If you haven’t read my introduction post to this Autumn Holiday series, then please go back and read it before continuing. That way you’ll be up to speed on why I’m writing about this. Our family greatly misunderstood a lot of holidays, because we were led to believe exactly what we were told by a pastor. In all the years we blindly believed him he would say, “Don’t believe me, go look for yourself”. So when we finally did we were quite surprised to find out he was misinformed and thus misinforming everyone else.
It was through our faith in Christ that we had the confidence to seek out people who actually believe certain things so we could know first hand. It was during our investigating of ancient cultures and our study of our own historical heritage that we finally discovered what Samhain really is. Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is an ancient observance that takes place between October 31st and November 1st. If your ancestors were not of the official Jewish lineage, then chances are your ancestors celebrated Samhain. This means that our ancestors were pagans. Today’s pagans may describe themselves as neopagans. Samhain has been celebrated by an array of nations during the time of Harvest in different ways. As with most other Autumn festivals around the world, foods eaten were created from what the earth had brought forth during the harvest.
photo credit ladybird.ladybird
There are various ways to celebrate Samhain and some people choose to incorporate their region’s traditions into their celebrations. Pagans from Ireland will have differing traditions from those of Germany. So this short article about Samhain is really just a description of the framework of their holiday.
It is believed that Samhain is the time of year when the dimension between this life and the next is at it’s thinnest and most optimal time for communication with those on opposite sides. Therefore, those on this side of life take the time to honor those who have departed by putting out a plate of food for them during their feast. This is like a memorial day for those who celebrate Samhain and is their most important holiday of the year. It’s their ‘new year’ celebration as well and is revered as sacred. The amount of devotion that goes into it’s observance is like the amount of devotion many Christians put into Christmas.
Some Christians are annoyed with how commercialized Christmas has become and you can say the same thing about how commercialized Samhain has become with the ghoulish stores that appear on many corners in the United States. Halloween is not an accurate depiction of what Samhain really is. In my opinion, Samhain has been hijacked by the commercial market and amplified through Hollywood and turned into what we have today called, Halloween.
photo credit Hlkolaya
Over the last several years in the USA, we have seen more tolerance of various religious traditions and I’m truly thankful for that. It’s become more common to see Kwanzaa and Hannakuh celebrated in children’s cartoons and books, and the commercial market offers more decor for these holidays. Sadly, we don’t see Samhain decorations being offered. When I search Amazon for books about Samhain, all I get are either scary books or cultural books about the modern children’s version of Halloween. As Christians, we know how frustrating it can be to find limited resources about Christ at Christmas and we see the increase of Santa and Frosty the snowman. So imagine how our neopagan neighbors feel when they can’t find Samhain in their local marketplaces. By the way, we really don’t have much to complain about. Local bookstores all over the nation carry Christian children’s books in the secular children’s section during Christmas and Easter.
Samhain is not the same as Halloween and I’ll go over Halloween in this series, but let me assure you again; Samhain is not the same as Halloween. Contrary to popular belief, Halloween does not adopt much of anything from Samhain.
We live in a multi-cultural society and I think we have done a great disservice to this nation by engaging in battles about whose holiday is more accurate or more American in nature. Although I have my own ways of celebrating the seasons within my Christian faith, I also recognize and respect our fellow Americans who celebrate differently. In fact, I am fascinated by their customs, beliefs, and traditions and have learned a lot about others by understanding their holidays. I have learned they have unique spiritual paths, love for family and others, and respect for their ancestors.
photo credit Greg Harder
Through my discoveries I have come to be saddened by the amount of persistence that many of our Christian brethren put forth in order to squash the beliefs and heritage of our fellow Americans. Here’s where I believe Christians become confused on how to show Christian hospitality to their neighbors of diverse faiths. It has been a traditional teaching to obliterate the beliefs of others and pressure them to choose to follow Christ. When we look through history we can clearly see that forced conversion is not a genuine choice to follow Christ. So in order to extend grace, we need to understand evangelism. Proclaiming the Good News (Gospel), is simply declaring that Christ came to reconcile mankind to God. Forcing people to give up their traditions and beliefs in order to adopt this belief is unkind and totally lacking grace. God gives people the choice to decide for themselves. Therefore, be kind and gracious when people choose not to believe the story of Christ.
In the meantime, respect the diversity that our free nation gives to us. Christ said to love others as we love ourselves. If at any time our neighbors decide to choose Christ let it be due to our hospitality, kindness, and respect for their choices. If we don’t want to be bullied out of our beliefs, then we should not bully others out of theirs. We don’t have to adopt their customs, but we should be respectful of their choices and not belittle them for what they have chosen to follow.
photo credit oranmor
Samhain is a time of honor and respect for family and departed loved ones. It’s a time of gratitude for the harvest the earth has brought forth. It’s a spiritual time to communicate love, appreciation, and reverence for wise ones and to seek spiritual guidance for the future. As much as you may disagree with their beliefs and practices it doesn’t give you the right to profane them and attempt to abolish or prohibit them from continuing what they do. Some Christian churches have a tradition called, ‘Heaven Night’ when they take time to remember departed loved ones by hanging their pictures along the sanctuary walls or in their hallways and each member stands and shares a little about them.
