Originally posted by Somersethedge.
The Truth about Halloween
Most people consider Halloween a time for children to dress up and go knocking at stranger’s door demanding sweets. However for Pagans Halloween is a very important spiritual festival.
The proper name for the festival is Samhain (pronounced Sow-en or Sow-een). Another name for it is the Witches New Year. This is because most people think that Pagans and Witches are the same thing (the're not.), however it is our year end/start.
The name Halloween comes from the Catholic Church who while trying to turn people away from their Pagan roots created All Saints Day or All Hallows day on the 1st November. Therefore the day before became All Hallows Eve, which in turn was shortened to Halloween.
If you are against celebrating Pagan festivals, then I am afraid you have some major problems to overcome as you will no longer be able to celebrate Christmas (Yule) or Easter (Ostara). Halloween is the only holiday that has kept most of its Pagan roots without being overtaken with its Christian overtones.
There are many erroneous “facts” about Halloween. The most common one is that it to honor the Celtic God of the dead it isn’t (to my knowledge I don’t think they have one but I could be wrong). I think is more likely to come from the old Gaelic word samhuinn which roughly translates as “summers end” and that is, as a Pagan, what we are celebrating.
There is nothing satanic about Halloween either. Of course, there is nothing Satanic about any aspects of Wicca, witchcraft or Paganism, We don't celebrate black masses, conduct sacrifices or cast hexes on Halloween (or any other day!). In fact the concept of Satan or the devil is purely a Christian thing.
Right now you know what Halloween isn’t I better tell you what it is.
Well, to Pagans who celebrate Samhain, it is the third and last of the year's harvest festivals. The crops are in, and it's time to relax and prepare for the long winter ahead. It is also a time to reflect on the past year and to remember those loved ones who have passed into spirit during the past year as well.
One of the mythology of Samhain is that the God dies, (and the leaves on the trees fall) and the Goddess mourns His passing until his rebirth at Yule. It is Her mourning that brings the shorter days and winter. Once He is reborn at Yule the days start to get longer again.
The idea of tricks at Halloween stems from having fun before the long winter night arrived, whereas the treat side of things comes from providing offering to the Goddess.
It is also the time of the year when the spirit world and ours are closes to each other. Therefore some Pagans light candles and place them in the windows and leave food out for the spirits that may pass by.
So there you have it, a (Very) brief (well for me anyway) history of Halloween.
One last thing. Please remember there are many negative sites on the web regarding Paganism. Please keep this in mind when reading about the “truth” about Halloween on other sites.
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