Samhain

     A few years ago a friend asked why I'm so okay with all the "devil worship" of Halloween. I was really confused what she was talking about so had her explain. She was taking the Christian perspective of the holiday while I had already integrated my Celtic background into my Christian faith. Somewhere along the line All Hallow's Eve became a day to be feared because the dead were walking the earth.
     Halloween started out as the precursor to All Saint's Day, November 1st, when all the souls of the dead from the year wandered the earth in hopes of finding rest. Then, on All Saints Day they would travel to the next realm, whether that was the realm of the good (heaven) or evil (hell). We wear masks so that the evil spirits cannot recognize our human souls and therefore take us with them or manipulate our souls after they've gone on.
     Samhain itself is about the transition from summer into winter. It is the time when livestock is brought back from summer pastures and people prepare for the winter. It is one of four holidays in the Celtic calendar, resting almost halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. During the festival bonfires are lit as protective measures against spirits and fairies, but the souls of lost loved ones are welcomed to eat at the table with the living. Samhain pre-dates Christianity, and when the Christian All Saint's Day was moved to November 1st the two began to meld and became something like modern Halloween.
   The holiday is called by many different names and celebrated with different practices
, but most have some connection to the rebirth and celebration. It isn't about terrifying children, or about demons wandering the planet; it's about remembering the people we've lost and indulging in the "what if".