All Saint’s Day is a seasonal celebration linked to the natural world and the spirit world. It is a time of year that acknowledges the ending of one of nature’s cycles – movement toward winter and slowing down. The crops have all finished and nature is dying back. The connection with death and dying is a theme throughout this season: considered to be a time when the veil between the two worlds – living and the afterlife – was very thin; the spirit world was close.
This is the time of year was where people acknowledged people who had passed on into the spirit world in the past 12 months. The dead could either cross over, move on or send messages back to their loved ones. People would light candles and tell stories about their loved ones who had passed on.
In Ireland it is called Samhain (sowein) and also known as All Saints Day. It is one of the 8 major celebrations of the year occurring between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice.
In the Northern hemisphere the official celebration of All Saints Day (aka All Hallows Day) occurs on November 1st. October 31st was the day before– and became known as All Hallows Eve. Sound familiar?
Over the past decades/even centuries, All Hallows Eve was eventually shortened to Halloween. If you ask most people they will tell you that Halloween comes from the United States, but the origins go back much further, and the traditions were brought there from their European ancestors.
So what is All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints day all about?
The turn in weather and darkness coming on early sets the scene for the stories to come to life. Children are told it is a time when ghouls, ghosts and demons can appear. It is quite easy to imagine a chill running down your back with a crisp winter wind whipping at your neck. The ritual of dressing up as ghosts and ghouls is all part of the tradition and was originally designed to disguise our human form so we can’t be caught out by any demons. The Jack-o-lanterns are part of the candle lighting ceremony and the faces carved into them are to ward off evil spirits.
If you are in the southern hemisphere and a traditionalist, like me, you might be following the celebration of nature with the wheel of the year – acknowledging the shift into a more inward focus and slowing down this time of year.
In the Northern Hemisphere they are celebrating Beltaine. This festival is all about fertility and abundance which fits with the energetic feeling of Spring, and the connection with nature.
For me, I will be holding a ceremony that fits with this time of year – honouring those we have lost over the past 12 months. This is particularly significant this year as we have lost 2 very dear family members, but I look forward to sitting around the fire pit this weekend exchanging memories & stories that bring them back to the mind and celebrate the life they lived and the meaning they had for us.