Samhain- a History of Halloween

Thursday is Halloween, a time in America that has been marked by fake cobwebs, pirate costumes, keggers for the adults, and trick or treating for the kids. It has been celebrated as part of the “American religion” since the mid to late 19th century, during the greatest waves of European immigrants to our shores.

                             

But where did Halloween come from?

There are several explanations for its origin, one being the Roman festival of the dead “Parentalia”, but another origin, not necessarily exclusive from the Roman one, is from the ancient Celtic holy day of Samhain (sa-wain). And indeed many of the traditions we celebrate on Halloween stem from Celtic/Gaelic culture.

Samhain, which means November in Irish, was the end of summer and the Harvest season in the Celtic calendar, towns made preparations for winter. It was the last great feast held outdoors before the cold months came. On the surface, it was a celebration of the Harvest preparations and Summer, much like events such as “Moonfest” that are held all over the country. However there was more to this festival than meets the eye.

You see the Celts believed that on Samhain the veil between the living and the dead was dropped for one day, and the spirits of the living could intermingle with the spirits of the dead. It has also been speculated, that this feast was a celebration of the dead they had lost since the last Samhain. This would include warriors lost in battle, children lost at birth, the old, and the sick. All of the years dead would be celebrated. In hopes of guiding the spirits of their loved ones to their resting place, large bonfires would be lit to draw the spirits and provide them a path to the “otherside. “

There is one legend, in which an Irish king every year would have his cooks set out a meal in his hall for his fallen warriors every Samhain. The living would eat outside, and the dead could have the hall. According to legend, a place is set for every warrior who was lost in that last year, and the finest food is prepared. Guards are placed at every door, and no one is allowed in on pain of death. And as the story goes, every year the king enters the hall to find the food gone with no evidence of who may have eaten the food meant for the battle slain.

But that was not all. The spirits that could now cross over into the land of the living were dangerous, and often played tricks both playful and malevolent on the living. In an effort to stop those spirits from meddling with the dead and playing tricks on them, the living would dress up in costumes, masks, capes, and horns in order to fool the spirits into thinking that they were one of them. The idea of trick or treat, comes from the tradition of going to a house and getting the inhabitant to give you a treat, since the person does not know if you are living or dead because of your costumes, he would either have to give you a treat, or suffer the consequences of a trick. Trick or treat.

It does not stop there. Even the Jack O’ Lantern is reputed to have roots in Celtic mythology. Jack O’ Lantern, or Stingy Jack, was the rogue of rogues of Irish mythology. Stingy Jack, a drifter, derelict, and a drunkard, was overheard by the Devil talking about how he had tricked, lied, stolen, and drank his way through life. The Devil, always up for a challenge, wanted to see just how good Jack was. To make a medium story short, Jack met the Devil, got him drunk, and tricked him into giving him 10 more years. 10 years later, Jack tricked the Devil again into never taking his soul to Hell. When Jack died, Heaven refused to take him, and when Jack went down to Hell to try to gain entrance the Devil politely reminded him of their deal. Instead, the Devil gave jack an ember of Hell, and a hallow gourd for a lantern to illuminate a pathway through the Netherworld. And so when the veil between the living and the dead is dropped on Samhain, we can see Stingy Jack of the Lantern (Jack O’ Lantern) trying to get into Heaven or Hell. Look up this story independently it is worth the read.

But what happened to Samhain that turned it into Halloween? Well, frankly it was the Christians. Like many Roman, Nordic, Celtic, and Germannic traditions, the Christians missionaries who came to Celtic lands were very good at connecting pagan holidays with Christian celebrations and traditions. The Vikings were converted by missionaries comparing Odin as the All-Father to God the Father, while demonizing Loki as the trickster or even the Devil. The Celtic tribes had several influences on modern Christianity through the assimilation of their traditions. St. Patrick was very astute at connecting feast days of Saints or other days of Obligations to Celtic holidays, just as the Romans did with Saturnalia. In Ireland, Samhain was turned into All Hallows Eve, which was the day, conveniently enough, before the Christians celebrated their own feast of the dead in All Souls Day. The Christian missionaries, and the Bishops and Cardinals of the Church, were smart enough to align their liturgical season of the dead with the same celebrations of dozens of yet unconverted cultures from Ireland to Asia, making their eventual conversion much easier.

