Samhain is a festival that is celebrated by many Pagans throughout the world and is considered by Wiccans to be one of the four major sabbats. Also known as Halloween and All Hallows Eve, the origins of this day is one that goes back thousands of years to the time of the ancient Celtic people. Samhain, pronounced sow-en or sah-van, is both a solemn and festive holiday that is a time to express gratitude and to remember loved ones and ancestors who have passed from this world. To understand Samhain a little better it is important to look back on its origins.

The ancient Celts divided their year into two halves, the dark half and the light half. The dark half, which began at Samhain was also considered the first half of their year so many modern-day Pagans view Samhain as the beginning of the new year. The Celtic people were a pastoral people and Samhain marked a time when cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in preparation of the harsh winter months ahead. It was also a time of harvesting the last crops of the field and having a feast celebration that included a variety of festivities. Bonfires were lit in villages and, following custom, each family hearth flame was extinguished then re-lit with embers from the village bonfire. Sometimes two bonfires were lit and cattle were driven between them as a ritual of purification and fertility to help ensure further food stocks in the new year. It was customary in some areas to set a place at the table for those who had passed away and, on the night of Samhain, to tell stories of family ancestors. This connection of the past and the present was very important to the ancient Celts and continues to be a important to many modern-day Pagans.
 
Samhain Today

Today Samhain is celebrated by Pagans in a variety of ways but one of the common beliefs is that it is a time when the veil between this world and the world of those who have died is at its thinnest. For this reason it is a time to reflect and pay respects to family and friends who have departed and also to remember ancestors from long ago. For Pagans, death and birth are closely intertwined so, for this reason, death is not looked at as morbid or taboo but is seen as part of a continuous circle of life. Remembering the dead is seen as a way to stay connected with one’s roots and to also connect with the earth’s cycle of birth, death and re-birth.

People who follow the tradition of Celtic Reconstructionism maintain a link of some kind year-round with their departed ancestors but Samhain holds particular significance. Often a meal is prepared in which a place is set for departed loved ones and a door or window that is facing west will be opened to allow the dead who are invited to attend. The west is seen as the direction in which the dead follow to journey to the Otherworld and a candle may be placed in a western window as a way to guide the departed home.

To Wiccans, Samhain is one of the eight major sabbats that make up the Wheel of the Year and it is considered by many Wiccans to be the most important of the four major sabbats also known as fire festivals. Many Wiccan traditions deity as dualist, as God and Goddess. At the time of Samhain the God is Horned One, the god of the hunt, and is symbolic of grain that is harvested and the animal that dies so that we may eat. The Goddess during this time is seen as the Crone, who is a wise woman and teacher. Wiccans may celebrate Samhain in a group (coven) or in a solitary ritual. The ritual often involves the casting of a protective circle, the lighting of candles to mark the four directions and confine the healing energies within it, recitations, divination and the closing or banishment of the circle.

There are a variety of ways in which modern-day Pagans celebrate Samhain but one common custom is to decorate an altar in the home with seasonal items such as flowers, dried corn, gourds, small pumpkins, apples and candle with autumn colors such as gold and orange. Other common traditions for Samhain are meditation, various forms of divination and family games. It can be both and intensely personal and introspective day and a day for fun and celebration.
 
Samhain Misconceptions

Samhain is sometimes mistakenly believed to be connected with ritual sacrifices performed by the ancient Druids. However there is no historical or archeological evidence that the ancient Druids ever sacrificed anyone.

Samhain is not connected with either a Celtic god of the dead or a Sun god. The Celts may have had a deity by the name of Samhain but he was an obscure character who was not related to death. An erroneous deity that is at times connected with Samhain by non-Pagans is a sun God named Muck-Olla. However he did not exist during Celtic times and appears to be some type of legend that originated in Yorkshire, England.

The word Samhain actually has nothing to do with a god of any kind but, according to McBain’s Etymology of the Gaelic Language, the word means “summer’s end”.
 
There is a myth that the Jack O'Lantern is the symbol of a damned soul, but that is just it, a myth. In fact it goes back to a little 18th century Irish myth about a character named Jack O'Lantern. There are some erroneous claims that the ancient Celts carved evil symbols in Jack O'Lanterns but this is untrue since the pumpkin was not introduced to Europe until the 1500's. The ancient people of Ireland and Britain may have carved out turnips and gourds for lanterns and they may have carved faces or symbols in them to ward off what they perceived as evil spirits.