"Halloween" ?

[miss_vanora]

This will be my first Samhain I will be celebrating and am doing my self-dedication on this day. Getting lots of ideas just reading everyone's posts!

I do a Jack O Lantern and put candles near to windows.

I get a nice big Pumpkin so that I can make lots of Pumpkin Soup. Then I freeze it so that we have some for other days...When that's all gone and I can't get a Pumpkin, Butternut Squash is a real nice alternative.

MW.

[norseman]

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

Green men, green witches, green apples, ahh.

Halloween will always be a reason to smile for me, norsie. I grew up in the 50's/60's and it was all for fun. Oddly, the season was the reason for the season! Cool evenings, families doing things together - carving those pumpkins, grandma making pumpkin pies, and mom helping with the costumes.

I'll honor and respect your Samhain if you respect my Halloween. What's in a name, so says Mr. Shakespeare?

SG - 50/60's - never heard of halloween until around the 80/90's. Pumpkins also an unknown quantity.
Tell me, how does Halloween go down in your Bible Belt ?

[Silver]

Originally Posted by norseman

SG - 50/60's - never heard of halloween until around the 80/90's. Pumpkins also an unknown quantity.
Tell me, how does Halloween go down in your Bible Belt ?

Hehe, we've been smashin' pumpkins (or at least some of the neighborhood boys) since then (50/60's) and waxing people's windows if they're especially mischievous - not to mention toilet-papering people's houses, trees, cars, what fun!

It was all innocent (relatively speaking) fun for little kids to dress up and go door to door every Halloween when I was growing up. Then at some point, that DEvilish thing got into overly-religious types, I guess. I still don't know why. I've never personally lived in the Bible Belt.

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by norseman

Halloween is pure "Walt Disney" and meaningless.

SAMHAIN
Samhain marks the first day of the Celtic New Year. It is celebrated on November 1. Most consider October 31 to be the Eve of Samhain.
Samhain is the "Feast of the Dead." The Celts would celebrate by placing food on tables to honor the spirits of the dead. On this night, the veil between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead is lifted, making communication with spirits easier. The Dark Mother- the crone- and her aging consort, the Dark Father (the god and goddess) were honoured on this night also. Pagans today still celebrate Samhain both to honor the god and goddess, as well as the deceased.


Children would be able to go to any hearth to be fed, as the villagers would be taking turns with cooking and smallest childcare, for the normal life still had to go on. Here we see the earliest beginnings of the tradition of Trick or treat, as the children would be largely unsupervised and be up to all kinds of mischief.

Do my eyes deceive me ? Is there a slight connection between Samhain and Halloween ?

[norseman]

Originally Posted by Dream Angel

Do my eyes deceive me ? Is there a slight connection between Samhain and Halloween ?

Very slight. Communal childcare and mischief -v- organised larceny and begging, dressed in cheap but expensive, tacky costumes.

I really wish I lived in the Northern Hemisphere :/
Finding any pagan community here in South Africa where i live seems so hard. Everything leads me to shops to buy and paid courses online...
Beltane is coming up and I can barely find anything about it or get responses like you could for the European celebrations. Sighness :P

[norseman]

Beltane

For our ancestors, this was the time to move the cattle and sheep away from the village, partly to protect the newly sown crops and also to allow the hay in the near meadows to develop for hay, necessary for winter fodder.

It also got some of the older boys out of the village, taking care of the herds on the hills, the ones too old to be under their mothers' feet, but not yet old enough to become men. (it also kept early maturing boys from troubling the girls). It was a responsible job, to keep the herds together and protect them from raiders or predators, (wolves and bears were British residents back then!). One or two of the boys would trek back to the village for food every couple of days, but otherwise they were out there doing a job for the good of the whole village. Older boys would be learning the trades of the village, or going trading, learning a certain amount of warriorcraft, etc.

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by norseman

Very slight. Communal childcare and mischief -v- organised larceny and begging, dressed in cheap but expensive, tacky costumes.

Mischief is good for the soul

and I beg to differ, on the larceny part .... that is not a true part of Halloween, that could happen any time of the year, anywhere ... no connection

and if you really want to know ... not all costumes are expensive and tacky, I have seen some very creative,imaginative, inexpensive, hand made costumes

and after all is said and done , we can " agree to disagree "

Have a great day !

Gosh! Here In New Zealand, Halloween is all about the 'Lollies' and kids dressing up in costume. (It started to become popular in the late '90's'. It has no other significance to 90 percent of Kiwi's. Kiwi Kids love a chance to celebrate and free lollies and a chance to dress up is the way to go. They will get lollie treats but none would dare do 'tricks' on a house that does not give lollie treats for fear of a boot up the bum:)
There will be small pockets of people in NZ celebrating/acknowledging 'Samhain' but basically it was another american theme that the warehouse fed to our kids. It is a fun night but the true meaning has been lost. I actually love the commefcial part. I rejoice in seeing our kids going out to celebrate a scary but wonderfully fun night.