Samhain: History and Customs
Samhain is the most sacred on most Neo-Pagan calenders, and some see it as a “Pagan New Year.” Pronounced “SO-wen,” this is the day that signals the actual death of the Sacred King. Samhain is the final harvest, but not so much of plants and vegetables, but of something more sacred.
The full moon of October has long been known by the name the “Blood Moon,” as during this month animals were selected to be slaughtered for meat for the winter. It was often said that if an herd animal made it to Wintertime (the day of Samhain marks the start of Wintertime), then it was going to live to next summer. Animals would be slaughtered and the cut meat put into a pit of snow to keep more or less fresh. Remaining animals would be driven between two bonfires to bless them for the winter months.
On Samhain, the town would extinguish the fires in the houses, and then take fire from the sacred bonfires and kindle fresh fire in their homes. Auguries and divinations were also done at this time of year to read the fortunes for the next year. While popular etymology suggests that Samhain means "end of summer" (from Sam Fuin or "summer end"), the word is probably from an Indo-European root *saman- which means "assembly" and is found in the same word in both Gothic and Sanskrit, "Samana." It would be a more fitting understanding, as the town would stand in assembly to mark the end of the harvest.
Irish Mythology tells us that at this time of year, it was believed by the ancient Celts that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead would become incredibly thin, and the spirits of the ancestors would come to visit. It was common to carve a turnip (they didn't have pumpkins in the good old days) and put a candle in it to mark to the spirits of the dead where the house was. A skull or even a whole skeleton of a person might be put in a window to act as both a mark to the spirits and also to symbolize the death of the earth. A place would be set at the table for the spirits of the dead, as they expected hospitality.
It was only later, in the Middle Ages, that the day of Samhain went from being a holiday to commemorate the dead to one of fear and superstition, and the belief that evil spirits roamed the earth. This was actually based on the Roman Festival of the Lemuria, a set of days to placate the evil spirits with offerings. The Roman Catholic Church, which had placed All Saint's Day on the 13th of May to coincide with the Lemuria moved it to November 1 as the Lemuria faded out as a holiday but the festival of Samhain was well known in the British Isles.
Even in Christian Ireland, the concept of placating the Aos Si (the fae folk) at Samhain was done, leaving treats out for them to win their favor in protecting the herds during the winter season. Also, as this period was a liminal time, other spirits, not quite so nice, would be roaming around during the period of Samhain. It was common among Celts in the Middle Ages to walk around after sunset either with one's shirt turned inside out, or wearing a mask or some kind of hiding robe to keep the spirits from seeing them
As you can see, the idea of costumes and treats given out at homes on Halloween come from these older ideas. And of course, if the house didn't provide the Aos Si with the treats, who knows what tricks might be played out. By the late middle ages, people were going door to door dressed as the Aos Si and asking for food, which then became the whole modern "Tricks or Treats" we have today.
One last historical note: in ancient Ireland, there did not seem to be a single day devoted to Samhain -- each town celebrated the end of the harvest and the coming of winter when their harvest ended. By the 8th Century, however, with the standardization of the calendar in Britain and Ireland via the Church, Samhain was celebrated on the last day of October, and the Church, as mentioned above, placed All Saints on Nov 1 and All Souls on Nov 2.
In the cycle of the Sacred King, on the day of Samhain the King dies - either as an old man, or is sacrificed for the good of the people. This puts the Sacred Female into a state of grieving from which she will not emerge until the next Imbolc. The earth goes fallow, the sky dark, and the gods “depart the earth.” Again, from Irish Mythology, kings such as Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae died on Samhain, so the concept of "the king that dies" was firmly implanted in Irish folklore at that time.
The Harvest is done, the time of Manifestation is complete. Samhain marks the end of Autumntime and the start of Wintertime it the old Celtic and Brythonic marking of time. We now enter the period of dark, rest, and reflection on what we have made manifest. Rest is necessary before the seeds of our next cycle begin metaphorically at Imbolc, which marks the start of Springtime. We must see what we have, before we can deduce what we need.
A blessed Samhain and Wintertime to you all, friends.