The TRUTH about Halloween

       In the Pagan community Halloween is known as Samhain (pronounced Sow-in). It is one of our Sabbats and the end of our Wheel of the year.
       When people speak of the origin of Halloween, they are speaking of something that we have always known of. There are many ways of wording it, but the general consensus among religions who celebrate Halloween as a religious tradition, is that it is a day to honor and sometimes commune with the dead. Many religions and cultures see death as a doorway, not an ending. It is not something to be feared. The commercialized version of Halloween is that of candy, ghouls and monsters. I am not going to condemn that though. Afterall, what's wrong with fun and games? But that concept of Halloween has no historical or religious background, and for that reason when I speak of Halloween it will be in the Pagan sense.
        The Celts celebrate Samhain, or at least they used to. Before they were conquered by the Romans, Paganism was a large part of their culture. The presence of the Romans created some changes in the celebration of Samhain. The Catholic church wanted to "do away with" all things Pagan. This was no easy task. The Irish will not go down without a fight. To make this a less noticeable transition, they chose to create a holiday known as All Saints day (not to be confused with All souls day, which is more of a Mexican tradition that is also known as "the day of the dead".)This was a day to honor Saints.
        O.K. let's think about this, Saints are people who have died, and Samhain is a day to honor the dead. Hmmmm, still sounds pretty close. In fact, the word Halloween comes from "All Hallows Eve." All saints day was celebrated on November 1st and was also called "Hallowed day." The day before "Hallowed day" was "All Hallows eve", or as the nickname came to be; Halloween. I find it very ironic that a holiday that is often banned by churches was actually endorsed by the world's largest church-The Roman Catholic church. Remember that the next time a Christian refers to it as "Satan's holiday."
        So where does this whole "trick or treat" thing come from? Well, I have a few ideas on that one. I know I have mentioned the Celts frequently (even though there are many other cultures who celebrate this holiday) but I'm going to mention them again. They have a firm belief in faeries. Legend has it that faeries (who roam free on this day because the veil is thin between our world and theirs) would dress as beggars and go door to door asking for handouts. If you helped them then you would be rewarded (treat), but if you did not help them you would be punished (trick).
        Another concept comes again from the Catholic church. Men were to go door to door on Hallows Eve asking for food for the poor. They would often dress as the deceased Saints. But here's where I think Americans came up with the trick or treat idea. Most cultures believe that the souls of the dead return on Halloween. Some cultures invite them in, while others discourage them. Those who wanted to see their ancestors would leave gifts (like food) outside their door. Others who feared the ancestors would leave things to scare them off (like jack-o'-lanterns). Children dressing up as ghosts, ghouls, and monsters are dressing in the form that the spirits were thought to return as.
       Regardless of how you look at it, Halloween is one hell of a great time (excuse my pun). You can celebrate it in ritual, in spirit, or in fun. One word of caution though... If you are going to play pranks on anyone, remember the legend of the faeries who play tricks on those who cross them. I guarantee that they will always be trickier than you.


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