A Wee Bit Of Samhain History

Samhain

HALLOWEEN

If I were a witch upon a big switch, a-riding through the air, I'd fly all around and drop to the ground, and give you an awful scare!

More than 2000 years ago, the Celtic people who inhabited Brittania & France observed a calendar that began and ended with their New Years Eve Festival every October 31/November 1. This festival was called Samhain (sa - ween), a word which means "summers end", marking the death of the old year and the birth of the next.

aka: All Hollows Eve, Halloween, All Souls Night & Day of the Dead

THANK THE IRISH FOR IT! Halloween didn't find a proper place on the American calendar until after the great Irish immigration to the United States, which followed the potato famine of the 1840s.

MYTHS, PRACTICES & OLD GAELIC TRADITIONS: Carving the jack-o'-lantern - squash was hollowed out and carved spooky faces in them to ward off evil spirits. Bobbing for apples or wassailing - a form of love divinition and blessing the trees to ensure another bountiful harvest. Guising (wear a costume or mask) - fearful of being recognised by the spirits of their dead ancestors one would disguise themselves & from the prying eyes who might turn them in to the witch hunter when conducting ancient forgotten rituals. Trick or treating - collecting foods for the dead.