How do pagans and wiccans celebrate halloween?

Answer 1

All Wiccans are Pagan.
Wiccans celebrate Samhain...(summers end)
It's on November 1.
You have a dumb supper...it's when everyone sets at the table and says nothing while honoring the dead with a plate of food set out for the dead.
The altar is decorated with squash. pumpkins, orange and black candles and any memorabilia of the ancestors.
You light pumpkins and lanterns out to scare away evil spirits...and....
There's also the tradition of bobbing for apples...
where you carve the name of the one you love on a single apple...and when you grab an apple out...if you grab the apple with the name carved in it....it's said you two will be together...
This is also the time when the veil between the worlds are at it's thinnest and will be the time of the year when you will most likely come in contact with a spirit or ancestor through divination such as Tarot, Ouija, and pendulums...

This is the time of the year when the god dies so to come back in spring...this is a time for remembrance for loved ones who have passed on and keeping the ancestry alive by talking about them and setting their favorite food out for them..

There's also the tradition of the burning bowl...
you write down all the things negative in your life and burn them in a bowl and ask the goddess/es and god/s turn it into something positive for you...
It's the witches new year as well...so this would be a good time for resolutions on what you wish to change in your life

and yes...if you practice magic...this is a good time to do spells to rid yourself of something such as a bad habit and burn ties with people or things you wish to leave.
Such a magical time of year....

Answer 2

I'll be brief: In the Wiccan tradition, Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, is known as Samhain, and it is the religious new year. I can't speak for all Wiccans, but many that I know perform rituals to praise their ancestors who came before them; some try to make contact with them. Since this is the time when the conduits between the physical plane and the spiritual plane are strongest, one tradition I know of is to leave a plate of food at a table in front of an empty chair as an offering for an ancestor spirit to come join the celebration. Being with loved ones, past and present, is the main theme of the holiday, since many people believe that the way you begin the year is an indicator of how the rest of the year will go.

Answer 3

Not all Neo-Pagans celebrate Samhain (which is the religious holy day that Halloween has some of its roots in).

Among Wiccans, however, Samhain is the last harvest festival and also our "day of the dead" when we take time to remember and honor our loved ones who have left this world. Some Wiccans celebrate Samhain on October 31st, but others celebrate it on the astrological cross-quarter day when the Sun enters fifteen degrees Scorpio (this year that is on November 6th).

Halloween is a secular celebration that's all about dressing up, eating candy, and having some scary fun. :-)

Answer 4

Holy cow. There are a bunch of ways...

But in all fairness:

Halloween is the secular holiday. It's celebrated by giving out candy to costumed children.

Samhain is the religious holiday. Ways I've celebrated Samhain include:

Honoring those who have died.
Meditating on my own mortality.
Meditating on how all things change.
Walking a labyrinth.
Having a silent supper in honor of our ancestors.
Doing divination for the new year.
Trancework.
Sharing food and sacred space with friends.
Honoring the Gods, especially the Gods of the dead.

Answer 5

Depends what Pagan path they follow.

To Celtic Pagans like me it is New Year and the festival for honouring the dead.We call it Samhain and we believe it is the time when the barriers between this world and the spirit world are at their thinnest.We pray and meditate.Burn a candle or incense to honour the ancestors. We remember those who have gone before us.We set a place for them to eat with us for our evening meal and many of us eat in silence so we will be aware of any message they send us.It is also a time for quitting bad habits and/or setting goals for the coming year.

Answer 6

Rituals, general celebration (I like the dynamite combo of spiced cider and kit-kats).

There are a few family traditions that I usually go along with every year, and none of them are particularly pagan, but whatever. It's not about running around skyclad throwing crescent cakes at houses while sprinkling consecrated water on the ground ;-P

Answer 7

Samhain celebrated on or around Halloween to honor the dead speak to loved ones you have lost that year or in the past and do work because your energy is high on that night.magickal work not farming

Answer 8

Costumes, Jack O'lanterns, trick or treating, a glass of wine :)

This year a bunch of people decided that since I have kids, my house is the place to be, so I'm making dinner and having snacks & treats in addition to the usual bit.

Answer 9

The three of us mostly sat around today smearing a nice clean sheet all nasty with stuff...it's red and brown now, and it kinda smells funny. We will be watching Clive Barker movies and harrassing the local gaming community come the dawn.

Answer 10

We usually do rituals mostly to honor our relatives who have passed on, beyond the veil.

some good ideas are at the site below.

Blessings
Aviana