Samhain and Halloween

Note: The book Secrets of the Druids: From Indo-European Origins to Modern Practices by Teresa Cross was a great resource for this post.

Halloween is right around the corner. Needless to say, I’m excited about its approach. This is especially true since I have a preference for dark aesthetics. I can say that Halloween for me is more of a lifestyle than a holiday.

It’s commonly said that Halloween is a Christianized version of the Celtic Pagan festival Samhain. While they are related, that’s not 100% accurate. Like so much in life, it’s more complicated than that.

We begin with the date. We all know that Halloween always lands on the same date each year (October 31st). This is because Halloween is based on the solar calendar. However, the Celts followed the lunar calendar. For them, the full moon marked the month’s change. As a result, the date of Samhain changed each year. In addition, the Celtic holy days started at sunset. Hence, the Celtic festival of Samhain began at sundown on the last full moon of the month we call October. 

Unlike the modern Halloween, Samhain wasn’t a time of fear of ghosts and evil spirits. Instead, it was time to honor the dead rather than fear them. Nor was it for just one night. The Celts celebrated Samhain for three nights that began the night of the full moon. There was "food for the dead” in which food was collected and given to the needy. In addition, there were bonfires and the carving of turnips to resemble skulls (a practice that continues in modern Halloween with pumpkins.)

So as you can see, Samhain isn’t exactly the same as Halloween. I used to celebrate these on the same day; however, starting this year, my wife and I plan to celebrate them as two different holidays. We’ll celebrate Samhain as a three day festival starting at sunset on October 28th. Each day we’ll have a different ritual to honor loved ones who have passed on to the Otherworld. Then on October 31st we’ll celebrate the secular festival of Halloween as a night of spooky fun.