Featured Samhain Gifts

All Hallows’ Eve

 All Hallows’ Eve, most often called Halloween, is the eve of All Hallows (All Saints’ Day) and is the first day of the Hallowtide. According to some scholars, the Christian Church absorbed some of the Celtic practices associated with Samhain and Christianized the celebration in order to ease the Celts’ conversion to Christianity. Halloween originated from the Pagan festival, Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland, Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants.

Samhain is a time to remember, honor and commune with our ancestors. It is their wisdom and history which enriches our lives and gives us a clearer path to follow and emulate.This is a time to let old habits die and to meditate on who we wish to become. The Winter months are months to muse inward, seeking one’s Self. Spend this time in your studies, calm meditations and gentle reverie so that, come Spring, you may rise renewed, rejuvenated, fresh and whole. Learn more about this festive, fun celebration!

All Saint’s Day

The second day of Hallowtide is known as All Saints’ Day, All Hallows or Hallowmas Occurring on November 1. It is a principal feast of the church year and one of the four days recommended for the administration of baptism in Anglicanism. In some denominations, All Saints’ Day is a holy day to honor all the saints and martyrs, both known and unknown.

The feast of All Saints, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III (731–741) of an oratory in St. Peter’s for the relics “of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world”, with the date moved to 1 November and the 13 May feast suppressed.

This fell on the Celtic holiday of Samhain, which had a theme similar to the Roman festival of Lemuria, but which was also a harvest festival. The Irish, having celebrated Samhain in the past, did not celebrate All Hallows Day on this 1 November date, as extant historical documents attest that the celebration in Ireland took place in the spring: “… the Felire of Oengus and the Martyrology of Tallaght prove that the early medieval churches [in Ireland] celebrated the feast of All Saints on 20 April.”  The festival was retained after the Reformation in the calendar of the Anglican Church and in many Lutheran churches.

All Soul’s Day

The final day of Hallowtide is known as All Souls’ Day and is also called the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed. All Souls’ Day focuses on honoring all faithfully departed, especially family members and friends. The observance of All Souls’ Day was spread throughout Europe by Saint Odilo of Cluny in the late 13th century. Like All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day, family members often attend mass and visit the graves of their deceased loved ones, placing flowers and lighted candles there.

Some believe that the origins of All Souls’ Day in European folklore and folk belief are related to customs of ancestor veneration practiced worldwide, through events such as, in India Pitru Paksha, the Chinese Ghost Festival, the Japanese Bon Festival. The Roman custom was that of the Lemuria.

The formal commemoration of the saints and martyrs (All Saints’ Day) existed in the early Christian church since its legalization, and alongside that developed a day for commemoration of all the dead (All Souls’ Day). The modern date of All Souls’ Day was first popularized in the early eleventh century after Abbot Odilo established it as a day for the monks of Cluny and associated monasteries to pray for the souls in purgatory.

Pumpkin Rituals

 An orange fruit harvested in October, this nutritious and versatile plant features flowers, seeds and flesh that are edible and rich in vitamins. Pumpkin is used to make soups, desserts and breads, pie.

Pumpkins have a long history of being able to ward off evil spirits on Halloween night. The tradition of carving pumpkins with faces, comes from Celtic traditions where faces were carved into gourds and root vegetables to keep away evil or mischievous spirits during Samhain.

Cultures throughout the world such as the Balkans, West Africa, China and the Caribbean attribute magical properties to them.

The term Jack O’ Lantern emerged around 1837 and stemmed from the Irish myth about Stingy Jack.

Samhain Blessing   

“O memory dear, of loved one passed,
I come to honor in circle, cast,
O ________(honoree’s name), I come to ask for care,
that you will come through humble prayer,
I pay respect and honor here.
that you will always be so near,
to guide, protect and hold me close,
let danger always be disposed.
So with this gesture, loved one dear,
please know I’m with you, every year.”
~ Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac