Halloween and the Celtic Samhain Origins
Many people associate Halloween with pagan rituals. But the truth is that it’s not pagan. Some historians from the West would say this is true, and that Halloween came from All Hallow Even, the day before All Saint’s Day. All Saint’s Day usually happens on the first day of November.
What’s your Halloween like?
Numerous parts of the world consider Halloween as a time to remember the departed souls of their loved ones in Purgatory. Those souls in Purgatory are considered to be souls midway between Heaven and Hell. These souls await final judgment by performing cleansing acts.
In Dante Alighieri’s books, the souls in Purgatorio are individuals who are neither in Paradiso nor Inferno. In the modern appropriation, the day next to All Hallowed Even is All Soul’s Day (carried out on November 2).
Samhain
Some scholars think that Halloween has its older roots in the Roman celebration of the Pomona, which is linked to the Roman goddess of harvest. Another Roman celebration that may have something to do with how Halloween is celebrated is the Parentilia. The Parentilia is a celebration of the dead.
Scholars point out that the Celtic origin of Halloween comes from the Samhain or Samuin (sow-an), which takes place after the summer days have ended. This celebration is often coordinated with the feast of Beltane. This feast celebrates the powers of life.
As you can already see, even the Celtic cultural tradition builds upon binaries, like Chinese medicine or Indian Ayurvedic tradition. There must be balance, so both the forces of death and life have to be in balance. Where there is balance of life and death energies, there is life. With imbalance, there is disease and famine.
More about the Samhain
The Samhain was actually an acknowledgement of the two opposing forces of life and death. Summer was usually the season when people tilled the Earth, planting and harvesting food. But when winter came along, man gave way to the powers of Nature, and submitted to the ice, wind, and cold.
Negative reaction to Halloween
In the past decades, there has been a negative reaction to the celebration of Halloween. Because the celebration is not completely Christian, many parents and school administrators think that the celebration should be banned completely in schools.
Although the ancient Celts did not likely worship the Christian Lucifer, a fallen angel, Samhain traditions are largely not acceptable in modern times.
Strange Depictions Of Halloween
In certain movies, such as those featuring the character of Michael Myers (The “Halloween” movie series), the Samhain celebration was the focus of the movie, covering a person’s sacrifice to negate the forces between life and death. The main character of this movie advocated traditional ceremonies wherein an image of the Samhain (which reeks of evil) was built.
And strangely enough, there are only a few existing records showing Druids actually carrying ritualistic celebrations. Pliny the Elder, a public figure, was the only one who provided a clue. But then again, humans were not sacrificed on a pointed stick, but they did use two white bulls in the ceremony, which looked like an ordinary offering for better fertility.
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