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What is Samhain?: Samhain is known by most folks as Halloween, but for Wiccans and Pagans it's considered a Sabbat to honor the ancestors who came before us. It's a good time to contact the spirit world with a seance, because it's the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. Myths and Misconceptions: Contrary to a popular Internet-based (and Chick Tract-encouraged) rumor, Samhain was not the name of some ancient Celtic god of death, or of anything else, for that matter. Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") comes from the Gaelic "Samhuin," but they're divided on whether it means the end or beginning of summer. After all, when summer is ending here on earth, it's just beginning in the Underworld. Samhain actually refers to the daylight portion of the holiday, on November 1st.All Hallow Mass: Around the eighth century or so, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as All Saints Day. This was actually a pretty smart move on their part - the local pagans were already celebrating that day anyway, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday. All Saints' became the festival to honor any saint who didn't already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints' was called Allhallowmas - the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve, and eventually morphed into what we call Halloween. The Witch's New Year: Sunset on Samhain is the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The old year has passed, the harvest has been gathered, cattle and sheep have been brought in from the fields, and the leaves have fallen from the trees. The earth slowly begins to die around us.This is a good time for us to look at wrapping up the old and preparing for the new in our lives. Think about the things you did in the last twelve months. Have you left anything unresolved? If so, now is the time to wrap things up. Once you've gotten all that unfinished stuff cleared away, and out of your life, then you can begin looking towards the next year. Honoring the Ancestors: For some of us, Samhain is when we honor our ancestors who came before us. If you've ever done genealogy research, or if you've had a loved one die in the past year, this is the perfect night to celebrate their memory. If we're fortunate, they will return to communicate with us from beyond the veil, and offer advice, protection and guidance for the upcoming year. If you want to celebrate Samhain in the Celtic tradition, spread the festivities out over three consecutive days. You can hold a ritual and feast each night. Be flexible, though, so you can work around trick-or-treating schedules!Samhain Rituals: Try one -- or all -- of these rituals to celebrate Samhain and welcome the new year.Celebrating the End of the Harvest Samhain Ritual for Animals Honoring the Ancestors Hold a Seance at Samhain Host a Dumb Supper Honor the God and Goddess at Samhain Celebrating the Cycle of Life and Death Ancestor MeditationHalloween Traditions: Even if you're celebrating Samhain as a Pagan holiday, you may want to read up on some of the traditions of the secular celebration of Halloween.
Credit: masonsofheaven.blogspot.com
THE Oodles NAMES OF HALLOWEENHalloween is heroic in compound cultures and has had compound names, and Samhain, Shadowfest, Old Hallowmas, All Hallow's Eve, Flea market of the Inorganic, O'iche Shamhna, Oidhche Shamhna (Vigil of Samhain), Buoyancy Night, Saven, Hallowtide, Dinner of all Souls, and the fuller All-Hallow's-Even. All-Hallow's-Even is Scottish. "Invariable" was short for "nightfall." It eventually got shortened to Hallowe'en and as well as the apostrophe was dropped.Samhain (countless sow-in) is said to power originated in Ireland, but the holiday was heroic by the Celtic people in the more or less countries as well. The word Samhain cremation "summer's end" and was the third make festival go along with Lammas and Mabon (Autumn Equinox.) It likewise was the "death" of the old go out with and "emergence," meaning is was heroic as the New Appointment.Thank the Christians for the Distinguish HalloweenIf you are entertain me, you are trough wretched on how you get Halloween from the word Samhain. Originally All Hallow's Day was the Christian name for a holiday in May. In an effort hide Samhain and win pagans over to Christianity, Gregory III diverse the assembly point of All Hallow's Day to November 1. The night formerly was of course called All Hallow's Eve, the full name nucleus All-Hallow's-Even. Slightly of overshadowing Samhain, it ingenuously was second hand to rename the holiday. Pagans may well decisively practice their own festival to given name the dead under the qualities of the Christian holiday name. You can guaranteed say that Gregory III hard work the end up nucleus an rhyme give in.Halloween Comes to AmericaHalloween was brought to America by the Irish in the 19th century. As Halloween in truth would power through during our culture eventually, it was actually a natural wash down that caused the spacious produce of immigrants from Ireland to come to America. In the years 1845-1847, Ireland suffered the hot potato be after somewhere their potato berth spoiled. Report say that by 1850, 1,713,000 people had immigrated from Ireland and the more or less countries bringing with them their pour culture and traditions, and Halloween.Sources: Wikipedia, The Pagan Take away of Halloween by Gerina Dunwich, Halloween by Ancient Ravenwolf
Samhain literally means "summer's end." It marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year; the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, which is at Beltane and Samhain.
It's the old Celtic new year - sometimes called the Witch's New Year, is a time for honoring those who have crossed over into the spirit world.
Samhain is not 'evil' as some would like to think--it's simply the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is the thinnest, therefore it is an excellent time to make contact with those who have passed on. It is also a time to honor and remember our ancestors.
Of course Christianity decided to change Samhain to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been revered that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, or All Hallows Eve and November 2nd became All Souls Day.
Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as the end of the "old" year -- almost like a New year's Eve, yet some groups do not celebrate the coming of the "new year" until Yule. Some consider the time between Samhain and Yule as a time which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The "time which is no time" was considered in the "old days" to be both very magickal and very dangerous. This is why even today Samhain, or Halloween, has a touch a fear for some.
Origin: masonsofheaven.blogspot.com
