Your browser does not support script

TWV Presents... Popular Pagan Holidays [Show all] Views: 6,383,613 Holiday: ... Autumn: The Croning Time Daily Goddess Awareness It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chri... Yuletide! Well, You Don’t Celebrate Christmas... Samhain: A Time for Introspection---and Activism For A Religion So Opposed to Paganism, You Sure Stole a Lot of Our Stuff! The Dark Half of the Year The Halloween Witch: Sense of Humor or Sense of Ire Ah...To Be A Witch... La Befana Winter Solstice By Any Other Name The Beltaine Storm Spiritual Aspects of Yule Winter Holiday Intentions and Food Magik Ostara...It's Not Just For Kiddies Anymore! Autumn Equinox: A Point of Balance on the Wheel of the Year Alicia Meets Grandmother Autumn: A Children’s Story Lughnasadh: The Deeper Meaning A Meditation on Samhain: How Lucky You Are. The Solstice Flame: A Yule Story Imbolc: Traditional Celebrations for a Modern Time Supermoms’ and Superdads’ Defense Against “Holiday Kryptonite” A Story For Autumn Traditional Yule: Make your Own Homebrewed Mead Ostara: Enter the Light! Samhain: Learning to Release An Egyptian Wheel of the Year Samhain A Celtic View of Samhain Winter: A Joyous Holiday Season The Oak King and the Holly King Revisited The Babylonian Ghost Festival The Best Thing About Death A Summer Solstice Primer Imbolc...or As The Wheel Turns The Celtic Origins of Samhain The Theme of Mabon Witches Lost in Halloween Dealing with the Darkness, Post-Samhain Don’t Waste That Pumpkin! The Samhain Experience First Thanksgiving... in China Love Lives On: A Samhain Reflection on Death, Rebirth, and the Afterlife A White Christmas in Fuyang Solstice Swim at Beach 69, Puako, Hawaii Solstice of the Soul Midsummer A Samhain Dance Lughnasa: Festival of the Harvest (A Druid's Perspective) The Tale of the Holly King and the Oak King Imbolg - A Lesson of Positive Change Ancestor Stew Beltane Beyond Sex The Story of Ostara Planning A Good Death: A Samhain Process The First Yule Season of the Blues Yule...and Saturnalia Smurf Hats Unity During Samhain A Yule Story for Children ~ The Tiniest Fairy ~ Samhain Mabon..Balance and Reflection Yule and the New Year Bealtine: Blessing the Summer In The Blood is in the Land Yuletide Thoughts, Life and Death Ghosts, Omens, and Fact-Finding: Wandering In Today's Eco-Interface Easter is Pagan Groundhog's Day is American for Imbolc Preparing for Summerland During Samhain Lughnasadh Sandy Was The Name Of the Dark Goddess This Samhain Yules Lessons from Days of Yore: Perfect Love, Perfect Trust When The Crone Pays A Visit, You'd Better Pay Attention A Midsummer Labyrinth Walk…Winding the Way Back Home The Promise of the Harvest Brighid's Healing Sword: Imbolc And the Last Spoke is Mabon "The Horn of Plenty": A Pathworking for Lammas The Call of the Crone NOTE: For a complete list of articles related to this chapter... Visit the Main Index FOR this section.

