Samhain

[IvyWitch]

Why is Samhain such a major Pagan holiday? I've seen more emphasis places on this one Sabbat than any other, and I just really don't understand why...

[-Sky-]

I'm not sure but since I adore this sabbat myself I will try and answer:

-Samhain is the day the Celtic New Year starts!And as Christians do such marvellous preparations for their New Year's Eve,likewise pagans prepare for Samhain.
-It is one of the most powerful times of the whole year!It a time for powerful spells to be cast,for divination and tarot reading.Samhain inspires a magical element which is contagious,we all love Samhain but sometimes we just can't really say why.
-It coincides with Halloween,a holiday we adored since we were kids.And don't forget that Halloween is also a family holiday.
-The veil between the worlds is thin during Samhain and many are interested to communicate with their beloved ones which have passed away.

~Anna

[skilly-nilly]

I'm not sure but since I adore this sabbat myself I will try and answer:

-Samhain is the day the Celtic New Year starts!And as Christians do such marvellous preparations for their New Year's Eve,likewise pagans prepare for Samhain.

There is some debate on this point.
http://bonrhys.idx.com.au/explosion.htm
Apart from this scholarly essay, I have always seen the start of the year at Imbolc, when the season tips towards Spring. Celtic speaking peoples generally saw the year (and much else) as circular so it's really moot.



-It is one of the most powerful times of the whole year!It a time for powerful spells to be cast,for divination and tarot reading.Samhain inspires a magical element which is contagious,we all love Samhain but sometimes we just can't really say why.
-It coincides with Halloween,a holiday we adored since we were kids.And don't forget that Halloween is also a family holiday.
-The veil between the worlds is thin during Samhain and many are interested to communicate with their beloved ones which have passed away.

~Anna

Sky's other points I agree with...

It's a hinge. The Irish (the Celtic speaking group I am most familiar with) viewed all transitional times and places as having particular Magic. The transition moment when things are not quite one or the other (dawn, dusk, the tidal zone, bog, wood-edge, and fog as well as the beginning of Bright Half and the Dark Half) always provides a doorway into the Unseen World.
As well, Hallowe'e'n is a uniquely Pagan holiday that is universally celebrated. The other 7 traditional holidays fall into 2 other catagories:

Co-opted into Xian celebrations--Yule, Oestre, Thanksgiving
Not generally recognized--Imbolc, Bealtaine, Mid-Summer, Lugh's Day
(although those days were part of the traditional ieCatholic calendar as SteBridgit, Mary's Day, StJohn the Baptist, and Lammas)

For Samhein, no matter how great an effort was made to turn it into All Saints'/ All Souls' Days, Hallowe'e'n stayed Pagan. Which would support the supposition that it is "one of the most powerful times of the whole year....

[mucgwyrt]

I follow and anglo-saxon tradition and dont reeeally celebrate samhain, although because of my childhood (trick or treating) and getting generally swept away in everyone else's enthusiasm, I'm going to do something small on the nearest dark moon; the 11th November :)

[DebLipp]

The article is interesting. I'd never heard that argument before.

Whether or not Samhain is the Celtic new year, it is certainly the Neopagan and Wiccan New Year, at least for most people. You will often hear people say that Beltane is the New Year as well; I see that the year is divided and both are true.

In traditionalist Wicca (starting from Buczyinski's Welsh tradition and spreading), from Samhain to Beltane is the God half of the year, and from Beltane to Samhain is the Goddess half of the year. Thus, we have two New Year's, and Samhain is the beginning of the God year. Samhain is the sunset of the year, just as Beltane is its sunrise.

As the day of the dead and the day of crossing-over, Samhain has a unique importance to the year and to all of our spiritual and emotional lives.

As the last harvest, it functions as a cumulation of the energies of the previous harvest festivals (Lammas and Fall Equinox). As a quarter day, it has a higher energetic level than the cross-quarters.

And, although I never thought of it before, I agree with skilly-nilly. Samhain is important because it is socially recognized in the larger society as having an association with witchcraft.

[mucgwyrt]

As a quarter day, it has a higher energetic level than the cross-quarters.


Pardon my wiccan ignorance - why is that?

