Compare and Contrast Essay

Halloween vs. Samhain

 

Read any history of Halloween, and you are apt to learn that the holiday is a descendant of Samhain (pronounced Sah-win), formerly the Celtic New Year, observed in the late autumn. Wicca and other Neo-Pagan religions, most of which began in the twentieth century, consider themselves to be reclaiming the ancient festival, which they call by its Celtic name. Some pagans celebrate one or the other, but some of us celebrate both of them. Indeed, celebrations of Halloween and Samhain can easily be combined, and they often are. Though Halloween as we know it is a descendant of Samhain, and contemporary Samhain reclaims many of the trappings of Halloween, they both are and are not the same holiday.

During the harvest season we all like to decorate with corn stalks and pumpkins, we make pumpkin cookies or cakes, assorted fruit or vegetable breads. Some of us attend parties where we drink apple cider or dunk for apples. All of the foods here are traditional bounty from the earth. In the old Celtic versions of Samhain, it was a tradition to set out food and drink to welcome the ancestors that might cross the thin veil between the worlds. The Celts also carved faces in large turnips (pumpkins, native to the Americas, weren’t introduced to Europe before the time of Columbus) to ward off any evil spirits that might be passing by as well.  In Halloween celebrations, this custom lives on using pumpkins to carve Jack o’lanterns. Though many people who celebrate Halloween today do not believe in evil spirits, the jack o’lantern still makes a festive decoration.

Halloween is a secular cultural holiday, which falls on October 31st every year, everywhere. The theme is a playful look at death and human fears of death. Costumes often connect with death, fright, or both. As a child, I celebrated Halloween like most American children. I dressed up, went out, and gathered candy and other goodies and my children will as well in addition to our pagan traditions. In older times costumes were once part of another tradition that some chose to wear to scare others away that may try to harm or “trick” them; this is in no way related to paganism. The ghosts, goblins, and devils that some people associate with paganism are just plain false. We pagans believe in Gods and Goddesses and there is no evil entity, such as the devil, or a place such as Hell.

 Samhain is more of a holy day for Pagans, but not just one day, more like a period of about ten days to two weeks. It is one of the most powerful times of year for magick (“magick” is the work done in ritual, using natural energies, as opposed to “magic”, which is defined as what happens only in fantasy or illusion). It is a day for pagans to remember those loved one who have passed and also to celebrate the bounty of the earth in the final harvest of the year, which makes it in many ways like Thanksgiving. It is on Halloween night that many believe that the veil between this world and the other one is more transparent so we get messages from the other side more clearly. Some also believe it is the start of the New Year. It is a time to honor and remember the dead, to honor our own mortality, to hold rituals, and a time of merriment and fun.

Whether one decides to celebrate Halloween, Samhain, or both, this time of the year is amazing and there are so many great traditions to enjoy. I hope this has been informational and I would like to wish you a fun-filled harvest holiday. Remember safety first and Blessed Be!