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 Samhain- The Celtic Celebration that Inspired Halloween
Halloween has roots in the Celtic celebration Samhain (SOW-in). Samhain means “End of Summer” and is often referred to as theCeltic New Year. It is the start of the dark winter half of the year, as opposed to Beltane (occurring on May 1) which is the lightsummer half of the year. The festival of Samhain occurs on Oct. 31
st
and lasts for three days. Since the 8
th
Century, November 1
st
 has been All Saints’ Day, or All Hallow’s Day. The night before, October 31
st
, is All Hallow’s Eve, which has been shortenedover time to Halloween.Samhain is the time of the final harvest of the year. Any crops still in the fields after this date were left as a sacrifice to Naturespirits. It was a time to take stock of what you had for supplies and slaughter the animals for the winter months. Fires areimportant aspects of all Celtic celebrations. At Samhain, huge bonfires are lit. Cattle were often driven between two fires aspurification for the winter. In fact, the term bonfire comes from “Bone fires” since they would throw the bones of slaughteredanimals into the fire as an offering for healthy livestock the following year. People would dance around these bonfires. It was agreat honour to have your bonfire burn the longest. Ashes from the fires were spread over the fields to bless the land for the nextyear.According to the Druids, Beltane and Samhain were the two times of year when the veil between this world and the Otherworldwas blurred and ghosts and otherworldly creatures could walk the earth. Food offerings were left on altars and doorsteps for thespirits. Candles were lit and placed in windows as a form of guidance. Some would set extra chairs and place settings at the dinnertable for ghostly guests. People would go from door to door in a practice called “souling” and pray for those who had passed inthat home. They were given small cakes in exchange. This could be where trick-or-treating evolved from.At this time of year ghosts, goblins, and fairies would play pranks on humans and may take their souls back to the Otherworld withthem. People would dress up like these creatures to trick them so that they would not be taken. This was known as “guising”. InWales, the ghost of the White Lady and the Tail-less black sow were the most commonly reported spirits. If you encountered anyof these beings, you would throw dust under their feet and they would have to release any souls that they had captured. Farmanimals were anointed with holy water to keep them safe. If they showed any sign of sickness, they were spat on to ward off evil.Salt sprinkled into a child’s hair would also keep evil spirits away. Salt was also sprinkled over doorsteps to prevent evil spiritsfrom entering.Turnips were carved into faces and placed on window sills with candles inside. Since the head was the most powerful part of thebody, the “head” of a vegetable was used to frighten off any spirits. If a spirit managed to get past the lantern’s protection,offerings of food were given to spare the home. As immigrants moved to North America, turnips were less abundant, so pumpkinswere carved instead. There is also the Irish legend of “Stingy Jack” who was a greedy farmer who tricked the devil into climbing atree and trapped him there by marking it with a cross. The devil cursed Jack to forever wander the earth at night with a candleinside a hollowed turnip as his lantern. This is where Jack-O-Lantern comes from.Many events at Samhain foretold the future. People would write their name on a stone and throw it into the bonfire. In themorning, if you could not find your stone, you would have bad luck that year. Barnbrack Cake also foretold the future. There is arag, coin, and ring placed inside the cake and then everyone is given a slice. If you got the rag, your financial future was notpromising. If you got the coin, you would have a prosperous year. If you got the ring, you would soon find romance. Anothercustom was to place a perfect Ivy leaf into a cup of water overnight. In the morning, if your leaf was still perfect, you would have12 months of good health. Another superstition is that Ivy gives you the power to see hags. A boy should cut 10 ivy leaves, throwone away and put the rest under his head while he sleeps. A girl should take a wild rose that has grown into a hoop, creep throughit 3 times, quietly cut it and put it under her head while she sleeps. Hair cuttings were often thrown into the bonfires to predict theirfuture love. If you put two large nuts into a peat fire representing two intended people, their curling together would be a goodomen for the couple. If they jumped apart, it’s best to look for a new mate.
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