Back in the ancient world, for the Celts, Samhain marked the transition to winter, the change of the Faerie Courts, and the ride of the Wild Hunt. As the harvest completed, the earth fell dormant and the light fell away, the spirits who disliked warmth and life ascended to occupy the dark months. And so humans summoned light and fire, made their apologies and gave honors and offerings so they could draw their boundaries respectfully and go into winter in good standing with the things that dwelt in it.
These days, for Wiccans and many other pagans, it’s the beginning of the New Year, a day of inner reflection and spiritual clarification. On this day, you confront and lay to rest the unresolved emotions and troubles that have gripped you in the past year so that they don’t continue to haunt you in the coming year. You bid farewell to the people, places, things you’ve cherished and lost. You pay your respects to the person you have been and clear the way for the person you’ll become.
For Catholics and Anglicans, All Hallows Eve, or Hallowe’en, marks the evening of vigil leading to the Feast of All Saints–All Hallows Day–on Nov 1 and All Souls Day on Nov 2, when the souls of the faithful who’ve passed on are honored and prayed for (and unofficially, if need be, appeased). Or in Latin America, where it has woven in with other similar traditions that came before, Dia de Muertos.
We light fires and jack o’lanterns on this day to summon light and warmth, to guide the spirits of those that love us and to protect us from those that don’t. We dress in costumes so that angry ghosts and the spirits of the dark will mistake us for one of their own and leave us be. We give candy to the chirpy-voiced little ‘spirits’ who knock on our doors as an offering, because are you certain, are you REALLY certain, whether they’re the neighbors’ kids in disguise or a real spirit?
I’m neither Catholic nor pagan, but over the years I’ve found a lot of comfort in these traditions. Maybe we all need a day when we can live alongside our loss in peace and acknowledge that the dark will come, but the light will come again after it.
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