebration was over, each family would take a torch or
burning ember from the sacred bonfire and return to their own home. The home
fires that has been extinguished during the day were re-lit by the flame of the
sacred bonfire to help protect the dwelling and it's inhabitants during the
coming winter. These fires were kept burning night and day during the next
several months. It was believed that if a home lost it's fire, tragedy and
troubles would soon follow.
With the hearth fires lit, the families would place food and drink outside
their doors. This was done to appease the roaming spirits who might play tricks
on the family.
The Romans began to conquer the Celtic territories. By A.D. 43 they had
succeeded in claiming the majority of the Celtic lands. They ruled for
approximately four hundred years combining or influencing many Celtic
traditional celebrations with their own. Two Roman holidays were merged with
Samhain.
- Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated
the passing of the dead.
- Pomona's Day of Honoring, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol
of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain
probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today
on Halloween.
Samhain to Halloween
With the coming of Christianity in the 800s AD, the early Church in England
tried to Christianize the old Celtic festivals. Pope Boniface IV designated the
1st of November as "All Saints Day," honoring saints and martyrs. He also
decreed October 31 as "All Hallows Eve", that eventually became Hallow'een.
Scholars today widely accept that the Pope was attempting to replace the
earlier Celtic pagan festival with a church-sanctioned holiday. As this
Christian holiday spread, the name evolved as well. Also called All-hallows Eve
or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day). 200
years later, in 1000 AD, the church made November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to
honor the dead. It is celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires,
parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together,
the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls' day,
are called Hallowmas.
November 1st or May 13th?
Some people confuse Samhain being originally celebrated in May with other
pagan and early Christian holidays.
Samhain comes from the Gaelic word samain. "Sam" - summer and "fuin" - end.
It literally means Summer's End. The early Irish and Brythonic cultures believed
the year was divided in half. The dark half and the light half. Samhain marked
the end of the light half and the beginning of the Celtic new year or the dark
half.
According to Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia (1979 Vol 12 p 152), The
Druids originated the holiday. It was a celebration of Saman Lord of the Dead
who was the God of Evil Spirits. There is some debate about this origination as
the Druids were not the only, or the first spiritual pagans of Ireland.
Some of the earliest archaeological evidence of the Celts come from their
trade routes with the Greeks. Their culture can be followed with great precision
from the 5th Century BC through the La Tène culture. From these early records
with the Greeks we know of some of their great festivals and in particular one
of their biggest Samhain the new years festival. Certainly we can gain
information from Julius Caesar who wrote extensively about the Gauls during his
invasion campaigns in Ireland during 4th Century BC. Eventually Rome is sacked
by the Celts in 3rd Century BC, around 390BC. The Romans in general wrote of
their warlike inhabitants and many of their barbaric celebrations. Which
included Samhain.
In most if not all of these accounts, Samhain is immersed in blood and
sacrifice. Often in the earliest of times, those sacrifices were human. One
Greek account states these early Celts sacrificed prisoners captured during a
battle during their New Years festival of Samhain. In The History and Origins of
Druidism by Lewis Spencer writes about the Druids stating they burned their
victims in holy fire which had to be consecrated by a Druid priest.
The confusion of May to November 1st probably comes from the Christians and
pagan Roman festivals. The Roman Empire was a pagan culture. During their reign
they held many pagan festivals and celebrations, one being the Feast of the
Lemures on May 13th. During this time malevolent and restless spirits of the
dead were appeased and festival participants would attempt to gain the favor of
the spirits. The feast covered a three day period that honored "all the dead"
with food, drink and sacrifice.
At the same time Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the
Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs. This was celebrated in the west from May 13,
609 to 610. Pope Gregory III (731–741) during an oratory in St. Peter's for the
relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all
the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world", moved All Saints
Day to November 1.
This is further confused by the early Irish churches who did not celebrate
All Hallows Day in November or May, but rather in early spring on April 20th
during the Felire of Oengus and the Martyrology of Talaght. A festival of All
Saints was already widely celebrated in the days of Charlemagne in November. But
it took a decree at the insistence of Pope Gregory IV to all the bishops, that
the celebration be confirmed on November 1st.
These early similar celebrations come together around 835AD. The Roman pagan
festival is over taken by the early Church, the Irish Church conforms it's
celebrations with Rome, and everyone seems to move their day of the dead to
coincide with early Irish pagans and their celebration of Samhain on November
1st.
There's no doubt, however, that the Irish festival of Samhain has always
been at the end of summer on November 1st, and has been one of the prominent
harvest festivals for Celtic pagans from the past and the present.
The Evolution Of Halloween
"Trick-or-treating" is a modern tradition that probably finds it's roots in
the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor
citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul
cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The
distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the
ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice,
which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children
who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and
money.
"Dressing up" for Halloween gets it roots from dressing up around the sacred
bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice
originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the
earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if
they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks
after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In
addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their
homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause
harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans.
As European came to America, they brought their varied Halloween traditions
with them. Celebration of Halloween in colonial times was much more common in
Maryland and the southern colonies. Primarily because Celtic immigrants settled
more in these regions than in the north.
