The Real History Of Halloween From an Ex-Wiccan

[Lady Valkyrie]

Most of you fellow boardies know that I used to be a Wiccan. What you don't know is that I followed mainly the Celtic ways. Soon it will be one of the most important holidays for Wiccans who follow the Celtic ways. I highly regarded October 31st as a sacred holiday when I was a Wiccan. However American society has taken this holiday of the pagans and made it into silliness about ghouls, goblins, ghosts, monsters, & begging for candy. Most Wiccans looked down upon the modern day version of Holloween, for it seems to downplay a very real sacred holiday for them.

The following is quite lengthy however, it is THE truth on the history of Holloween. It tells it's history, meaning, rituals, & it's modern day significants to those who are neo-pagans.

Please I ask that if you don't feel like reading all of this now, then save it & read it when you have time. It is important that you know the truth of this holiday. It is truely a pagan holiday & Christians should be aware of the truth.

Each person has to make the decsion for themselves whether or not they should celebrate Halloween. Since I have gave up Wiccan & have become a Christian, personally I refuse to allow my children to participate in the ritual of begging for candy in costumes. First & foremost it is IMHO participating in a pagan holiday which the Bible tells Christians not to do is totally wrong & hypocritical of the Christian. Also don't we spend 364 days of the year telling our kids not to take things from strangers & on one day out of the year we send them off in silly costumes begging candy from perfect strangers.

Our modern celebration of Halloween is a descendent of the ancient Celtic fire festival called "Samhain". The word is pronounced "sow-in", with "sow" rhyming with cow. Samhain is the the Celtic New Year. It's actually November 1, but in ancient times, each day began at sundown the "day before" (instead of sunrise "that day"), and festivities therefore began at night.

The Irish English dictionary published by the Irish Texts Society defines the word as follows: "Samhain, All Hallowtide, the feast of the dead in Pagan and Christian times, signalizing the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season, lasting till May, during which troops were quartered. Faeries were imagined as particularly active at this season. From it the half year is reckoned. also called Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess). The Scottish Gaelis Dictionary defines it as "Hallowtide. The Feast of All Soula. Sam + Fuin = end of summer." Contrary to the information published by many organizations, there is no archaeological or literary evidence to indicate that Samhain was a deity. The Celtic Gods of the dead were Gwynn ap Nudd for the British, and Arawn for the Welsh. The Irish did not have a "lord of death" as such.

The Celts were a pastoral people as opposed to an agricultural people. The end of summer was significant to them because it meant the time of year when the structure of their lives changed radically. The cattle were brought down from the summer pastures in the hills and the people were gathered into the houses for the long winter nights of story- telling & handicrafts.

The Celts believed that when people died, they went to a land of eternal youth and happiness called Tir nan Og. They did not have the concept of heaven & hell that the Christian church later brought into the land. The dead were sometimes believed to be dwelling with the Fairy Folk, who lived in the numerous mounds or sidhe (pronounced "shee") that dotted the Irish & Scottish
countryside. Samhain was the new year to the Celts. In the Celtic belief system, turning points, such as the time between one day & the next, the meeting of sea & shore, or the turning of one year into the next were seen as magickal times. The turning of the year was the most potent of these times. This was the time when the "veil between the worlds" was at its thinnest, and the living could communicate with their beloved dead in Tir nan Og.

The Celts did not have demons and devils in their belief system. The fairies, however, were often considered hostile and dangerous to humans because they were seen as being resentful of men taking over their lands. On this night, they would sometimes trick humans into becoming lost in the fairy mounds, where they would be trapped forever. After the coming of the Christians to the Celtic lands, certain of the folk saw the fairies as those angels who had sided neither with God or with Lucifer in their dispute, & thus, were condemned to walk the earth until judgment day. In addition to the fairies, many humans were abroad on this night, causing mischief. since this night belonged neither to one year or the other, Celtic folk believed that chaos reigned & the people would engage in "horseplay and practical jokes". This served also as a final outlet for high spirits before the gloom of winter set in.

During the course of these horseplay & practical jokes, many of the people would imitate the fairies and go from house to house begging for treats. Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house. Since the fairies were abroad on this night, an offering of food or milk was frequently left for them on the steps of the house, so the homeowner could gain the blessings of the "good folk" for the coming year. Many of the households would also leave out a "dumb supper" for the spirits of the departed. The folks who were abroad in the night imitating the fairies would some- times carry turnips carved to represent faces. This is the origin of our modern Jack-o-lantern.

Yes this celebration was a religious festival. Celtic religion was very closely tied to the Earth. Their great legends are concerned with momentous happenings which took place around the time of Samhain. many of the great battles and legends of kings and heroes center on this night. Many of the legends concern the promotion of fertility of the earth and the insurance of the continuance of the lives of the people through the dark winter season.