[DebLipp]

Pardon my wiccan ignorance - why is that?

That's not Wiccan, that Western Occultism (i.e. G.D.). It's pretty old occult lore, I don't know how old. You can find extensive discussion of it in Dion Fortune, Crowley, etc.

[arctic splash]

Why is Samhain such a major Pagan holiday? I've seen more emphasis places on this one Sabbat than any other, and I just really don't understand why...

It's the biggest festival of the Celts, and the greatest thinning of the year, followed only by the fertility festival of Beltaine. I just assumed... since they took the Celtic names of the Sabbats... that Neo-Pagans have kept the relative importance of the sabbats, too.

If the question is *why* Samhain is the most important Celtic festival of the year, well... I guess I don't know. :)

[Isa]

I think it's more a psychological thing than a historical/religious reason. Samhain is really the one time of year where non-pagans become interested in the "real witches", it's the time of year where many witches can come out and talk about their faith and be met with serious curiousity instead of the "uhh... you're weird" look XD In general there is much more news coverage about Wicca, witches (both modern day and Salem type) and Paganism in the days leading up to Samhain than there is the rest of the year. This positive attention gets people excited and swelling with pride, the more excited people get the more into the holiday they get.

[mucgwyrt]

It's the biggest festival of the Celts, and the greatest thinning of the year, followed only by the fertility festival of Beltaine. I just assumed... since they took the Celtic names of the Sabbats... that Neo-Peoples have kept the relative importance of the sabbats, too.

If the question is *why* Samhain is the most important Celtic festival of the year, well... I guess I don't know. :)
Not 100% true.... "Yule" comes from the anglo-saxon Giuli/Geola, as 'Litha' (the name at least some neo-pagans use for the summer solstice) comes from the anglo-saxon Liþa, and 'Easter' comes from the anglo-saxon 'Eostre' and continental-germanic 'Ostara' :)

Thanks Deb, I'll look into it :)

[-Sky-]

skilly-nilly I had never heard before that there was an argument whether Samhain is the start of the year so sorry for stating this as a fact but this is what most Wiccans and Neo-pagans believe.

[QUOTE=DebLipp]In traditionalist Wicca (starting from Buczyinski's Welsh tradition and spreading), from Samhain to Beltane is the God half of the year, and from Beltane to Samhain is the Goddess half of the year. Thus, we have two New Year's, and Samhain is the beginning of the God year. Samhain is the sunset of the year, just as Beltane is its sunrise.
QUOTE]

I've heard this too and I've recently adopted it in my practices.Although I believe that the Goddesses power is present throughout the whole year,I feel that yes tfrom Samhain to Beltane is the God half of the year while from Beltane to Samhain is the Goddesse's time of year or vice verse(I've heard this theory too that the Goddess' part of year is from Samhain to Beltane).

~Anna

[dawns_eve]

I agree with Isa's view. I think it's the stigma attached to it that makes it the most popular.
_vb_

[Cassie]

I think those who are drawn to Paganism and particularly any form of witchcraft are likely to be drawn to the particular spiritual and magical energies that abound at this time of year.
It is a celebration of beliefs and practices that were repressed for long periods of history and so I think it also has a self affirming element to thosewho practice the craft and for those who only have a passing interest in Paganism I guess it seems a bit rebellious and alternative.

[Libris]

The candy ohhh the CANDY:heyalove:

and the costumes....

and what Skilly said.


While it isn't my favorite pagan holiday, it's definitely up there.


-goes off to find some chocolate

[Nitefalle]

It's the biggest festival of the Celts, and the greatest thinning of the year, followed only by the fertility festival of Beltaine. I just assumed... since they took the Celtic names of the Sabbats... that Neo-Peoples have kept the relative importance of the sabbats, too.

If the question is *why* Samhain is the most important Celtic festival of the year, well... I guess I don't know. :)

To add to what Mucgwyrt, let's also remember that Mabon (the Wiccan name for the Autumnal Equinox) was also made up and I believe it's origins have something to do with Iolo Morganwg. The eight Wiccan Sabbats are not all named for Celtic holidays, they do not all have Celtic origins.