Samhain is Here Again

Samhain
Halloween
Hallowmas
All Hallows' Eve
All Saints' Day
La Dia de Los Muertos

There are many names for it. There are many ways in which it is celebrated. It is that time of the year when the veil is at its thinnest. A time when communication with the ancestors and the other world is made easier. It is this time of the year when we see the most paranormal activity. Is it that there is more activity or is it that we are just more open to it or aware of it?

Autumn brings with it the final harvest of the year, the changing and falling of the leaves, the time of transition for the earth from the fertile growing season to the white blanket of winter. It is a time to gather in the last of the food stores and prepare for the long, cold winter. Our pagan ancestors faced much harsher realities than us when it came to surviving the winters. It was imperative that enough food had been put up to last until the warm months and the sun came back to breathe new life into the earth.

Samhain was and is the pagan New Year. Our ancestors spent the holy day worshipping their ancestors and giving thanks for the harvest. It was a time to ward off evil to ensure that the family made it through the winter, a time of protection and appeasement.

There are many sites that offer more in-depth information and history for you. My goal is to get you thinking and wondering. As you head out to the many parties, corn mazes, haunted tours, and of course to score all that yummy candy, at least offer up a quiet prayer of thanks for our ancestors and their abilities to endure the hardships they encountered that ensured our existence.