Samhain is a pagan festival whose origins go back to an ancient Celtic tradition with spiritual overtones. The celebration of Samhain varies by region, but it is usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1, that is, Halloween night. And I say according to the region because for example In Scotland, this celebration takes place on November 11.
Although it is believed that Halloween is an American celebration, its origin has nothing to do with the cultural essence of the American country. This festival was one of the most important – if not the most – for the ancient Celts and took place exactly between the autumnal equinox (light) and the winter solstice (darkness). It ended the harvest season -and summer- and welcomed the “dark half of the year”. What does this mean? Neither more nor less than, with it, the new year began. This was the way the Celts celebrated it.
At Samhain, it was believed that the barriers between the physical and spiritual worlds were removed, bringing with it a greater connection between humans and beings from other planes. It was time to remember and honor the ancestors, those relatives who somehow made this last generation alive at that present moment.
As Samhain represented the ritual of the last harvest, what those who celebrated it did was use elements of it. They carved turnips which they tied to the poles with string and then encrusted with charcoal. Years later, the Irish would substitute pumpkins for turnips. This already sounds familiar to us, right?
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During this tradition, which initially lasted three nights, bonfires were also lit and rituals were practiced around them.
Curiously, one of the most characteristic practices of this festivity was to leave food on an altar to welcome invisible guests: the ancestors. There are those who even prepared a plate of food for them and made room for them at the table that same night for the aforementioned ancestors to dine with them. They even told them what was new in their lives!
All this, assuming that their spirit would be present even if they could not see it. They certainly counted on his presence. This, in some way, can remind us of the way in which Mexicans celebrate Halloween.
As Christianity took hold in pagan communities, church leaders tried to transform Samhain into a Christian celebration. The first person who tried it was Pope Boniface, who moved this holiday to May 13 and called the celebration a dedication to saints and martyrs.
However, the famous Samhain festival continued to take place on the initial date. After that, it was the turn of Pope Gregory. He himself, in the 9th century, changed the date of the celebration to the one initially established, but declared it as the All Saints Day, which would be on November 1. This reminds us of something currently, doesn’t it?
Those in charge of bringing this celebration to American lands were Irish immigrants and they did so in the 19th century. In addition, the root of his famous “trick or treat” is said to come from a famous custom that took place in Ireland, the days before Samhain, and which consisted of dressing up, going from door to door and playing songs to the dead. . The only difference with respect to the “trick or treat” of now, is that then the tricks were attributed to the fairies.