In honour of my first Samhain on the Blog I decided to do a little research, mainly online, into the history of this holiday. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
The night of October 31st is when it is said that the veil between the living and the dead becomes most fragile. Spirits may once again wander the earth if they manage to break through this veil, and attempt all kinds of things from comforting loved ones to attempting to harm us.
This veil was so thin because it was a time of great slaughterings across the British Isles, where the story of Halloween begins. At the end of summertime, after bringing in the harvest, animals would be slaughtered in order to stock up for the coming winter months. These deaths forced the veil thinner.
The weather becomes so cold and unforgiving around this time too, that many older, frailer, and sicker people died, and the deaths could also have been blamed on demons, who had snuck back through the veil to feed the living, and those sick people would get sicker and sicker as the demons and spirits fed on them. If they died, their passing would also force the veil thinner.
We dress up using masks, in what folklore tells us was an effort to confuse these wandering spirits so that they couldn't know who we are. Perhaps because you had wronged someone who had since passed and you were afraid their spirit might haunt you, or because any number of demons and dangers could want to prey on a human. If you went out, you wore a mask and carried a candle to ward them away from harming you.
This mask tradition became the dressing up at Halloween, and the Jack-o-Lanterns or carved pumpkins (originally turnips!) could also be a byproduct of this thinking - placing one outside your home could deter spirits who would see another spirit guarding the gateway.
This time of year, and specifically the night, is the best time it is said to appease the spirits of those deceased with treats and gifts. Perhaps this became trick-or-treating, which developed later in the US. Either way, the veil's thinning enables us to contact those who have passed and is a great time to remember lost loved ones and honour them...
As the nights draw in, and the cold starts clinging to us, it's easy to see this mystical time as a dangerous one. Nowadays it might not be as dangerous, but this time of year seems appropriate for remembering our ancestors and forgiving/forgetting past wrongs. As the Celtic new year dawns, so does we, leaving the baggage behind us and renewing our physical and mental defences.
If you feel yourself becoming sick, tired, frightened, or unlike yourself this Halloween, protect yourself! Wear a mask, carve a pumpkin/turnip/apple or anything to hand, and pay respects to our ancestors. It just might work.
