| A Wiccan Circle of Friends Samhain Traditions |
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| Carved Jack-O-lanterns, candles glowing in windows, mulled cider served with spiced pumpkinbread, costumnes of ghosts, witches, spirits and fantasy creatures, graveyards, and stories told gathered around a fire.......these all are tradttional things we associate with All Hallows Eve, Halloween, Samhain or The Festival of The Dead. No matter what we call it, or what part of the world one is from, this sabbot is engraved in history. Even now, in the new millenium of the 2000's the traditions still have survived. For those who practice wicca, we can see past the superficial...into the deeper meanings of these shadows of the past. The following are some common traditions and their historical and spiritual meanings. * *Candles and Jack-0-Lanterns* These luminous guides were to help to guide the way for our departed loved ones to find their way back to our door to visit on this night when the veil between the spirit world and mortal world is at its thinnest. The skull, or head that the Jack-0-lanterns represent are also a symbol of the mind and wisdom. * *Traditional foods of Samhain* The Goddess/Mother Earth now yeilds to the God/Lord of the Hunt. This is why Samhain is also known as the "meat harvest". Meats, particularly those that would in days gone by be smoked to store for the winter are traditional fare at Samhain. The late-autumn squash.....last to be harvested of the crops, is our reminder that now winter begins. Soul-warming soups and stews that would also be canned to preserve during winter are traditional. Pumpkins, winter squash, apples, guords, and indian corn do more than add colorful decoration at this Sabbat. They are a tangible reminder that the time of sowing and growing must temporarily cease. It is time to move more of our lives indoors. Thus we turn to inner reflection, and the inner self. * *Bobbing for apples* This fun tradition carries symbolic meaning as well. Apples symbolize the soul. The cauldron that they float in symbolizes the womb of the Goddess, the Source of life. Any form of apples.....candy apples, apple cider, bowls of apples, are traditional Samhain treats. * *Trick or Treat!* Children dressed as ghosts, fairytale charachters, and witches come visiting house to house begging for a treat. Those of us with an eye to the ancient celebration of Samhain see the symbolisim of the spirits of our loved ones and ancestors coming round to visit! What a great way for our children to enjoy this most beloved of Sabbats, by making it such an anticipated event for them as well. * *Ghost stories told around a fire* Well, rather than thinking of them as ghosts, if we uncover this tradition, we see the family or community gathering to remember loved ones and ancestors who have passed on. Sitting "in circle" as the bonfire or caldron fire burns in the center of the gathering, we share stories and memories, and keep them alive in our hearts, while at the same time passing on the tales of their lives to our children and our children's children. |
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