Unfortunately, we know very little about how this was all observed. W.G. Wood-Martin, in his book, "Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland" states, "There is comparitively little trace of the religion of the Druids now discoverable, save in the folklore of the peasantry, and the references relative to it that occur in ancient & authentic Irish manuscripts are, as far as present appearances go, meagre and insufficient to support anything like a sound theory for full development of the ancient religion." The Druids were the priests of the Celtic peoples. They passed on their teachings by oral tradition instead of committing them to writing, so when they perished, most of their religious teachings were lost. We DO know that this festival was characterized as one of the four great "Fire Festivals" of the Celts. Legends tell us that on this night, all the hearth fires in Ireland were extinguished, & then re-lit from the central fire of the Druids at Tlachtga, 12 miles from the royal hill of Tara. This fire was kindled from "need fire" which had been generated by the friction of rubbing two sticks together as opposed to more conventional methods common in those days. The extinguishing of the fires symbolized the "dark half" of the year, & the re-kindling from the Druidic fires was symbolic of the returning life hoped for, & brought about through the ministrations of the priesthood.

Animals were certainly killed at this time of year as a sacrifice. This was the time to "cull" from the herds those animals which were not desired for breeding purposes for the next year. Most certainly, some of these would have been done in a ritualistic manner for the use of the priesthood.

Scholars are sharply divided on whether humans were sacrificed as well, with about half believing that it took place & half doubting its veracity. Caesar and Tacitus certainly tell tales of the human sacrifices of the Celts, but Nora Chadwick points out in her book "The Celts" that "it is not without interest that the Romans themselves had abolished human sacrifices not long before Caesar's time, & references to the practice among various barbarian peoples have certain overtones of self-righteousness. There is little direct archaeological evidence relevant to Celtic sacrifice." Indeed, there is little reference to this practice in Celtic literature either. The only surviving story echoes the story of the Minotaur in Greek legend. The Fomorians, a race of evil giants said to inhabit portions of Ireland before the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan, or "people of the Goddess Danu",demanded the sacrifice of 2/3 of the corn, milk, and first born children of the Fir Bolg, or human inhabitants of Ireland. The De Danaan ended this practice in the second battle of Moy Tura, which incidentally took place on Samhain.

Folk tradition tells us of many divination practices associated with Samhain. Among the most common were divinations dealing with marriage, weather, and the coming fortunes for the year. These were performed via such methods as ducking for apples, and apple peeling. Ducking for apples was a marriage divination. The first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry in the coming year. Apple peeling was a divination tosee how long your life would be. The longer the unbroken apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be. In Scotland, people would place stones in the ashes of the hearth before retiring for the night. Anyone whose stone had been disturbed during the night was said to be destined to die during the coming year.

[Lady Valkyrie]

This is how these ancient Celtic practices came to America... When the potato crop in Ireland failed, many of the Irish people, modern day descendents of the Celts, immigrated to America, bringing with them their folk practices, which are the remnants of the Celtic festival observances.

Americans view this as a harvest festival & yes the Celts thought of it as such as well. The Celts had 3 harvests: Aug 1, or Lammas, was the first harvest, when the first fruits were offered to the Gods in thanks. The Fall Equinox was the "true harvest". This was when the bulk of the crops would be brought in. Samhain was the final harvest of the year. Anything left on the vines or in the fields after this date was considered blasted by the fairies, or "pu'ka", & unfit for human consumption.

Many followers of various pagan religions, such as Druids & Wiccans observe this day as a religious festival. They view it as a memorial day for their dead friends, similar to the national holiday of Memorial Day in May. It is still a night to practice various forms of divination concerning future events. Also, it is considered a time to wrap up old projects, take stock of ones life, and initiate new projects for the coming year. As the winter season is approaching, it is a good time to do studying on research projects and also a goot time to begin hand work such as sewing, leather working, woodworking, etc. for Yule gifts later in the year.

Blood sacrifices are no longer observed by modern day neo-pagans. There may be some people who THINK they are practicing Wicca by performing blood sacrifices, but this is NOT condoned by reputable practitioners of the modern day NeoPagan religions.

[Read JDM]

Interesting. You actually made it sound not as bad as I thought it would've been, particularly because I would've expected something more on human sacrifice and yet you say the evidence to suggest such sacrifices were made is inconclusive. I'm still not one for dressing up and "celebrating" this day, but I'm curious, beyond the facts what's your personal perspective on Halloween?

[Lady Valkyrie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Read JDM, but I'm curious, beyond the facts what's your personal perspective on Halloween?

I gave my personal perspective already.

Quote:

Originally posted by Lady Valkyrie
Each person has to make the decsion for themselves whether or not they should celebrate Halloween. Since I have gave up Wiccan & have become a Christian, personally I refuse to allow my children to participate in the ritual of begging for candy in costumes. First & foremost it is IMHO participating in a pagan holiday which the Bible tells Christians not to do is totally wrong & hypocritical of the Christian.  Also don't we spend 364 days of the year telling our kids not to take things from strangers & on one day out of the year we send them off in silly costumes begging candy from perfect strangers.

[souldancer]

I thought that Halloweeen was about the Eve before All Saint's(Souls) Day? Any comments/feedback.. Thanks

[Read JDM]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lady Valkyrie
I gave my personal perspective already.

