10/12/2024
Halloween HistoryRhia, Shad, and I at Harvest Moon Acres, Gobles, MI ![]() Samhain History Evidence It’s that time of the year again, when ghosts and spectres roam the land, and academic-types come out of the woodwork to disparage Traditional Witchcraft legends about Samhain / Halloween / Nos Calan Gaeaf. Including whether or not the name was actually Samhain, although it’s the name for the month of November in various Gaelic languages. Pronounced Sow-hen (unless you’re from Chicago, where it’s pronounced like it’s spelled!) The holiday is called Allantide in Kerneweck (Cornish), also Nos Kalen Gwaf or Gwav “night before the new year”, Hop tu Naa in Manx, Samhain in Irish Gaelic “summer’s done”, noz an Anaon in Breton “night of the dead”, Oidhche Shamhna in Scottish Gaelic “night before November”. Norse traditions call it Alfablót which means “sacrifice to the Elves”. The holiday commemorates the beginning of Winter or the Dark Half of the year. Samhain can mean “Summer is Over” as Sam /Gam = Summer, Ain = is not. (This may well be where the word “ain’t” comes from.) Yet Samhain also might have its roots in a proto-Indo-European word for “gathering”. The Romans noted that Celtic people hosted a huge blowout during the final days of harvest, with bonfires and singing. During the late 1700s, Cymraeg poet Iolo Morganwg was involved in a Druidic revival, and also Welsh nationalism. This is a case where nationalistic ideals were not a bad thing, as Cymric people were very much repressed by the English. Anyway, Morganwg called the holiday Nos Calan Gwaef, which means “night before the calends of winter”. “Fact-checker” historians seem to base most of their theories on written evidence, which does not help in studying pre-literate peoples. Other sources can include archeological evidence, the study of folklore, the study of language, and anthropological studies of existing populations. Some of the ancestral customs are still carried on today. Many scholars debate if Halloween traditions were mostly adaptations of Christianity. No doubt, some were, indeed. Sir James George Fraizer speculated that the All Souls’ and All Saints’ celebrations were moved from springtime to early November by the Pope, for the express purpose of supplanting Samhain. There’s several customs which have Christian parallels, such as Trick-or-Treating resembling Soulin’ while trading labor and song for soul cakes. It’s a chicken-or-egg situation, as there are many house-to-house begging traditions in the Celtic lands, several of which have no Christian overtones, whatsoever. There is plenty of evidence about Halloween being the end of the year, as well as a day to honor the dead. For one, during the Anglo-Saxon incursion into Britain, many Celtic Britons fled to the north of France, which is still called Britany, and these folk are still called Bretons. Their name for the holiday literally translates as “night of the dead”. They also tell the story about l’Ankou, a psychopomp who collects souls of the dead. His name is closely related to the Cymraeg /Welsh yr Angau. Both of these names translate as the Death. The specter, wearing a floppy black hat, comes in a wagon with creaky wheels, drawn by a spectral white horse, to gather the spirits. He can be seen on many old gravestones in the region. Yr Angau was later the inspiration for the Grim Reaper, scythe and all. No Christianization of that one! Halloween / Nos Calan Gaeaf is one of the four Ysbrednos, which is Cymraeg for Spirit Nights. There is plenty of existing lore about fairies, spirits, and other beings which are and were active on this night. The Hwch Ddu Gwta, an enormous black pig with a cut tail, is said to follow travelers to eat them at the beginning of winter. Crops must be harvested prior to Halloween /Samhain, or they become the property of the Puca /Pwca, a gigantic horse-like figure who can destroy homes and crops. These agricultural monsters may represent various Celtic god-forms, such as the Morrygan or Rhiannon. The legends of frightening beasts may have come from the custom of culling the herds, driving some livestock to market, and slaughtering others. There are written records to show the sale of animals and the final harvest of the agricultural year. Not only that, but it makes good sense – we wait until it’s cold to slaughter and preserve animals for food, to reduce spoilage. However, butchering is a gross, bloody undertaking (see what I did there? undertaking, hee hee) and may have given rise to some spooky tale-telling. In England and Ireland, Halloween /Samhain was a Quarter Day. This meant that farmers were expected to pay rents and taxes, and make good on their debts . It also makes sense to do that AFTER the harvest and slaughter is completed, and people have money to spend. What is now November first was considered the end of the year, when financial issues had to be settled. I’ll write some more about Samhain / Halloween /Nos Calan Gwaef traditions in a subsequent post. Enjoy the Season! Final Harvest at Our House
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A.C. Fisher Aldag
Chronicler of Cymric Folklore, Granmother and grouch. Enjoyer of good food. Archives
February 2025
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Publications
Woman Afraid of Water from City Owl Press
Common Magick from Llewellyn Worldwide Witches & Pagans # 38 & # 39 from BBI Llewellyn's Witches' Companion 2022, 2023 & 2024 from Llewellyn Worldwide Llewellyn's Spell-a-Day Almanac, 2025 from Llewellyn Worldwide |
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