 Celebrating Samhain, and its partner Beltaine which was replaced by May Day and Easter, soon became pagan, and forbidden in many Christian areas of Celtic nations. However being the people that they were, the Celtic peoples of Europe continued to celebrate the feast of the dead their own way.

Which brings us to how it came to America. The latter half of the 19th century saw a vast migration of Celtic, and a great many other, peoples from Europe. Not to say that a plentiful amount were not already in the United States, just that this time period saw a particularly heavy volume. Spurred by the terrible conditions in Ireland such as the famine, and British oppression, millions of Irish made their way to the United States, and so did their customs.

Over one hundred and fifty years later Halloween is alive and well in the United States. It is a time for mischief, to embrace the dying of Summer with everything from haunted hayrides to watching scary movies. But it is not just for children anymore as it had been during most of the 20th century, adults have parties, bars throw costume events, and it has become another excuse for Americans to drink in excess. However all of these things are arguably in the spirit of the holiday. It is one last chance in many respects to have fun outside, and get ready for the coming winter. But it also has a more mischievous side to it, Halloween is the one time of year that we are not only forgiven for being bad but it is encouraged. We get to get scared, we get to play tricks, we get to pull pranks, and it is all in the name of the holiday. Get it all out! That’s the idea, because you don’t know how long or how bad winter will be, and this could be your last chance to live it up outside.

So when you are celebrating Halloween this year, and it feels a little too corporate for you, a little too commercialized, remember what it was originally about and maybe you could not only enjoy it, but it could be good for you. Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Samhain, is on the surface about the death of summer, it is the funeral party for the end of the long, warm months. But beneath the surface, Halloween, All Hallows Eve, and Samhain offers all of us a chance to lift a toast to those who we lost in the last year, and to light their way home.

Happy Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Parentalia, and Samhain. 

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/life-lines-where-readers-write/2013/oct/29/samhain-halloween-ireland-america/

Hop-tu-Naa :The Isle of Man

As the rest of the British Isles prepares to celebrate Halloween on 31 October, many Isle of Man residents will instead celebrate Hop-tu-Naa.

Historically Hop-tu-Naa has been considered to be the Celtic New Year, marking the end of the summer and the beginning of winter.

It was traditionally a time when people would celebrate the safe gathering of the harvest and was a sign that all preparations had been made for the long, cold winter ahead.

While 31 October may be known to many as Halloween, any Manx person worth their salt will give a stern look and say the festival in question is Hop-tu-Naa.

No connection

This custom of singing around the houses goes back into history, although the turnip lanterns, now irrevocably linked with the practice, only seem to appear about 100 years ago.

Pumpkins are more traditionally linked with Halloween

With the passing of time and mixing of cultures as "incomers" to the island bring their own customs, things do become rather confused and today many see Halloween and Hop-tu-Naa as one and the same.

In reality there is no connection. Hop-tu-Naa is really a celebration of "Oie Houney", the original New Year's Eve.

As such it is a sole reminder of these ancient times and the words Hop-tu-Naa are a corruption of Shogh ta'n Oie, meaning "this is the night".

However, the Celtic New Year was moved to the secular new year on 1 January, a move still remembered in Scotland where "Hogmanay", from the same root words, is still celebrated.

The Celtic year was divided into quarters and Sauin, or new year, was celebrated in Mee Houney, the Manx for November.

Ginnie the Witch

The fact remains, like it or not, that the two festivals are very much linked for many young practitioners.

How many Hop-Tu-Naaers know the words to the traditional Manx Gaelic song?

The answer is very few - although it is to be hoped a recent resurgence of interest in Manx Gaelic and the formation of a Manx speaking play group and primary school may help rectify this situation.

Today the chances are you will be treated to a rendition, or more likely part-rendition, of Ginnie the Witch, a song which seemingly adds to the confusion between Hop-tu-Naa and Halloween despite having been around for a good number of decades.

