Halloween comes home: New 'Púca' festival could attract 100,000 visitors

Fáilte Ireland is investing €1.5 million in a festival bringing Halloween back to its roots, reports Pól Ó Conghaile

Read more here.

Halloween by Dúchas.ie

A downloadable presentation:

"From earliest recorded history in Ireland, Halloween (All Hallows Eve), or Oíche Shamhna was considered a turning point in the calendar. 

Samhain (November 1st), meant the start of winter, when cattle were brought down from summer pastures, tributes and rents paid, and other business contracted.

Samhain, marks the close of the season of light and the beginning of the dark half of the year, and was therefore perceived as a liminal moment in time when movement between the otherworld and this world was possible. ... "

Samhain

It's that time of year - again

"Autumn, The Hermitage, Scotland"  by Picture Girl

Book Giveaway: Pagan Writers Presents – Samhain

The Pagan Writers Community are giving away a copy of their upcoming anthology, "Pagan Writers Presents – Samhain"

Go to the PWC blog to post a comment, as entries close later today.

Not My New Year

"Autumn, The Hermitage, Scotland"  by Picture Girl

As usual, I have read various articles and blogs relating to paganism and witchcraft as Samhain approaches. Having read the same statement several times over, I feel the need to use this blog to make a statement of my own: I do not consider Samhain the pagan new year. As it happens, not all pagans follow the same path and/or festivals and many do not believe Samhain to be the Celtic new year, myself included.

For me it is the final mark of the end of Summer, the beginning of winter as part of a never-ending cycle; a time to remember those of my family/clan who have passed; and a time for divination, as the veil becomes thinner.

Small Sacrifices

Recently, on a predominantly non-pagan message board, someone asked for suggestion on how to "celebrate" Samhain without spending too much money.   Many of the respondents gave a run-down of what they do, personally, at this time of year, as did I.

I generally sit out on fire festivals.  This involves staying out-of-doors from sun down to sunrise, meditating on what the time of year/festival might have meant to my ancestors, performing little rituals appropriate for the season and various other activities.   I have often considered my efforts rather tame and effortless in comparison to some; perhaps even bordering on laziness, so the responses I received to my suggestion took me rather by surprise.

"Oh no.  I couldn't do that; I'll freeze."  Fire and rugs don't seem to exist in the 21st century.

"What if it's raining?   I can't risk catching a cold."   Apparently, colds are spread by rain, not viruses.

"I can't go a whole night without sleep."  Is napping now a lost art?  Bearing in mind, Samhain fell on a weekend this year, I find this objection rather weak.  What's more meditation, when done correctly, can revive.

"Oh, I can't stay out the whole night, but I might go out after "Strictly Come Dancing" and "X-Factor"."   It seems false idols now take precedence over our gods, ancestors, and genius loci.

 

I have to admit the weather this year was foul, and I do camp in a place that is protected from the weather somewhat, whilst still giving a good view of the horizons.   I also have to admit that I did not sit out this past Samhain, but this was due to a (contagious and heavily medicated) illness, but that didn't stop me undertaking an all-night vigil, and doing as much as I could to mark the season.   Even so, I find it difficult to understand the attitude of some people to a little sacrifice in honour of their gods/ancestors/sacred festivals.  How is it that a small amount of time, or a bit of discomfort is too much?   It's not like I was suggesting people part with the hard-earned, and let's face it these days, precious cash.  I know people claim to be time poor these days, but is six nights a year such a strain?  Does our faith/religion/spirituality not deserve at least that much devotion?

 

I often hear people talk, and write about not wanting to pay for their spirituality or religion, but I always assumed they meant money.  I think I was wrong: perhaps what is sought is free spirituality, i.e. free from commitment, effort or exertion of mind, body or soul ~ free to do what you want, when you want and only if you want.

 

*****

 

Before anyone jumps up and says:  "You're just being a grouch and what's wrong with having fun at Halloween anyway?".  

 

There's nothing wrong with having fun, joining in trick-or-treating, going to costume balls, and this can be combined with other, more spiritual activities effortlessly, as so many of my friends manage to do.  It's the  "can't be bothered" and "I've got more important things to do" attitudes with which I take issue.

 

*****

I do wonder:

1. If pagans find these small sacrifices too much to bear, exactly what, if anything, are they willing to do in the name of their beliefs?
   
2. And, what would they honestly consider a real sacrifice?

The Mirror Crack’d

I was ill over Samhain, so was not able to do my usual ritual. Instead, I read some unique folklore and thought I would give it a try. In order to do this, I needed to use a mirror and I thought I would use my obsidian mirror, which I keep in a wooden chest along with other particular items.


All well and good, except when I unravelled the silk in which it is wrapped, I found the wooden frame was cracked. The damage wasn't too bad, so I used the mirror anyway and proved the merit of this particular piece of folklore.


My only dilemma now is how to get the mirror repaired. I don't want to use superglue as this might affect the integrity of the original work, which is beautiful. I might have to contact its maker and send it away for repairs, but I am loathe to part with it, in case further, irreparable damage occurs. Still, I can't leave it as it is.


What to do?

Keeping up with the Christians?

As the Christmas season approaches, I've noticed a lot of discussions surrounding decorations and celebrations by various pagans and my curiousity has been peaked. I notice the same thing occuring around Easter and, best of all, people referring to Samhain as the Celtic New Year.

Why do so many pagans feel the need to find/invent a festival to co-incide with those of the Christian/secular calendar?

Is there something lacking in those provided by their own tradition?

Why do so many pagans feel the need to adopt the festivals from all the traditions?

Personally, I don't do Christmas or Easter and my new year is not at Samhain [whole other argument which falls outside the remit of this post]. I realise that the northern traditions have feast days such as Ostara and Yule, and the Romans celebrated Saturnalia on 17 December, but these are outside of my personal belief system, so I don't acknowledge them. I am happy with my four fire festivals and two solstices (which are acknowledged on a purely personal level) and don't feel the need to join in the celebrations of others. It feels complete to me.

So, why do so many feel these are not enough, incorporating the Christian and secular holidays in their year? Why try to blend the Christian/secular celebrations with a pagan one?

All this and then there are the rather confused local councils who go around changing things from Christmas to winter festivals so as to not offend non-Christians. As a non-Christian, I object to council's doing this. Why? Because I live in (what I thought was) a Christian country, so I expect to see people freely practising their religion and celebrating it. Seeing the councils change things actually makes me wary about the ability of the citizens to celebrate any religion openly, including paganism.

Anyways, back to the topic. If you are someone who incorporates an eclectic mix of festivals from various pagan faiths into your calendar, may I be so bold as to ask why?

This post is rather convaluted, but I find the whole idea rather confusing. So, forgive me if I come back and edit it at some point.