Samhain is the biggest festival of the year for Wiccans; a time to remember those who have passed on, celebrate the Summer's end and prepare for Winter months ahead.
Samhain in North America occurs from October 31st through November 1st and is known as Halloween and All Hallows Eve.
Essentially, the term Samhain, ("pronounced SAM-Hayne") means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest on the Wiccan calendar.
According to the Celtic Connection (2018), "the Sun God and earth fall into slumber, as the nights lengthen and winter begins. Though it is generally celebrated on October 31st, there are some Wiccans who prefer to celebrate the tradition on November 1st.
It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands.
It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honour the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort. Tradition also teaches that the aid of spirits and guides from the other world was easily enlisted at this time, so in the increasing moonlight of longer nights, many used this time to hone their psychic and divinatory skills, especially with regard to love and marriage" (CC, 2018).
Originally known as the "Feast of the Dead" this sabbat was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead".
Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them.
Rather than Pumpkins, Turnips were originally hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.
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