Samhain/Halloween

[meridian_rose]

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Samhain also known as Halloween, Hallowe'en, All Hallows Eve and Allhelgona amongst others takes place on the last day of October. It is the end of summer, where only summer and winter are recognised as seasons. In certain traditions this is the start of the new year. It is followed by All Saints Day in the Church calendar.

It is believed that the Veil between the worlds is at its thinnest at this time and so it is both a time to be wary of spirits – hence the jack'o'lanterns to scare away evil spirits – and to remember the ancestors. Some people hold a dumb supper at which their loved ones who have passed over are welcome at. It is an idea time for divination, be it through tarot cards, runes, scrying, or other means.

Apples are traditional for this festival, plain for apple bobbing, and covered in caramel as toffee apples/candy apples. Pumpkins are carved into lanterns, though any squash can be used, and before the American influence of pumpkins took over, the more traditional turnips and swedes prevailed in Ireland and Britian.

Colours include black, orange, grey, deep blue and deep purple. Stones like obsidian and amethyst are appropriate for October.

munanna introduced me to Allhelgona; the Swedish version of All Hallow's Eve - full name Alla Helgons Dag which translated to English would be "All Saints Day". For the protestants of the Swedish Church it's the time to go put flowers and little white candles on the graves of their loved ones. I saw a place of memory last year which didn't only have candles and flowers but tiny notes as well. Which sounds a lovely way to remember loved ones.

Some pagans worry about the more fun aspects of Halloween, like eating sweet foods, dressing up, and watching scary movies. The pagan about.com guide puts it like this: Think of Samhain and Halloween like this - one is spiritual, one is secular. There's no reason they have to be mutually exclusive at all. You can still observe the fun and silliness of Halloween -- and pig out on candy, if you like -- while maintaining the more somber traditions of honoring the dead at Samhain. The reverse follows; there's nothing pagan about putting on a costume for fun, and paganism has no exclusivity on honouring ancestors.

Soul Cakes –Discworld readers are familiar with the Soul Cake Duck, and this is the origin of that reference. Soul cakes were traditionally baked as a gift for the spirits of the dead. In many European countries, the idea of "Souling" became an acceptable alternative for Christians. The cakes took many different names and shapes -- in some areas, they were simple shortbread, and in others they were baked as fruit-filled tarts. Still other regions made them of rice flour. Generally, a soul cake was made with whatever grain the community had available. That text comes this site which has four recipes if you want to try baking something for the festival.

The goddess known as Cailleach in Scotland and parts of Ireland is the embodiment of the dark mother, the harvest goddess, the hag or crone entity… In some stories, she appears to a hero as a hideous old woman, and when he is kind to her, she turns into a lovely young woman who rewards him for his good deeds… Cailleach rules the dark half of the year, from Samhain to Beltane, while her young and fresh counterpart, Brighid or Bride, is the queen of the summer months. This site gives an overview of a winter deity. She's on my mind since she, like almost every other woman in the BBC show Merlin was shown in a bad light as the sacrifice demanding gatekeeper of the torn Veil. Given the overall events of that episode, I sort of want to write fix-it fic that incorporates her dual aspect of crone/maiden and giver of life as well as giver of death.

Across the world, in the Southern Hemisphere, it is Beltane, a fire festival full of fertility symbolism – the time of Brighid rather than the Cailleach.

Comments

Re: Part II

[meridian_rose]

Aw, that's lovely :D Thank you :D