It sure would help if the Celts could spell. Who would guess that "Samhain" is pronounced 'sow-wen'?

Natalie,

Thank you for this very intriguing history lesson. I enjoyed reading it.

Connie

Isn't Samhain one of the Forsaken in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, too?

Nah, it's a holiday, I think, Aaman. He pulled a lot of stuff from folklore, etc.

-LM, token WoT geek

The funny thing is that, assuming the history given is correct (which I'm sure Dave Nalle will pop in and humbug in a few minutes), the question still enters my mind whether Samhain was a religious festival.

There are Christians who will not celebrate Halloween as Halloween, or enjoy many of its associated elements (bobbing for apples, etc.) because they feel they would be participating in "pagan" celebration.

But through much of history there has been no distinction between religious and non-religious activity. It is within human nature to mark the passing of seasons, to reflect on the truth that we all will die some day, and to party, and that the Celts (see Dave Nalle Proviso above) did these things within their belief framework doesn't inherently associate apples with a particular set of pagan beliefs.

Natalie, this is wonderful! :-)

My rituals include burning a slightly dried rose for each departed one (it smells wonderful and you can wave it around like a torch or sparkler) and assembling CD mixes featuring dead artists and tribute songs.

I'm sort of glad that we Pagans are being mostly ignored by the commercialization.

Nat, give us more details: where did the carved pumpkins come from, for instance, and the trick or treating? Surely there's a lot more?

I shall watch "Fearless Vampire Killers" (yeah, the one with Roman Polanski & the late Sharon Tate), "Nightmare Before Christmas" (because it's cute), & "Jaws" (still the scariest movie I know), light my pumpkins (their inside tops dusted with cinnamon to release a lovely Halloween odor when the candles heat it up), and quaff hard cider, my salute to the Celts & authentic Samhain.

Pumpkins - Skulls of ancestors were place around the fire at this time of year for many years in scotland before the practice was outlawed by the church. Stones and turnips repalced the skulls, pumpkins replaced the turnip.

Trick or Treat - food was offered to the dead at this time of year with a Dumb (silent) supper or other festive celebrations. Dressing up as ancestors (the dead) to get offerings from neighbours was part of the festivity.

What were the skulls placed around the fire for? Was this before the offeratory dinner, during, or after?

I'd heard once before about the turnips; I guess they're a bit of a bear to hollow out, tho, as opposed to pumpkins, so I can see why as soon as pumpkins became generally available in the 17th century, they'd become the veg of choice.

Back to the skulls thing: were they kept around unburied by the Scots during the year, kind of like in contemporary households in New Guinea? Or did they warehouse them in crypts or somewhere during the rest of the year?