I think a lot of people do not understand that there is a difference between Samhain and Halloween. Could someone who is Pagan/Satanic/Wiccan please explain the difference.
Thank you!
2006-08-18 07:04:21 · 9 answers · asked by Searcher 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I can't believe how critical people are of this question! I thought that this forum was to allow people to ask questions? I'm sorry if putting all three categories together was offensive. I asked because I was merely curious about the difference.
But I want to thank those of you who did give me an answer so I could better understand the difference.
2006-08-18 08:45:27 · update #1
Halloween at best is a holiday of sorts for little children to extort candy from their neighbors. While it is derived from a pagan holy day, Halloween is purely frivolous and retains only the most superficial associations and images of paganism.
Samhain, however, is a holy day. For many pagans, it it the pagan "Day of the Dead", similar to El Dia de Los Muertos in Mexico. At this time, pagans believe that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest. Rituals are performed to remember and to honour the dead, particularly loved ones who have passed, as well as rituals of divination and other forms of magicks that relate to the dead.
Blessed Be.
2006-08-18 07:18:43 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Okay...FIRST of all....Satanists have nothing to do with Wiccans or Pagans. Satanist believe in the CHRISTIAN concept of the devil so they are a group unto themselves.
Most Pagans and Wiccans celebrate Samhain (All Hallows Eve) as the Pagan New Year. It is a time when the season turns cold and it is a representation of the end of the harvest and the death of the land so that it can be reborn again in the spring. We celebrate those we love who have passed and prepare a great feast looking forward to the new year.
It also has it's origins in that it is/has been believed (by mostly Christians) that it is the night when ghosts and spirits are allowed to walk the earth. To "combat" this, somewhere in history someone thought it was a good idea to dress up in costumes to "blend in" to the "evil" that was supposedly walking around so that they would not be taken, killed, corrupted or whatever. Hollywood and Hallmark got hold of it, renamed it Halloween and it has now become the farse it is today.
2006-08-18 14:18:21 · answer #2 · answered by PaganPoetess 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Pagans and Wiccans are not Satanists. Actually, people mistake Satanists for Devil worshippers because of the "Satan" in "Satanist". But they don't even believe in the Devil. Anyway, just had to clear that up. I'm somewhat new to Paganism, but Samhain is not the day of the Devil, nor is it his "birthday". I don't know much about the Esbats and Sabbats, sorry.
2006-08-18 14:13:20 · answer #3 · answered by Rachel the Atheist 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Samhain is the final harvest and the Celtic New Year. We honor our ancestors, we give thanks for what we have aquired and give up bad habits that no longer serve a purpose in our lives.
The following is from WitchVox...
The Last Harvest. The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God. We know that He will once again be reborn of the Goddess and the cycle will continue. This is the time of reflection, the time to honor the Ancients who have gone on before us and the time of 'Seeing" (divination). As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life.
Blessings )O(
2006-08-18 14:15:28 · answer #4 · answered by Epona Willow 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Samhain is the time when the boundry between this world and the next is thinest - spirits who were seeking revenge were therefore more easily able to pass through the barrier and seek out those who did them wrong.
2006-08-18 14:12:02 · answer #5 · answered by bregweidd 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Why do you group satanists with pagans and wiccans? Do you not realize that satanism is an outcropping of the catholic church. Pagan religions and wicca predate catholiscism.
Are facts unimportant in religious rhetoric?
2006-08-18 14:12:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is the same ad Jesus and God - Halloween is the son of Samhain. But they are both one !
2006-08-18 14:14:48 · answer #7 · answered by R G 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I've never heard of Samhain... could you tell me what it is?
2006-08-18 14:11:25 · answer #8 · answered by hunterlm84 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
i think pagans/satanics/wiccans r stupid
2006-08-18 14:10:42 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 8⤋