This is Halloween

Samhain (pronounced “sow” “en”) is often said to have been the most important of the fire festivals, because (according to most Celtic scholars) it may have marked the Celtic New Year. Since the Celts, like many cultures, started every day at sunset of the night before, Samhain became the “evening” of “All Hallows” or All Hallows Eve which was eventually contracted into “Halloween.” Samhain was the beginning of the Winter or Dark Half of the Year, or the transition between dark and light. Being “between” seasons or years, Samhain was considered a very magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between past, present and future may be lifted.

During Celtic times, it is believed that “fairies” on the eve of Samhain would go door to door asking for food. Those who gave it were rewarded somehow and those who did not were subject to unpleasantness.

In Ireland, one of the most popular traditions was carrying the jack-o-lantern, in Scotland and England they would carry turnips. No one is quite sure why the 'jack-o-lantern’ is called 'jack.’ However, according to an ancient Irish legend, the devil once wanted to steal the soul of a man named 'Jack.’ He outwitted the devil on several occasions and kept his life. Eventually, Jack died and neither heaven nor hell would take him. Jack was condemned to an afterlife in limbo. He asked the devil for a piece of coal to provide light for his never ending life. Jack stuck the coal into a turnip and is said to still be walking around with his light until heaven or hell will open the gates for him. There are so many different aspects of these beliefs and we may never know the true meaning of how and why this holiday came to be.