Kristal Lee

Samhain, pronounced sow-in, is often credited with the origins of the secular and modern-day Halloween holiday and there have been misconceptions of the Ancient Celt festival as being evil and a time of devil worship.

The term Samhain translates to mean "summer's end" and the Samhain festival was a celebration of the end of the light season and the beginning of the dark season, but that shouldn't imply anything sinister. The Ancient Celts believed a new day began with nightfall. To them, the "dark" was the birth of new beginnings. And so Samhain marked the beginning of a new year.

In early Ireland, people gathered for Samhain at the end of harvest. Fire played a pivot role in the celebration. Hearth-fires were extinguished and a priest, or Druid, would light a central bonfire. Gifts were given to show gratitude for the harvest, prayers were offered and sacraments were cast into the fire. At dawn, each household would take a a torch or a burning ember from the flames and rekindle their home fires.

 Samhain was considered an "in-between time." Not belonging to the old year and not yet a part of the new year. It was viewed as a time outside the natural state of things. A time of reversals. A time of chaos and upheaval. A time when the dead could return to their loved one and celebrate.

In ancient days, Samhain would've been celebrated at the end of the harvest. It wasn't until Christianity spread that firm dates were established for celebrations. In 835, Pope Gregory combined pre-Christian festivals with Christian celebrations to make the acceptance of Church doctrine more appealing to new converts.  Samhain  was blended with other religious festivals, such as All Hallow's Day and All Saints Day.

But some of the ancient traditions survived the Christian invasion. According to Celtic legend, a magickal apple tree grows at the heart of the Otherworld and many a hero set out across the sea to find this mystical place in order to eat its enchanted fruit. Re-enacting this quest, villagers poured water into large wooden tubs, tossed in apples and took turns bobbing, or "dookin'" for them.

Ancient Celts also wore costumes and painted masks as a way to placate the spirits that roamed the villages during Samhain. Today, children and adults alike dress up for a night of trick-or-treating. They attend parties, hold bonfires, and tell ghost stories. Many never realizing how old theses traditions really are or the meaning behind them.

So, what Halloween traditions will you celebrate this year?

Superstitions. What are they and where to do they come from? According to Wikipedia, "superstition is a credulous belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge." Sometimes superstitions are referred to as folk tales, old wives tales, or urban legends. I'm not sure anyone can pinpoint with accuracy where, when, or why these handed-down warnings originated but some have been around since ancient times and many revolve around Halloween. 

Did you know that the tradition of pumpkin carving on Halloween came from the old belief that placing a burning candle inside a jack-o-lantern kept evil spirits and demons away? Have you ever heard that gazing into a candle on Halloween night will show you the future? And everyone should remember that if you hear footsteps coming up behind you on Halloween night, do not turn around because it could be DEATH following and looking DEATH in the eye hastens your own demise. Oooh, creepy.


So, why is Halloween associated with the dark and sinister more than any other time of year?   Some people believe that it is rooted in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which celebrated the end of summer--the time of light, and the beginning of winter--the dark time. The Celts believed that the veil to the Otherworld weakened on Samhain. This allowed spirirts, good and bad, to pass into their world. Friendly spirits of departed friends and family were welcomed into their homes, while the unwanted and capricious spirits were kept at bay with costumes and painted masks. Over the centuries, various customs and  religious rituals merged to become the modern concept of Halloween: costume parties, trick-or-treating, apple bobbing, and scary movies. But not many truly believe in the dead walking the streets except, maybe, for the zombie and vampire enthusiasts among us.

And yet despite our modern technologies, scientific advances, and a more "logical" world perspective we still hold on to old superstitions.

I'm an educated woman with a whole of common sense and sass, but I still "knock on wood" whenever I say something and don't want to jinx my luck. I also throw salt over my shoulder if I spill it. Silly little actions, I know, but I can't help myself. Because in the back of my jammed-packed brain there is a sliver of the "what if". What if I don't do that and something horrible happens? Maybe it's something left over from the primordial evolution of cro-magnon man to modern man. Who knows. But I know I'm not the only one who harbors a bit of those old superstitions.

Soooo.....time to play Plinky!  Leave a comment and tell me.....