As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups meshed
together a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first
celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the
harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's
fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the
telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the
nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not
yet celebrated everywhere in the country.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, America entered an age of
mysticism. What was more often termed spiritualism. Metaphysical groups and
clubs began to spring up throughout the Golden Age and the wealthier set of
Americans. At the same time, America was welcoming a new group of immigrants,
especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846. This
new cultural influence brought with it a melding of Irish and English
traditions, and a new Americans culture was born. People began to dress up in
costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that
eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. Young women believed that,
on Halloween, they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband
by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors.
In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a
holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts,
pranks, and witchcraft. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both
children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties
focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes. Parents were
encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything "frightening" or
"grotesque" out of Halloween celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween
lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the
twentieth century.
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but
community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured
entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities,
vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this
time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and
Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the
high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from
town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily
accommodated.
Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was
also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire
community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also
prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with
small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow.
By the 1990s, Americans have made Halloween one of the largest commercial
holidays. Spending an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween costumes,
accessories, decorations and pumpkins.
Samhain Traditions
To pagans the world over, November 1st, still marks the beginning of the New
Year. To Witches and Pagans, Samhain is the Festival of the Dead, and for many,
it is the most important Sabbat (Holiday) of the year. Although the Feast of the
Dead forms a major part of most Pagan celebrations on this eve, and at Samhain
voluntary communications are expected and hoped for. The departed are never
harassed, and their presence is never commanded. The spirits of the dead are,
however, ritually invited to attend the Sabbat and to be present within the
Circle.
Orange and Black:
The colors of this Sabbat are black and orange. Black to represent the time
of darkness after the death of the God (who is represented by fire and the sun)
during an earlier sabbat known as Lughnasadh, and
the waning of light during the day. Orange represents the awaiting of the dawn
during Yule (Dec. 21st to Jan. 1st) when the God
is reborn.
Jack O'Lanterns:
There is some debate about the origination of Jack-o-lanterns. One line
suggests this custom originated from the lighting of candles for the dead to
follow as they walked the earth. These candles were placed in hallowed out
gourds and put on the ground to light the way.
Others suggest the practice originates from a Christianized Irish myth about
a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack."
- Stingy Jack and the Devil enter a pub to have a drink. Jack convinces the
Devil to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks. But instead of using
the coin, Jack slipped it into his pocket and next to a silver cross. The cross
prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. But Jack
eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack
for one year. And if Jack should die during that year, the Devil would not claim
his soul. And the Devil agreed to these terms.
-
- Jack again tricked the Devil. This time, the Devil climbed into a tree to
pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the
cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down. Once again,
Jacked struck a bargain with the Devil. He would free the Devil from the tree if
he promised not to bother Jack for ten more years. And if Jack died during those
years, the Devil would not claim his soul. And the Devil again agreed to these
terms.
-
- Not long after this, Jack did indeed died. But because of his trickery, God
would not allow him into heaven. In keeping his word not to take his soul, the
Devil also would not allow Jack into hell. Instead, the Devil sent Jack out into
the darkness of the world between worlds with nothing but a burning piece of
coal. Jack placed the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the
Earth ever since. The Irish began to refer to Jack's ghostly figure as "Jack of
the Lantern," and then, simply as "Jack O'Lantern."
The Irish and Scottish people began making lanterns by carving scary faces
into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten
away the wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets were used. Immigrants
from these countries brought the tradition to America where they found the
pumpkin, a fruit native to America, that made the perfect jack o'lanterns.
Tricks & Treats:
Treats also originated from an old custom of leaving cookies and other foods
out for those relatives to enjoy as they shared this one night of feasting. The
'trick' portion of "Trick or Treat" was an invention of the Christians. The
tricks were supposedly caused by the dead who didn't receive a treat of food
left for them when they arrived at your door.
The Contraversary of Samhain and
Halloween
Sad to say there have been many fundamentalists who are inciting ignorance
and bigotry into the celebrations of Halloween. No longer is Halloween a
religious festival here in the US. It has become commercialized as an event for
kids to have fun, play dress up and be scared by ghouls and ghosts. It has
become nothing more than a secular holiday.
Those who have tried to link Halloween to Samhain are also missing the boat.
As Halloween, All Hallows Eve are Christian created holidays devised by the
early Churches of Europe as a means to convert pagans to Christianity. The
celebrations were indeed taken from pagan practices, but their purposes have
long since been corrupted and are no longer pagan in nature. Right down to being
practiced on October 31st.
Some one asked me if I cared that a nearby town was attempting to change
Halloween from October 31st to the last Friday of each October. My response is
why should I mind? Halloween is a Christian holiday, do with it what you will.
The modern celebrations of Halloween do not take away or alter the spiritual
significance of Samhain for pagan practitioners. Our Sabbat is still intact and
still honored with reverence and in the traditional methods practiced by our
ancient pagan ancestors. Though we don't make animal sacrifices any longer,
there are some who will toss a steak into a bonfire as a symbolic gesture. The
main focus of the holiday for pagans is still to honor our loved ones who have
passed on and to share in communication with them during this time when the veil
between worlds is narrowed.
Additional articles of interests:
Additional Reading:
In addition to the sources listed below that were used to write this
article, you might also check out the following resources:
- Natural History periodical - October 1983 p43-44
- Pagan Celtic Britain by Anne Ross
- Celtic Mythology by McCane
- The Druids and Their Heritage by Ward Rutherford
- The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish
- Human Sacrifice by Lewis Spencer
- The History and Origins of Druidism by Lewis Spencer
This article was written by
http://www.paganspath.com/magik/samhain-history.htm