You know what? By the time I got to the end, I completely forgot you wrote that part. Now, what I'd really like to know is, what are your thoughts on the Pagan rituals erroneously embedded in Christian holiday customs? For example, Christmas trees. I know, I know, they can be considered "fun," but to me they compromise the true meaning of the holiday. What's your take?

[Lady Valkyrie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Read JDM
<b>You know what? By the time I got to the end, I completely forgot you wrote that part. Now, what I'd really like to know is, what are your thoughts on the Pagan rituals erroneously embedded in Christian holiday customs? For example, Christmas trees. I know, I know, they can be considered "fun," but to me they compromise the true meaning of the holiday. What's your take? </b>

One holiday at a time dear I deal with one holiday at a time. Let the people absorb and discuss Holloween first. I'll deal with Christmas in a seperate thread. LOL You reminded me of the stores who put out Christmas decorations with the Holloween one in October. LOL

[Read JDM]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lady Valkyrie
One holiday at a time dear I deal with one holiday at a time. Let the people absorb and discuss Holloween first. I'll deal with Christmas in a seperate thread. LOL You reminded me of the stores who put out Christmas decorations with the Holloween one in October. LOL

Well, it's funny you should mention that, because it's precisely those stores that make me believe the power of faith has been bastardized by 20th century wants and needs.

[allison]

I always celebrated Halloween as a child but as an adult I have grown to dislike it. I'm not really sure why. I just don't like the "feel" of it - that's all I know to say. I don't even like seeing Halloween decorations.

[Lady Valkyrie]

You know what allison? I have spoken with a lot of Christians who say the same thing. They say that they did the whole trick or treating thing as a child and yet as mature Christian adults they "feel" that there is just "something" not right about the holiday. IMHO I feel that is the Holy Spirit of God trying to help them to realize that this holiday is in reality a pagan holiday and that Christians shouldn't observe such things.

Now please remember that I am not for a moment judging anyone who does celebrate this holiday. I used to celebrate it with my kids up until a few years ago. It's just that my Lord and Savior has led me to these conclusions via the knowledge that I gained as a Wiccan. I feel that Christians should be aware of the facts then they can make an educated decsion either way.

[Read JDM]

I feel the same way, you guys. As a kid, I loved Halloween, but now I'm very standoffish about it. If and when I have kids, I'll let them get dressed like all the other kids at school, because I think it could potentially be just as damaging to keep them from what everyone else is doing (I stress potentially, because I don't have kids yet and therefore don't know for sure), but I'll try and move them away from it at the earliest age they're able to understand why.

Friday the 13th, Halloween, ghoasts, evil spirits, ect. Its all just an 'illusion' to me. There is something wrong if people think those are all real things on this planet. From a scietific stand point, its all a pseudo-science.

[souldancer]

Ahhh - come on!!! I think it is important to embrace the Dark side - to confront the goblins, monsters, fears and woes. If we don't do it - IT will do it to us.. Am I the only one that loved the video of OLB?! I believe that our unconscious has some dark stuff- and the more we do consciously to confront, release, and fill the hole with the light, good stuff the healthier we can be. Some of you parents probably talk to your children about those nightmares with monsters, and we know of people filled with old guilt and terrors that are ready to explode or immobolized by fear into depression. (ok, maybe SD has had just one too many glasses of wine....)

[Lady Valkyrie]

Quote:

Originally posted by creedfaner
Friday the 13th, Halloween, ghoasts, evil spirits, ect. Its all just an 'illusion' to me. There is something wrong if people think those are all real things on this planet. From a scietific stand point, its all a pseudo-science.

This thread was not meant to condemn the ghosts, ghouls, and goblins of Holloween. In fact the reason for this thread is to educate. To inform with knowledge of how Holloween came about and what it really means. I am a Christian... as a Christian God's word tells me that Christians shouldn't participate in pagan rituals. Holloween is indeed a pagan ritual. Do the research for yourself you will find out what is in this thread to be true. With this knowledge I have come to the decsion that me and my family will not celebrate this pagan holiday for it goes against everything that I believe in and that is God and Jesus Christ.

HOWEVER, Do I expect everyone to come to the same conclusion as I did? NO! I am merely stating facts and each individual has to make up their own minds for themselves. So I will ask you all kindly to not turn this thread around as though I am going "witch hunting".

[souldancer]

Having been raised in a Catholic environment and my father being born on "All Saints/Soul's Day" I was interested to read about what was beyond the Celtic period.....

"When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also bobbed for apples and drank cider—traditions which may sound familiar to you. But where does the Christian aspect of the holiday come into play? In 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy evening.” Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween. On November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day. The purpose of these feasts is to remember those who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Church as saints or not. It is a celebration of the “communion of saints,” which reminds us that the Church is not bound by space or time." ( I LOVE THAT LAST LINE !!!)

And, living in California with a large Hispanic population I am fascinated but the rituals of Day of the Dead, "El Dia de los Muertos" - but that would be for another post..

SORRY, focusing now...