What is the significance of Halloween to Pagans and Wiccans?

Question

and Are there any Germanic Halloween traditions? Or is Halloween pretty much only a Celtic thing?

Answer 1

I don't know of any Germanic Halloween traditions, it did originate with the celts. It's the Celtic New Year.

But more importantly, this pagan holiday serves a very important and healthy psychological function. It's the holiday that acknowledges the death aspect of the life cycle (all pagan holidays celebrate some aspect of the life cycle),, and invites people to 'walk around in its shoes' so to speak. By dressing up as symbols of the things we fear, and by allowing ourselves to be frightened (as in haunted houses), we acknowledge and embrace our fears and therefore, gain a better understanding of them.

This brings our fear into light and removes its power to make us afraid. So you see, it helps us process the fear and change it into something manageable. The holiday also celebrates the hope of an afterlife, so it's not just about fear either. This is why it's so fun and exciting, and good to participate in. We will get nowhere with our fears if we always run from them.

Answer 2

I'm not a Wiccan, but I know Halloween is derived from the Samhain (pronounced sow-en) festival of the Celts. It was thought that the "veil between the worlds" (that is the "veil" between the Earth and the afterworld where the dead go) was thinnest during that time of year and that the dead could pass back through the veil and return to this world.

Here's a good explanation of it: http://www.samhain.com/samhain.shtml

Answer 3

i always thought it was rooted in the celtic traditions of Saimhan. (Sow-van)

Answer 4

Lots of candy.