Samhain – All Hallows Eve – Halloween
As we get closer to that time of year when cute little ghosties and ghoulies come ringing our door bells looking for yummy candy the religious world wraps itself into a tizzy yet again. Year after year you hear all the stories of the churches that have issues with Halloween, of the pastors telling their congregation to not allow their children to go, of the poor kids that feel left out because all of their friends at school get to dress up and go door to door, receiving yummy treats, but they don’t get to participate.
If you look back, year after year, since I was a child (and I’m sure long before that), this debate has not changed. The sides are the same, the outcome is always a sad little boy or girl sitting at home with the porch lights out wishing they could be out there with their friends – that sad little boy or girl who will turn into the obnoxious teenager that will in turn TP your yard if your lights are off on Halloween just to get back their missed childhood.
I find it difficult to see how respecting the dead is a bad thing. The majority of our holidays have come from a pagan calendar, this is a fact.
My question is do you know the real reasons behind dressing up and handing out candy/sweets? No? Do you know how it all got started? Do you know who started it? No?
How can you make an educated decision on what is best for your family if you don’t even have all the facts? I asked a few people I know (some who do and some who don’t have an issue with this holiday) if they knew how it came about. One person knew, only one. But every one of them had an opinion on the holiday itself. Funny how we make all these decisions in life without having all the facts. I, personally, live on facts. If you want me to make a decision, lay it out for me, then give me time to research the facts. I’ll make an educated decision for you when I have the facts. That being said, here are some of the facts that most people don’t seem to know about Samhain – All Hallows Eve - Halloween.
All-Hallows Eve started as a Celtic festival about 2000 years ago.
It was a time to mark the end of summer and the beginning of winter (winter is what they considered the time of death). On October 31st they thought the veil between the worlds to be thinner because it is the time between the end of life and the beginning of death. This is when they thought the spirits of their ancestors that had passed over could visit them.
Technically it was the end of the Celtic calendar, marking the beginning of a new year.
They dressed up, not in our traditional costumes but, in animal hides, heads and other disguises in order to protect themselves from the spirits that would harm them. They thought it would trick the spirits into thinking they were not living humans.
Later it is said we set out sweets and food by the front of our houses so the roaming spirits would take the food offered and not come into our homes and harm us. This is the tradition of handing out sweets.
Ok, that is probably enough for you to think about for now. Honestly, how many of you knew those facts and judge the holiday accordingly?
My opinion of the holiday doesn’t matter – what matters is that you can now say you are somewhat educated on the beginnings of Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween.
Blessed Be and Happy Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween ya’ll.
