Anyone here celebrate Samhain?

Question

what do you usually do for it as a pagan. Such as rituals etc

Answer 1

I have a sister who is a practicing Druid, though Samhain is a general, ancient Celtic holiday/ holy day, also adopted by Wiccans.

One site describes it thus:

Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as O�che Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide.
In the country year, Samhain marked the first day of winter, when the herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer hillside pastures to the shelter of stable.
Those destined for the table were slaughtered, after being ritually devoted to the gods in pagan times. All the harvest must be gathered in -- barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples -- for come November, the faeries would blast every growing plant with their breath, blighting any nuts and berries remaining on the hedgerows. Peat and wood for winter fires were stacked high by the hearth. It was a joyous time of family reunion, when all members of the household worked together baking, salting meat, and making preserves for the winter feasts to come. At at all the turning points of the Celtic year, the gods drew near to Earth at Samhain, so many sacrifices and gifts were offered up in thanksgiving for the harvest. Personal prayers in the form of objects symbolizing the wishes of supplicants or ailments to be healed were cast into the fire.
Samhain was a significant time for divination, perhaps even more so than May or Midsummer’s Eve, because this was the chief of the three Spirit Nights. Divination customs and games frequently featured apples and nuts from the recent harvest, and candles played an important part in adding atmosphere to the mysteries. In Scotland, a child born at Samhain was said to be gifted with shealladh, “The Two Sights” commonly known as “second sight,” or clairvoyance.

The celebration of Samhain continues, esp. in the British Isles, even today, marked mostly by feasting and bonfires. (The ancients just LOVED bonfires!).

Answer 2

Many of us see Samhain as the beginning of the New Year. Many things change at this point in the calendar and it is traditional to have the harvest gathered by 31st October.

It's also known as the Festival of the Dead (which is probably where the modern ghost and ghoul image of Halloween comes from that we know today).

I go into my garden and think about all those family and friends who have gone before me and I give thanks for their lives and the influence they have shown on mine.

Answer 3

We have a big meal, with seasonal foods and our dead relatives favorite dishes. Apples, cider and pork are traditional. Then we read off the names of everyone important to us who died in the past year, friends, family, famous people who were important to us or did work we believed in, soldiers, etc. The list can get long. And we invite them all to join us for dinner, and we prepare a table just for them. We also put photos of our beloved dead on the table, along with other momentos such as jewelry, notes, gifts they gave to us, their favorite flowers, etc.

Then we give thanks for the food, eat it silently, listening only for the voices of those past. Then we might have a seance to speak to the dead one last time before they go or chat with some folks that went before that might be coming back to visit.

At the end, we offer up prayers to the Psychopomp (I call Him Hermes, others call Him something else and sometimes they call Him Her.) and offerings of coins, food and cider. We commend the souls of our loved ones trustingly into His hands.

Then, we drive our cars between fires to bless them, so they'll carry us safely through the winter, because we don't have any cows. Zoning, you know.

Answer 4

I do. Me and my boyfriend every year celebrate Samhain by honoring and remembering our deceased loved ones and ancestors with a "Dumb supper" While we are eating dinner, we listen to our CD of a Satanic Mass led by Anton LaVey. We also exchange a few small gifts, dress up in costumes (even though it's just us 2) Watch horror movies, light candles, eat caramel apples and pumpkin seeds... I can't wait! It's my favorite time of year!

Answer 5

Yes, this is the best time for spell casting and channeling energies as it is the time of the new year and supposedly the day that the 'dead walk the earth'.

I like to celebrate the entire month by learning more and more about the spiritual world.

Answer 6

I do, and we don't really call it Halloween. If anything, we call All Hallows Eve, to make it simpler. It's a harvest festival and the word samhain (pronounced 'sowinn') which basically means that we bring in the harvest that was sown in spring. We then give thanks that the harvest was successful. It is also a time for when the God dies, to be reborn in spring.

Answer 7

yes I do too. BTW great answer super typical of those closed minded idiots who spoil it for everyone.

Answer 8

Yeah, but now we call it Halloween...

Answer 9

nope it made up by Yanks.

Answer 10

if there is a drink involved i'll celibrate it