If you are less lucky, you may be assailed with another presumably none Manx variant, The Witches of Halloween, but few will be serenaded with the original Manx Song Shoh Shenn Oie Houiney, Hop-tu-Naa, T'an Eayst Soilshean, Trol-la-laa or This is old Hollandtide Night/The Moon Shines Bright.

Children with their turnip lanterns at Cregneash in 2009

And what of the lanterns? A proper Hop-tu-Naaer will have a hollowed out turnip the size of a man's head, with flickering eyes and jagged mouth illuminated from within by a candle.

Burning turnip

A good turnip lantern is worth a pound of anyone's money, safe in the knowledge that someone, though probably not the little cherub on your doorstep, has suffered sprained wrists and blistered thumbs scooping it out.

Tragically there is now a much-preferred soft option, the pumpkin.

True, they make very nice lanterns but they are really not in the same league. Cut the top off, turn it upside down and the insides practically fall out.

This American import goes hand-in-turnip with that other transatlantic custom, Trick or Treat, in which a devil mask and bin liner are all that are needed to do the rounds, with the threat of a trashed flowerbed if the homeowner is not forthcoming with a treat.

Three customs muddled into one night - it can only be the Isle of Man.

Hop-tu-Naa, it seems, has a confused present and an uncertain future, but it is to be hoped it does survive; a generation of children deprived of the smell of burning turnip would be a poorer one indeed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-15337057

Philippines and Pangangaluluwa (souling)

 

                               

Pangangaluluwà, Souling

Pangangaluluwà is the rural filipino tradition of celebrating All Soul’s Day Eve.  Kids would form groups and go house to house offering a song in exchange for money or food. The children would sing and residents would offer a kind of filipino version of a soul cake, usually súman, a kind of rice cake.  They are said to represent the souls stuck in purgatory, asking for prayers from the living to help them get to heaven. The carolers would also be allowed to steal sundry items from homes they visited, such as clothes from clotheslines, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. The householders would explain away the thefts as caused by the spirits returning to the world of the living.

Starting at midnight of November 1st and through November 2nd, families celebrate All Souls’ Day by taking a time off their busy schedules to go and visit graves. It’s like an informal family reunion because everyone drops in and visits the graves of even the most distant relatives.  You bring flowers and candles, clean headstones, some light gardening around the plot, and even make food for your dead ones. Usually you stay for the whole day keeping the candles lit and catching up on family news.

The Pangangaluluwà tradition is fading, and now a days (especially in the cities) most just celebrate a traditional western Halloween with Trick or Treating, before celebrating All Souls’ Day

http://www.annetrent.com/2013/10/halloween-in-the-philippines-pangangaluluwa/

Asian Yu Lan

Halloween, like many holidays, has a rather interesting history. In fact Halloween’s roots are in in Paganism, going all the way back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that, during Samhain, supernatural beings were bought to Earth via a ‘door’ to the Celtic Otherworld.

In many parts of the world – and even in the UK to some extent – Halloween has retained some of its spiritual aspects, and is not merely an excuse to watch horror movies and eat sugary treats (although, who needs an excuse?). Here, we take a look Halloween around the world and how different cultures have their own Halloween-type traditions.

ASIA

In China and Hong Kong, ‘Halloween’ is actually on the fifteenth night of the seventh month (around late August) and is known as Yu Lan, aka the Hungry Ghost Festival. The main purpose of Yu Lan is to remember family. Most would recognise Yu Lan by one particular ceremony: the floating of a Chinese lotus lantern down a river. Another tradition is to leave food out for the hungry ghosts of deceased family members – a common practise in much of Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Similar festivals are held in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Out of our little box on Holloween!

                                

This world is much bigger than our own western culture. I'd like to take this next week to challenge you to experience this season of Halloween though another culture. I will be posting this next week about current and historical traditions from around the world in celebration of Halloween, harvest, and fall themes. 

Let's look outside our box at the bigger world around us. 

If you could!

If you could send a note back to your younger self, what would you say?

Please let us know! 

Our Compassion Defines Us

                             

                            

Compassion is a trait that defines part of what it means to be human - without compassion; we would walk around with a mere “what can you do for me?” attitude towards others, devastating our idea of relationships, family, community, and even survival.

