The Origins of Halloween

  In recent years,  there have been a number of  pamphlets put out by various
  Christian organizations  dealing with the  origins of modern  day Halloween
  customs. Being  a Witch myself,  and a student  of the ancient  Celts, from
  whom we get this holiday, I  have found these pamphlets woefully inaccurate
  and  poorly researched.  In an  effort to  correct some  of this  erroneous
  information, I have spent several  months researching the religious life of
  the  ancient Celtic  peoples and  the survivals  of that  religious life in
  modern  day  times.  Listed  below  are  some  of  the  most commonly asked
  questions concerning  the origins and  customs of Halloween.  Following the
  questions  is a  lengthy bibliography  where the  curious reader  can go to
  learn more about this holiday than space in this small pamphlet permits.

  1. Where does Halloween come from?

       Our  modern celebration  of Halloween  is a  descendent of the ancient
       Celtic fire  festival called "Samhain".  The word is  pronounced "sow-
       in", with "sow" rhyming with cow.

  2. What does "Samhain" mean?

       The  Irish English  dictionary published  by the  Irish Texts  Society
       defines the  word as follows:  "Samhain, All Hallowtide,  the feast of
       the  dead  in  Pagan  and  Christian  times,  signalizing the close of
       harvest  and the  initiation of  the winter  season, lasting till May,
       during  which troops  (esp. the  Fiann) were  quartered. Faeries  were
       imagined as particularly active at this  season. From it the half year
       is  reckoned.  also  called  Feile  Moingfinne  (Snow Goddess).(1) The
       Scottish Gaelis Dictionary defines it as "Hallowtide. The Feast of All
       Soula. Sam  + Fuin =  end of summer."(2)  Contrary to the  information
       published  by  many  organizations,  there  is  no  archaeological  or
       literary  evidence to  indicate that  Samhain was  a deity. The Celtic
       Gods of the dead were Gwynn ap Nudd for the British, and Arawn for the
       Welsh. The Irish did not have a "lord of death" as such.

  3. Why was the end of summer of significance to the Celts?

       The Celts were a pastoral people as opposed to an agricultural people.
       The end of summer was significant to them because it meant the time of
       year when the  structure of their lives changed  radically. The cattle
       were brought down from the summer pastures in the hills and the people
       were gathered  into the houses  for the long  winter nights of  story-
       telling and handicrafts.

  4. What does it have to do with a festival of the dead?

       The  Celts believed  that when  people died,  they went  to a  land of
       eternal youth and  happiness called Tir nan Og. They  did not have the
       concept  of heaven  and hell  that the  Christian church later brought
       into the  land. The dead were  sometimes believed to be  dwelling with
       the  Fairy Folk,  who lived  in the  numerous mounds  or sidhe  (pron.
       "shee") that  dotted the Irish  and Scottish countryside.  Samhain was
       the  new year  to the  Celts.  In  the Celtic  belief system,  turning
       points, such as the time between one  day and the next, the meeting of
       sea and shore, or  the turning of one year into the  next were seen as
       magickal times. The  turning of the year was the  most potent of these
       times. This was the time when the "veil between the worlds" was at its
       thinnest, and the living could  communicate with their beloved dead in
       Tir nan Og.

  5. What about the aspects of "evil" that we associate with the night today?

       The Celts did  not have demons and devils in  their belief system. The
       fairies,  however,  were  often  considered  hostile  and dangerous to
       humans because  they were seen as  being resentful of men  taking over
       their  lands. On  this night,  they would  sometimes trick humans into
       becoming  lost  in  the  fairy  mounds,  where  they  would be trapped
       forever.  After the  coming of   the Christians  to the  Celtic lands,
       certain  of the  folk saw  the fairies  as those  angels who had sided
       neither  with Gor  or with  Lucifer in  their dispute,  and thus, were
       condemned to walk the earth until  judgment day.(3) In addition to the
       fairies,  many humans  were abroad  on this  night, causing  mischief.
       since this  night belonged neither  to one year  or the other,  Celtic
       folk  believed  that  chaos  reigned  and  the  people would engage in
       "horseplay and practical jokes".(4) This served also as a final outlet
       for high spirits before the gloom of winter set in.

  6. What about "trick or treat"?

       During the course  of these hijinks, many of  the people would imitate
       the fairies and go from house  to house begging for treats. Failure to
       supply  the  treats  would  usually  result  in  practical jokes being
       visited on  the owner of the  house. Since the fairies  were abroad on
       this night, an  offering of food or milk was  frequently left for them
       on the steps  of the house, so the homeowner  could gain the blessings
       of the "good  folk" for the coming year. Many  of the households would
       also leave out a "dumb supper" for the spirits of the departed.(5) The
       folks who were  abroad in the night imitating  the fairies would some-
       times carry turnips  carved to represent faces. This  is the origin of
       our modern Jack-o-lantern.

