Samhain

Adrianne Ross
Lifespan Faith Development, UUA
Boston, MA

October 31st is Samhain (pronounced sow-in, the sow rhymes with cow) literally translated as “summer-end.” The Celtic people only recognized two seasons, light and dark, or summer and winter. Samhain, marking the end of the summer season, was also the last night of the year. The Celtic people are considered to fall under the broad definition of Indo-European, not as a racial grouping, but a grouping of people under guidelines of similar religious practices, cultural evidence, and language. This grouping is recognized from about 400 B.C.E.

Many have misinterpreted the celebration of Samhain as a festival dedicated to a god form named Sam Hain, who was supposedly the god of “death.” No such entity has ever been recognized in the Celtic cultures.

Samhain celebrates many concurrent events. It was the last night of the Celtic year; it was a celebration of their ancestors, those who had passed in the last year, and the many generations who had come before them; and it was time to have gathered the last harvest.

New Year
Samhain marked the beginning of the “dark” times. The days were dramatically shorter, and winter was definitely making its presence known to all. By Samhain, it was traditional to have wrapped up all your projects for the year, new barns built, wood gathered, etc. The harvest was in, and people were concentrating on battening down for the winter.

Some considered the time between Samhain and Yule (December 21st-23rd) as the time of “no-time.” Samhain was the closing of the old year, yet the “new” year didn’t begin until the return of the Sun, or Yule. These were considered dangerous times by some, when spirits would wander aimlessly about the Earth, with no light to guide them.

Jack-o’-Lanterns
Jack-o’-lanterns were carved out of turnips originally, and eventually the pumpkin was discovered to be a more suitable vessel from which to make lanterns. There are many different views, and reasons for the lighting of jack-o’-lanterns.

Jack of the Lantern, the namesake for these carved and lit-up vegetables, was a mischievous spirit who wandered the Earth at the time of Samhain. It was said that the lighting of jack-o’-lanterns would lure Jack into the light, trapping him in the turnip so that he couldn’t continue to cause mischief.

Some say the lit-up faces carved into the turnips/pumpkins would scare away any spirits intent on harm from the house, or anyone who carried the lanterns with them on that night.

Others seem to think that jack-o’-lanterns were carved to line the streets as a guide to usher the recently dead to the Summerland, the place of rest for the Celts. Souls who had passed away in the previous year might still be on this plane because they simply couldn’t find the Summerland. So these lanterns would help to guide them on their way.

Final Harvest
For a rural culture, timing was everything. The Celtic peoples depended heavily on the rural calendar system that was marked once every six weeks by what are called Sabbats. These Sabbats dictated the times to plant, to grow, to harvest, and rest. All the harvest had to be gathered in?barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples so that all of nature got its time to rest. The herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer hillside pastures to the shelter of stable and byre. The hay that would feed them during the winter needed to be stored in sturdy thatched ricks, and tied down securely against storms. Those animals destined for the table were slaughtered.

Samhain not only indicated the last harvest of the year, but the plunge into the “dark time” of the year. For the next 12 weeks people were meant to dedicate their time to introspective pursuits. They worked on the inside of the home and inside of themselves. They planned what they would like to “harvest” in the coming year, and began to plant those seeds at Imbolc (February 1st).

Ancestors
The dead are often associated with the dark. Even in the Dark/Middle Ages, the spirits that had not found peace were much more likely to wander the earthly plane at this time of year. “Dumb suppers” were often the solution to fend off spirits who may be into mischief-making, or simply honor those who had passed on.

At the celebration of Samhain feast, an entire place setting was set, and an empty chair pulled up to the table for the family’s ancestors, or those who had recently passed on. The dearly departed was served a whole meal and no one was allowed to sit in the chair or eat the food. The food would be given to the fey (magical, or fairy) creatures later that night by placing the plate outside. It was meant to honor all of the family/community ancestors. The Celts were a very superstitious people, and their rituals were very important to insure the safety of their community.

The Celebration/Ideas
Large feasts usually mark each Sabbat, and Samhain is no exception. Typical foods of the late summer harvest are prepared for the celebration. Nuts, squash, apples, corn, and ales are what largely make up the feast.

Games include dressing up to confuse the spirits, bobbing for apples, and carving vegetables for lanterns. Blind mazes, such as a corn maze, represent the Sun god’s trip through the womb. Typically these are spiral mazes. You enter in one way, and upon reaching the center you are cleansed of the year past. Exiting through an entirely different path, you are reborn anew to this world.

Another great idea is a scavenger or nature hunt. This becomes the urban harvest. Create a list of things that children can individually seek over the course of a week or two, or have one big scavenger hunt with them all at once. Use a rope to tie all of the things together, and hang it in the kitchen as a good luck piece to hold a family through the winter. On February 1st, they can take it from the wall, make a wish on it, and set it free into water (an ocean, lake, or river) or earth (bury it as one would a seed) or fire.

As this Samhain approaches, what is ending in you? What do you have inside that it is time to let go of? No healing can be complete until you get beyond recovery. Something old must be gotten rid of to make room for something new to be able to come in. Use the magic of this time to say good-bye to an old habit or addiction, an old relationship, or anything else it is time to leave behind.

At the same time, begin to think about what you would like to begin to bring into your life, and plan to plant the seeds of the new. What would you like to become involved with? A new type of job? A more meaningful spiritual path? A better way of relating with your partner? When something old is gone, it opens up a space to begin a new path. Samhain is a great time to clear those obstacles out of your life.