Celtic Holiday Samhain Hallowe'en

Samhain (pronounced saun or sawin)

This old Celtic, Irish and Scottish holiday denotes the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. It also denotes the “dark half” of the year. Samhain was the principal holiday with great celebrations and great bonfires set at the hill of Tara, the home of the royal court in medieval Ireland. The bonfires signaled to others to ritually light their festival bonfires all across Ireland.

This celebration honored the harvest and the dead that populated the earth before us. Samhain is thought to hold the thinnest veil between the living and the dead, a night when the spirits may come to visit. Often a place is set at the table out of respect for our loved ones now deceased and our ancestors to come join us for this night. A candle is also lit to invite them into the household including pets that have gone from us.

The Goddess becomes the Crone (wise woman) on this day, still ruling over Samhain. Light a candle to honor her, your ancestors and yourself, too. Cut away the unwanted old (negatives) and begin with the new. It’s a joyous, promising event lasting three days starting at sundown the 31st of October.