  7. Was this also a religious festival?

       Yes. Celtic religion  was very closely tied to  the Earth. Their great
       legends  are  concerned  with  momentous  happenings  which took place
       around the time  of Samhain. many of the great  battles and legends of
       kings and heroes center on this night. Many of the legends concern the
       promotion of fertility  of the earth and the  insurance of the contin-
       uance of the lives of the people through the dark winter season.

  8. How was the religious festival observed?

       Unfortunately, we  know very little  about that. W.G.  Wood-Martin, in
       his book,  "Traces of the Elder  Faiths of Ireland" states,  "There is
       comparitively little trace  of the religion of the  Druids now discov-
       erable ,  save in the  folklore of the  peasantry, and the  references
       relative to it  that occur in ancient and  authentic Irish manuscripts
       are,  as far  as present  appearances go,  meagre and  insufficient to
       support  anything like  a sound   theory for  full development  of the
       ancient  religion."(6)  The  Druids  were  the  priests  of the Celtic
       peoples. They passed  on their teachings by oral  tradition instead of
       committing  them to  writing, so   when they  perished, most  of their
       religious  teachings were  lost. We   DO know  that this  festival was
       characterized as one of the four  great "Fire Festivals" of the Celts.
       Legends tell  us that on this  night, all the hearth  fires in Ireland
       were extinguished, and then re-lit from the central fire of the Druids
       at  Tlachtga, 12  miles from  the royal  hill of  Tara. This  fire was
       kindled from "need  fire" which had been generated  by the friction of
       rubbing two  sticks together as  opposed to more  conventional methods
       common in those days.(7) The extinguishing of the fires symbolized the
       "dark half"  of the year, and  the re-kindling from the  Druidic fires
       was  symbolic  of  the  returning  life  hoped  for, and brought about
       through the ministrations of the priesthood.

  9. What about sacrifices?

       Animals were certainly killed at this  time of year. This was the time
       to  "cull" from  the herds  those animals  which were  not desired for
       breeding  purposes for  the next  year. Most  certainly, some of these
       would  have been  done in  a  ritualistic  manner for  the use  of the
       priesthood.

  10. Were humans sacrificed?

       Scholars  are  sharply  divided  on  this  account,  with  about  half
       believing that  it took place  and half doubting  its veracity. Caesar
       and Tacitus ceratinly tell tales of the human sacrifices of the Celts,
       but Nora  Chadwick points out in  her book" The Celts"  that"it is not
       without  interest  that  the  Romans  themselves  had  abolished human
       sacrifices  not  long  before  Caesar's  time,  and  references to the
       practice  among various  barbarian peoples  have certain  overtones of
       self-righteousness.  There  is  little  direct archaeological evidence
       relevant to Celtic sacrifice."(8) Indeed, there is little reference to
       this practice  in Celtic literature  either. The only  surviving story
       echoes the  story of the  Minotaur in Greek  legend. The Fomorians,  a
       race of  evil giants said  to inhabit portions  of Ireland before  the
       coming  of the  Tuatha de  Danaan, or  "people of  the Goddess  Danu",
       demanded the sacrifice of 2/3 of  the corn, milk, and first born chil-
       dren of the  Fir Bolg, or human inhabitants of  Ireland. The De Danaan
       ended  this  practice  in  the   second  battle  of  Moy  Tura,  which
       incidentally took place on Samhain.

  11. What other practices were associated with this season?

       Folk tradition  tells us of many  divination practices associated with
       Samhain. Among the most common were divinations dealing with marriage,
       weather, and  the coming fortunes  for the year.  These were performed
       via such methods as ducking for apples, and apple peeling. Ducking for
       apples was  a marriage divination. The  first person to bite  an apple
       would be  the first to marry  in the coming year.  Apple peeling was a
       divination to see how long your life would be. The longer the umbroken
       apple peel, the  longer your life was destined  to be.(9) In Scotland,
       people would place  stones in the ashes of  the hearth before retiring
       for the night. Anyone whose stone  had been disturbed during the night
       was said to be destined to die during the coming year.

  12. How did these ancient Celtic practices come to America?

       When  the potato  crop in  Ireland failed,  many of  the Irish people,
       modern day  descendents of the Celts,  immigrated to America, bringing
       with them their  folk practices, which are the  remnants of the Celtic
       festival observances.

