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Samhain: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Halloween. Celtic Reconstructionists celebrate by placing juniper decorations around their homes and creating an altar for the dead where a feast is held in honor of deceased loved ones. In this tradition, Samhain is called Oiche Shamnhna and celebrates the mating between Tuatha de Danaan gods Dagda and River Unis. Pagans who embrace Celtic traditions with the intent of reintroducing them faithfully into modern paganism are called Celtic Reconstructionists. READ MORE: Why Do Witches Ride Brooms? Celtic Reconstructionists American pagans often hold music and dance celebrations called Witches’ Balls in proximity to Samhain. In the Druid tradition, Samhain celebrates the dead with a festival on October 31 and usually features a bonfire and communion with the dead. Wiccans look at Samhain as the passing of the year, and incorporate common Wiccan traditions into the celebration. Wicca celebration of Samhain takes on many forms, from the traditional fire ceremonies to celebrations that embrace many aspects of modern Halloween, as well as activities related to honoring nature or ancestors. Halloween pranks also have a tradition in Samhain, though in the ancient celebration, tricks were typically blamed on fairies. In Ireland, mumming was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. Trick-or-treating is said to have been derived from ancient Irish and Scottish practices in the nights leading up to Samhain. October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, and contained much of the traditional pagan practices before being adopted in 19th-century America through Irish immigrants bringing their traditions across the ocean. Neither new holiday did away with the pagan aspects of the celebration. READ MORE: How the Early Catholic Church Christianized Halloween Samhain Merges With Halloween All Souls’ Day would follow on November 2. In the 9th century, Pope Gregory moved the celebration back to the time of the fire festivals, but declared it All Saints’ Day, on November 1. The fire festivals of October and November, however, did not end with this decree.
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He moved the celebration to May 13 and specified it as a day celebrating saints and martyrs.
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The first attempt was by Pope Boniface in the 5th century. The myths state that the battle unfolded over the period of Samhain.Īs Christianity gained a foothold in pagan communities, church leaders attempted to reframe Samhain as a Christian celebration. One of the most popular Samhain stories told during the festival was of “The Second Battle of Mag Tuired,” which portrays the final conflict between the Celtic pantheon known as the Tuatha de Danann and evil oppressors known as the Fomor. Similar are the Sluagh, who would come from the west to enter houses and steal souls. Riding flame-eyed horses, their appearance was a death omen to anyone who encountered them.Ī group of hunters known as the Faery Host might also haunt Samhain and kidnap people. The Dullahan sometimes appeared as impish creatures, sometimes headless men on horses who carried their heads. The Lady Gwyn is a headless woman dressed in white who chases night wanderers and was accompanied by a black pig. Some specific monsters were associated with the mythology surrounding Samhain, including a shape-shifting creature called a Pukah that receives harvest offerings from the field. It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered. READ MORE: Halloween: Traditions, Rituals, Origins Ancient SamhainĪncient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. In modern times, Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”) is usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1 to welcome in the harvest and usher in “the dark half of the year.” Celebrants believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and denizens of the Otherworld. Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition.