For those who do not know and think Halloween is evil and do not celebrate it for this reason, here is a slight history lesson. The things you dont know til you look them up and actually read about it. Im not a witch or anything like that. I am, however, a christian and have always loved this. It comes from the Irish in me. Unless the Irish and Catholics are all evil, this is not either. I hope you enjoy! Samhain/Halloween is certainly not evil, it is probably one of the most misunderstood days of the year- Samhain (pronounced Sowen or Sowain) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the darker half of the year. Time to turn the wheel of the year one more turn. The Celts honored the opposing balance of intertwining forces of existence: darkness and light, night and day, cold and heat, death and life. The Celtic year was divided into two seasons: the light and the dark, celebrating the light at Beltane on May 1st and the dark at Samhain. Samhain, Gaelic for summers end, was the most important of the ancient Celtic feasts. It is celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November, which is just about halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Samhain is known to have pre-Christian roots and is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. It is the Pagan New Year and seen to be much like Memorial Day. It is when we honor our ancestors. There are a lot of different ways to honor them. Placing a photograph or writing a list of people that we want to to honor on the altar is one way. There is also the Silent feast, which is called different names in different paths. In the 9th century, the Roman Catholic Church shifted the date of All Saints Day to 1 November, while 2 November later became All Souls Day. Over time, Samhain and All Saints/All Souls merged and helped to create the modern Halloween. A soul cake is a small round cake which is traditionally made for All Saints Day or All Souls Day to celebrate the dead. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would go from door to door on Halloween singing and saying prayers for the dead. Each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern trick-or-treating. The soul cake song that is known widely goes like this: A soul! a soul! a soul-cake! Please good Missus, a soul-cake! An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, Any good thing to make us all merry. One for Peter, two for Paul Three for Him who made us all. Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. In days of old it was a time when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. People do these things for fun/ celebration nowadays. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In several countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to welcome the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats. However, we still honor our family and friends that have passed on and we keep the night sacred as well as fun. Because the Goddess wants us to enjoy life and worship. In the charge of the Goddess it says Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in My Presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on earth. For My law is love is unto all beings....Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 15:51:32 +0000
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