  13. We in America view this as a harvest festival. Did the Celts also
      view it as such?

       Yes.  The  Celts  had  3  harvests:  Aug  1,  or Lammas, was the first
       harvest, when the first fruits were offered to the Gods in thanks. The
       Fall Equinox  was the "true  harvest". This was  when the bulk  of the
       crops would be brought in. Samhain  was the final harvest of the year.
       Anything  left on  the vines  or  in  the fields  after this  date was
       considered  blasted by  the fairies,  or "pu'ka",  and unfit for human
       consumption.

  14. Does anyone today celebrate Samhain as a religious observance?

       Yes.  many followers  of various  pagan religions,  such as Druids and
       Wiccans observe  this day as a  religious festival. They view  it as a
       memorial day for  their dead friends, similar to  the national holiday
       of Memorial Day in May. It is  still a night to practice various forms
       of divination concerning future events.  Also, it is considered a time
       to wrap  up old projects,  take stock of  ones life, and  initiate new
       projects for the coming year. As  the winter season is approaching, it
       is a  good time to  do studying on  research projects and  also a goot
       time to begin hand work  such as sewing, leather working, woodworking,
       etc. for Yule gifts later in the year.

  15. Does this involve human or animal sacrifice?

       Absolutely  NOT! Hollywood  to the  contrary, blood  sacrifice is  not
       practiced by modern  day followers of Wicca or  Druidism. There may be
       some people  who THINK they  are practicing Wicca  by performing blood
       sacrifices, but this is NOT condoned by reputable practitioners of the
       modern day NeoPagan religions.

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       FOOTNOTES:
       (1) Rev. Patrick Dineen, "An Irish English Dictionary" (Dublin, 1927),
           p.  937
       (2) Malcolm   MacLennan,  "A  Pronouncing  and  Etymological
           Dictionary of the  Gaelic Language" (Aberdeen, 1979), p.  279
       (3) W.G. Wood-Martin,"Traces of the Elder  Faiths of Ireland" (Port
           Washington, 1902), p. 5.
       (4) Kevin  Danaher,"The Year in Ireland", (Cork,1972), p. 214
       (5) Alwyn & Brinley  Rees,"Celtic Heritage" (New York,1961), p. 90
       (6) Wood-Martin, p. 249
       (7) Rees & Rees, p. 90
       (8) Nora Chadwick, "The Celts"  (Harmondsworth,1982),  p.  151
       (9) Madeleine  Pelner Cosman, "Medieval   Holidays  and   Festivals,"
           (New   York,  1981),   p.  81

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       BIBLIOGRAPHY:
       Bord, Janet & Colin, "The Secret Country", London:  Paladin Books, 1978
       Chadwick, Nora, "The Celts", Harmondsworth:  Penguin Books, 1982
       Coglan, Ronan, "A Dictionary of Irish Myth and Legend", Dublin,1979
       Cosman, Madeleine  Pelner, "Medieval Holidays and Festivals",
          New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981
       Danaher, Kevin, "The Year in Ireland", Cork:  The Mercier Press, 1972
       Dineen, Rev. Patrick S.,M.A, "An Irish English Dictionary", Dublin:
          The Irish texts Society, 1927
       MacCana, Proinsias, "Celtic Mythology", London:  The Hamlyn Publishing
          Group Limited, 1970
       MacLennan, Malcolm, "A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the
          Gaelic Language", Aberdeen: Acair and Aberdeen University Press, 1979
       MacNeill, Maire', "The Festival of Lughnasa", Dublin:  Comhairle
          Bhealoideas Eireann,1982
       Powell, T.G., E., "The Celts", New York:  Thanes & Hudson,1980
       Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, "Celtic Heritage, Ancient Traditions in Ireland
          and Wales", New York:  Thanes & Hudson, 1961
       Sharkey, John, "Celtic Mysteries", New York: Thanes and Hudson, 1975
       Spence, Lewis, "British Fairy Origins", Wellingborough:  Aquarian Press,
          1946
       Squire, Charles, "Celtic Myth & Legend,  Poetry & Romance", New York:
          Newcastle Publishing Co, Inc. 1975
       Toulson, Shirley, "The Winter Solstice", London:  Jill Norman & Hobhouse,
          Ltd, 1981
       Wood-Martin, W.G., "Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, Vols I & II,
          Port Washington: Kennikat Press, 1902 (c)

  copywrite 1988, Rowan Moonstone P O Box 21058 OKC. OK 73120 Permission
       is granted for use by pagan groups and on pagan BBS systems.All others
       must contact the author prior to use.