Hallowe'en

Celtic New Year

This is fall.  Autumn.  The close of harvest and the beginning of the winter months.  In a few short weeks, snow will fly and people will remain close to home.

This is a time for harvest festivals and giving thanks for the recent harvest.

The Celts were an agrarian society, as were most peoples at that time.  The rhythms of the seasons was important to them.  And they paid attention to these rhythms.  Autumn, with the final harvests in, was the end of the productive time of year.  It was the end of the old year and the beginning of the new.

It was also the time between - between the summer and the winter, between the hot months and the snow, between the work and the long rest of winter's dormancy.  And they chose this season to be the end and the beginning of the year.

Samhain, pronounced 'Sau-en', meant 'Summer's end'.  This between-time was a time for celebration for the harvest and companionship before the snows cut people off from each other.  It was also a time of silliness after months of serious labor.  People dressed up and played tricks on each other.  And they showed the bounty of their lands with treats.

It was a time of spinning tales around the fire, tales of ancestors and spirits and legendary heroes.  When the communities could gather this way, it was a good time to pass on the acquired knowledge of the ages to a new generation.

Religiously, this shadowy beween-time was a doorway to another world.  Since this day was considered to be a day without a year, the normal rules did not apply and spirits walked the earth once more.  Ancestors visited their descendants and ate a formal 'Silent Supper' provided by their families.  Faeries who were known to walk among men invisibly could be seen by those gifted with the 'Sight', moving from their summer quarters to their winter homes.

Thanks was offered to the Deities for the harvest, and requests made with the aid of sacrifices for the next year's yield.  Heads of enemies slain in battle were brought out and displayed to prove that their spirits could not walk and disturb the living.

These days, Samhain is called Hallowe'en, or All Hallows' Eve, or the eve of Hallowmas.  It is celebrated on 31 October, but there are other ways to calculate the religious observance.  Some count it by the first full moon in Scorpio; others by the sun's arrival at 15 degrees Scorpio.

Many Christian groups would prefer that Hallowe'en be dropped from non-religious observance.  They believe that this is a Satanic holiday, encouraged by a few who would like to shock and dismay the people around them.  They feel that the day gives glory to Satan, the evil antithesis of their God.  They believe that Hallowe'en makes Satanic practices available and even attractive to their children, and down-plays the grasping of the Devil for people's souls.  While I do not agree with their assessment, since it's based on erroneous information, I don't condemn them for wanting to protect their own.

Hallowe'en today is celebrated mostly by the young, or young at heart.  Costumes are worn which originally depicted ghosts, devils, monsters, and a vast array of Otherworldly creatures.  Now you can find popular movie and television charicters as well, presidents and occupations.  Children make the rounds of nearby houses yelling 'Trick or Treat!' and coming off with treats.  There are parties with games like dunking for apples and pop the balloons.

Tricks are played, most notably and shamefully, Pumpkin-smashing.  Tricks that were played by our parents and grandparents are simply not possible if they involve outhouses.  But the tradition of ignoring convention in this between-time continues, even though the significance of the day is no longer acknowledged.

I love Hallowe'en as a temporal celebration.  The mood is that of a huge party.  Dressing up as someone else, or as what you'd like to be when you grow up is fun for a kid, and just as much for an adult.  The feel of the air, the warmth mixed with the hint of winter, gives an urgency to the proceedings as though this were the last time we could all meet, at least until spring.  It makes us silly and happy and causes us to appreciate each other and what we have.

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