Article Specs Article ID: 2203 VoxAcct: 5 Section: holidays Age Group: Adult Days Up: 2,031 Times Read: 240,402 RSS Views: 45,245 A Brief History of Hallowe'en Author: Christina Aubin [a WitchVox Sponsor] Posted: October 28th. 2007 Times Viewed: 240,402 The Celtic peoples called the time between Samhain (pronounced "SOW-in" in Ireland, SOW-een in Wales, "SAV-en" in Scotland or even "SAM-haine" in non Gaelic speaking countries) and Brigid's Day "the period of little sun." Thus, Samhain is often named the "Last Harvest" or "Summer's End". While almost all Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as the end of the "old" year, 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. So even today, we celebrate this Holiday with a mixture of joyous celebration and 'spine tingling" reverence. The Samhain Holiday begins at sundown on October 31st. The nightide was always a time to be wary of walking alone in the countryside. So much more on this Night when the veils between the worlds of humans and spirits was at its thinnest. Traditional lore speaks of the dead returning to visit their kin and the doors to the Lands of the Sidhe (pronounced "shee") or Faery Realm being opened. "The Feast of the Dead" ("Fleadh nan Mairbh") is laid out by many to welcome these otherworldly visitors and gain their favor for the coming year. Many folks leave milk and cakes ("Bannock Samhain" ) outside their door on Samhain Eve or set a place at their table for their ancestors who may want to join in the celebrations with their kin and family. Some Witches use a chant at the beginning of the Feast to welcome their ancestors. One of these, for example goes like this: And so it is, we gather again, The feast of our dead to begin. Our Ancients, our Ancestors we invite, Come! And follow the setting of the sun. Whom do we call? We call them by name (Name your ancestor that you wish want to welcome.) The Ancients have come! Here with us stand Where ever the country, where ever the land They leave us not, to travel alone; Flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone! Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Great be their Power! Past ones and present-at this very hour! Welcome within are the dead who are kin, Feast here with us and rest here within Our hearth is your hearth and welcome to thee; Old tales to tell and new visions to see! It is also customary to light a new candle for the "new year". This ritual harkens back to the days when Samhain was one of only two days- the other being Beltaine-when it was considered correct to extinguish the "hearth fire" and then to re-light it. If your fire failed at any other time of the year, it was thought to be very bad luck indeed. Upon the rekindling of the fire in the morning, this blessing was often said: We Call Upon The Sacred Three: To Save... To Shield... To Surround The Hearth... The House... The Household This Night, Each Night, Every Night.! Many Witches of the Old Ways, actually celebrate "two" Samhains or Halloweens (Yes, some older traditions DO use the term "halloween"!) . The "Old" date for Samhain occurs when the sun has reached 15 degrees Scorpio. (As a side note, the Catholic Church has "borrowed" this same day to celebrate the holiday of "Martinmas".) So if you follow this Way, you can always celebrate the "party aspect" with your friends on one date and the "worship" part with your kin on the other. If you are interested in learning more about Samhain traditions and customs, you can read Peg Aloi's article entitled "You Call It Hallowe'en... We Call It Samhain" ABOUT... Christina Aubin Location: North Shore, Florida Other Articles: Christina Aubin has posted 26 additional articles- View them? Other Listings: To view ALL of my listings: Click HERE Email Christina Aubin... (No, I have NOT opted to receive Pagan Invites! Please do NOT send me anonymous invites to groups, sales and events.) To send a private message to Christina Aubin ... Pagan Essays 1996-2013 Article Author Title Pagan Web 8,000 Links Profile SiteName Owner Category Postal City Pagan Groups Local Covens etc. Name City Profile Path Postal Pagan/Witch 80,000 Profiles Name City Profile Path Likes Dislikes Gender SexOrient Relation US Postal Home - TWV Logos - Email US - Privacy News and Information Chapters: Pagan/Heathen Basics - Pagan BOOKS - Traditions, Paths & Religions - Popular Pagan Holidays - TV & Movies - Cats of the Craft - Festival Reviews - Festival Tips - White Pages (Resources) - Issues/Concerns - West Memphis 3 - Witch Hunts - Pagan Protection Tips - Healing Planet Earth Your Voices: Adult Essays - Young Pagan Essays - Pagan Perspectives (On Hold) - WitchWars: Fire in the Craft - Gay Pagan - Pagan Parenting - Military - Pagan Passages Pagan Music: Pagan Musicians - Bardic Circle at WitchVox - Free Music from TWV Vox Central: About TWV - Wren: Words, Wrants and Wramblings - Guest Rants - Past Surveys - A Quest for Unity Weekly Updates: Click HERE for an index of our weekly updates for the past 6 years W.O.T.W. - World-Wide Networking Your Town: A Link to YOUR Area Page (The largest listing of Witches, Pagans, Heathens and Wiccans on the Planet) VoxLinks: The Pagan Web: 8,000 Listings Your Witchvox Account: Log in Now - Create New Account - Request New Password - Log in Problems Personal Listings: Pagan Clergy in Your Town - Adult Pagans - Young Pagans - Military Pagans Events: Circles, Gatherings, Workshops & Festivals Covens/Groups/Orgs: Local Groups Main Page Other LOCAL Resources: Local Shops - Regional Sites - Local Notices - Global/National Notices - Local Skills & Services - Local Egroups - Political Freedom Fighters Pagan Shopping: Online Shops Index - Original Crafters Sites - Auction Sites - Pagan Wholesalers - Pagan Local Shops Web Site Content (including: text - graphics - html - look & feel) Copyright 1997-2013 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website. Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws. Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5. Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization. Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible. The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID. Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.

Witches, Pagans of The World Search Articles 1996-2013 ArticleAuthorTitle Chapters WhoisWho Traditions Basics Books Bardic Cats Essays Earth Festivals Fest Tips Free Tunes Gay Holidays Issues Military Music Opinions Parenting Protection Site Notes Teen TV/Movies Traditions Updates WitchVox WitchWars WitchHunts White WM3 WrenRants Your Area Your Town Adults Teens Military New Groups-A Groups-C Groups-T Events Shops-Net Shops-Loc 5000 Links Local Web Your Info  Current Topic  Editorial Guide NOTE: The essay on this page contains the writings and opinions of the listed author(s) and is not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Witches' Voice inc. The Witches' Voice does not verify or attest to the historical accuracy contained in the content of this essay. All WitchVox essays contain a valid email address, feel free to send your comments, thoughts or concerns directly to the listed author(s).