Learning that neopagans follow a path of reverence, love, gratitude, and appreciation for others and for those that have gone on before them opens my eyes to see that they are not evil people seeking to destroy our walk with Christ. Mutual respect for each other’s beliefs and observances can do a great deal of good in bringing peace to our nation.
In the next article I will discuss the holiday of All Saints Day, then after that we will explore Halloween. If you celebrate Samhain and I left something out or didn’t explain something quite right, feel free to comment.
Related:
How We Misunderstood Halloween
How We Misunderstood All Saints Day
I found your blog though Facebook and I’m loving this series! I’m a Christian but I am very interested in pagan traditions. I celebrate Halloween as a secular festival but I also know quite a bit about Samhain thanks to some pagan friends.
Hi Mandy. Welcome to my blog. I’m glad you came by. Feel free to connect with me on Facebook too. http://facebook.com/thehomespunlife
Hi! You don’t know me, I found your blog by way of the commentary on the HHE blog post about the poor kid who got lynched for bringing kombucha to school. I’m Pagan, mostly, and it made me so glowinlgly pleased to see this entry! I feel like it’s an eternal struggle between Christians and Pagans to understand one another, and here you are, just saying “ding!” like your lightbulb is on. It’s awesome! Thank you so much for your open mind, your commitment to learning about other spiritual paths, and for spreading the word that Pagans follow a path of love just as strong as the one Christians do. Blessed Samhain and Happy All Saint’s Day both, to you!
Hi Ali! Glad you clicked over. That was some article huh? That poor kid!
I think, for the most part, many Christians haven’t taken the time to understand how other people worship because they are afraid to. For various reasons, Christian are either afraid they’ll be easily swayed away from God and thus lose their salvation or they are just afraid of the unknown. But prayerfully, they will be able to grow in their faith and become stronger, allowing themselves to really engage in their communities by understanding others. For me personally, I don’t want fear holding me back from loving people. I have gotten to know many pagans and have developed sweet friendships with them. I’m glad you came by. You’re welcome here any time.
Hi Lisa,
This series is great! I appreciate you sharing with others the stories of Pagans (or Neo-Pagans), Wiccans, Heathans, Druids and others who celebrate the earth-centered spiritualities and seasonal holidays. You really “get” this subject and it shows in the respect and love with which you handle it. Paganism, like Christianity, is a hugely diverse group of folks who have differing beliefs to one degree or another. For those of you who dont know, I am a Druid and celebrate the old seasonal festivals. You are right Lisa, many Neo-Pagans celebrate Samhain on Oct 31 to November 1, but many of us (like my family) celebrate Samhain and Halloween separately on different days. Halloween is (to me) an American holiday that derived from the folk practices of Irish and Scottish immigrants (who had both Catholic and Pagan elements in their culture). The Catholics borrowed a lot of cultural and indigenous spirituality elements from the Pagans around them in various cultures (Dia de los Muertos is another example of this kind of Christian/indigenous amalgamation that occurred in Mexico). Originally the last Harvest festival of the pre-Christian Celtic people was Samhain. It was observed by feasting, ritualized hospitality (guests moving from house to house in costume begging food or drink, and honoring the ancestors that had passed on (that year especially). Samhain (as a spiritual holiday honoring the harvest and the ancestors) is tradionally celebrated on or around the astrological cross-quarter day ( Nov 6th). See this great site for accurate almanacs on the old (pagan) holidays: http://www.archaeoastronomy.com/2012.html. Like the Solstices, Equinoxes, the Cross-quarter Days ( Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain) vary in their dates according to the movements of the planet around the sun. So, at my house Halloween is celebrated on Oct 31 and Samhain on Nov 6. Some Pagans celebrate both on Oct 31. I am a bit more of a tradionalist about things like dates, but figure that Halloween is a great chance to have fun with my kids and family too. They are both derived from the same pagan Celtic harvest festival (Samhain), but one is an expression of our modern American society and the other is a modern reconstruction of the original harvest festivals celebrated by our pre-Christian Irish and Scottish ancestors. I love your blog.
Oh, just in case it is of interest to your readership, I plan to celebrate Halloween by accompanying my kids Trick or Treating, and carving pumpkins. I plan to celebrate Samhain by feasting with my family and my Druid Fellowship, having a public religious service in our park to honor the Earth Mother, the ancestors, and the nature spirits at this time of harvest. I also plan on creating a special display in my home of pictures of my loved ones who have passed on and harvest fruits (apples, pumpkins, and fall leaves). I may attend a Dia de los Muertos celebration at the local college as well. It is so important that people (no matter their religion), celebrate to the seasons and those who have passed on before us. We are all related, and our similarities are many more than our differences. Thank you for being a voice of love, understanding and respect. I hope your Autumn celebrations are blessed and joyful.
Love you, Stella. Thank you for sharing your traditions and spiritual path with us,
Great article! I shared this on my Facebook and look forward to your next one. Blessings!
Thank you, Ruth.
Thank you for a beautiful blog post; I think this is a very valuable series.
Blessed be!
Raushanna
Lisa,
This is to the best of my memory the most accurate and well written articles on Samhain I have ever seen that has not been written by somebody of Pagan following. As we are a very diverse and unique group following many different paths one thing that we try our very best to promote is equality and unity for all religions and followings.
It is seeing articles such as this that brings a smile to my face knowing there is still hope for all of us. Thank you very much for this fantastic and warming article.
Blessed Be
Kriggi.