When October is ending and November is beginning thousands of Pagans from America, Europe, Canada and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere observe the sacred time of Samhain. Samhain is a celebration of the dead, meaning "Summer's End". Depending on your place of origin it's pronounced Shah-vin, Sow-een, saah-win, saa-ween, or sav-wen, and is a celebration of the end of the time for harvesting or the end of Summer, ant the start of the coldest half of the year, it is also considered by some to be the "Witch's New Year".
Samhain originated in Europe as a Celtic fire festival and is now a celebration worldwide. The Celts divided their year by four major holidays, Samhain was their first day of the new year which started on November 1. This was …show more content…
This change of the seasons was marked by huge feasts and two magnificent bonfires. They would then ceremonially walk their cattle between the two fires in a cleansing type ritual, they were then slaughtered and their bones would be thrown into the flames, this is also where the bonfire( originally it was bone fire) got its name from, it literally means a fire of bones. The ancient Celts also believed this to be a time when a door to the "otherworld" was opened and spirits of the dead could freely pass between the two. On the eve of Samhain, Supper would be served in complete silence, there would be one place set at the head of the table for their ancestors to join them. They would set out a plate of supper and a drink, but because it was …show more content…
One of these such traditions is dressing up in costumes. Several hundred years ago, the Winter months were uncertain and frightening times, when food supplies got very low and many people were scared of the dark and of the dangers that came with it. On Samhain when the veil is the thinnest and spirits are said to roam free, people were afraid to leave their homes because they believed they might encounter an evil spirit. So they wouldn't be recognized by the ghosts they'd wear masks when they left their homes after dark, believing that these ghosts would think they were fellow spirits. The communities would also have large bonfires, believing that evil spirits would be afraid of the fires and not bother them. Another tradition started by the Celts is the jack o lantern. It was believed that not only spirits of their beloved ones that had passed walked the Earth again at Samhain, but also vengeful spirits and bád fairies did as well. In order to keep these unwanted guests from coming into their homes, the Celts carved scary faces on turnips, put a lit candles( for added protection) inside of them and set them on their doorsteps, to scare them off. In later more modern times pumpkins people started using pumpkins( which aren't native to Ireland) because they are bigger and easier to carve. This
Samhain originated in Europe as a Celtic fire festival and is now a celebration worldwide. The Celts divided their year by four major holidays, Samhain was their first day of the new year which started on November 1. This was …show more content…
This change of the seasons was marked by huge feasts and two magnificent bonfires. They would then ceremonially walk their cattle between the two fires in a cleansing type ritual, they were then slaughtered and their bones would be thrown into the flames, this is also where the bonfire( originally it was bone fire) got its name from, it literally means a fire of bones. The ancient Celts also believed this to be a time when a door to the "otherworld" was opened and spirits of the dead could freely pass between the two. On the eve of Samhain, Supper would be served in complete silence, there would be one place set at the head of the table for their ancestors to join them. They would set out a plate of supper and a drink, but because it was …show more content…
One of these such traditions is dressing up in costumes. Several hundred years ago, the Winter months were uncertain and frightening times, when food supplies got very low and many people were scared of the dark and of the dangers that came with it. On Samhain when the veil is the thinnest and spirits are said to roam free, people were afraid to leave their homes because they believed they might encounter an evil spirit. So they wouldn't be recognized by the ghosts they'd wear masks when they left their homes after dark, believing that these ghosts would think they were fellow spirits. The communities would also have large bonfires, believing that evil spirits would be afraid of the fires and not bother them. Another tradition started by the Celts is the jack o lantern. It was believed that not only spirits of their beloved ones that had passed walked the Earth again at Samhain, but also vengeful spirits and bád fairies did as well. In order to keep these unwanted guests from coming into their homes, the Celts carved scary faces on turnips, put a lit candles( for added protection) inside of them and set them on their doorsteps, to scare them off. In later more modern times pumpkins people started using pumpkins( which aren't native to Ireland) because they are bigger and easier to carve. This