Do you know what it is really like to be numb from bitter cold, hungry because you haven't had enough food, and aimlessly wandering the city streets every day worrying about your own safety and livelihood?

I didn't, either! And this is where my project began. Anyone can talk about how to help the homeless.

“We need to create more jobs!”

“We need a real livable minimum wage!”

“We need better mental health care!”

In truth, much of America is living life with a high amount of debt. Rent, mortgages, vehicle loans, school loans, credit card debt, and medical bills all need to be paid.  Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, or just a little better.  A staggering number of Americans are said to be only one paycheck away from homelessness.

It would only take one catastrophe - maybe not even a major one – before anyone of us could find ourselves homeless. The loss of a job, a medical problem, the death of a family member, or a collapsing economy are all potential disasters.  As secure as we may feel, we are not exempted from this.

How long could you pay your debts without an income? How long before you, too, found yourself looking for a warm place to sleep?

Yet when we see them, holding a sign, asking for change, we turn our heads away and ignore them because the image of us being at the mercy of the elements and not having a secure place to call home is too difficult and frightening to look at. They are people just like you and me, who probably still have families somewhere. Put yourself in their position for a moment. Would you want to be on an urban street corner or in an alleyway, tossed aside like a bag of garbage? Without sympathy and compassion?

                              

Last week I spent an hour walking in their shoes. I wanted to get to know what it really feels like to be in a position where I was at the mercy of the generosity of others. This project was very difficult for me as I am stubborn and do not like to ask for help at all.

My sign read “SEEKING HUMAN KINDNESS”, and that is exactly what I was doing. My emotions were raw that morning. I was on a mission to see humanity without the rose tinted glasses, and I was scared that I would be disappointed.

I went through a whirl wind of emotions as I stood there holding my sign. Fear for my safety and pride for having to ask for help gripped at my chest. Being a woman and a mother, I cannot imagine what homelessness with young children would be like.  I am horrified to even consider it.

I felt angry and defeated as people drove past without so much as glancing at me.  Maybe glancing would force them to see that I existed. As long as I am out of sight, they don’t have to show compassion. This along with the humiliation of standing there asking for help in the first place was horribly dehumanizing.

   

I felt hope when someone did stop long enough to look me in the eye and smile at me, showing me compassion and giving me value with their glance. And when a generous-hearted person would stop and give me some warm coffee or food, or a few dollars, I was indeed able to feel human.

There were two noteworthy people that stopped for me that day.one was a woman who gave me food and money and asked me my name. She asked how I came to stand on that corner and what it would take for me to get off the street.  She even offered me a warm place to sit in her car for a while if I needed to rest. This woman was a light to me in this moment and left me in tears when she drove away with prayers for me in her heart.

                                 

The other person was an elderly truck driver with a long grey beard and no teeth. He pulled into the parking lot where I was standing. Something was wrong with a tire on his truck and after 10 minutes of fiddling with it he came over to me, offered me a smile, and handed me a single dollar bill. He told me that he had been in my shoes once upon a time, and that he hopes I get to a safe place in life. He told me that he wished he had more money to give but that that dollar was the last of his cash. Looking at that kind gentle man I could see that he was close to holding a sign of his own.

I began to cry again as he walked away, knowing that I just saw the face of a very good man and I was lucky to have met him. His selfless generosity despite his own circumstances showed me the common decency in humanity.  The human kindness I was seeking did in fact exist and perhaps made me a fuller human being for witnessing it personally.

I knew that I would not keep any gifts or donations received while holding that sign. I would find someone who needed it and give it to them for its intended purpose. What I did not know is that I would be able to meet and help a young family out that very evening. Ironically I found this family standing on the same corner I had hours earlier, they were holding their own sign asking for help.

I parked my car and approached them. I was able to tell them about my experience, and ask them about their story. I listened as they told me about a small business collapse, a lay off, and a current session of day jobs that never paid enough to get back on their feet. I gave them the money I had received and enough extra to get a safe hotel room for the night. Leaving them with hugs, my job was almost over.

The only thing left for me to do was to come back here and share these experiences with you so that you might also be encouraged to find a smile and a glace for those who you pass by. You never know how much they might need it. Compassion is what defines us.