Halloween often creates a great deal of misunderstanding. Consequently, what follows may help to simplify the situation.
Our modern celebration of Halloween was originally called 'Samhain,' which comes from the Gaelic/Celtic meaning for ‘November’ and ‘summer’s end’. The first Celtic settlers arrived here in around 600 BC, fetching with them their own 'nature - based polytheistic form of spiritual belief systems.
Samhain represented the beginning of the long cold winter. It was a time when the cattle had to be steered into sheltered quarters, as a protective measure against incoming frost and snowstorm. It was also a melancholy period for many Celts because the winter’s chill could always prove too much for numerous elderly, sick, or loved ones badly injured in conflict.
FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD
Because of its link with the 'Dark Half' of the year, Samhain was regarded as the "Festival of the Dead". It stood as a sacred time when the curtain betwixt the living and their cherished ancestors was at its thinnest point. This had nothing to do with evil of any kind. Such preposterous notions were only promoted later on by the narrow-minded Church fathers in order to win the population away from its native, earth-orientated spiritual heritage. Today's Halloween party games such as Trick or treat, Apple-bobbing etc, all stem from primordial Celtic customs/traditions.
Samhain, although often an enormously serious matter to the elders, was in addition a last chance for the younger folk in the tribe to let off steam before the cold blanket of winter finally settled in.
For many years Christianity and Paganism coexisted moderately well. However, in the year 601 AD, Pope Gregory instructed his missionary St Augustine to: ‘Destroy all Pagan Idols and cleanse the native temples’ in order to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity.
The iron-fist of monotheistic absolutism was to open up the floodgates of ethnic spiritual terrorism for the unsuspecting Pagan folk of these green isles.
Many pre-Christian festivals had by this time been requisitioned by the new-fangled ‘one god’ religion from the East. Nonetheless, Samhain with its mysterious balance of reflection, sadness, magic and elation proved the hardest nut for the obsessive missionaries to crack.
NATIVE GODS OF OUR GREEN COUNTRYSIDE TURNED INTO PERSONIFICATIONS OF EVIL BY NEUROTIC CHURCH MISSIONARIES
The Celtic 'Horned God’ Cernunnos, Herne, or Belatucadros (to mention but a few of his titles), is a deity representing the vital masculine fertilising aspects inherent in nature. The Greek Pan and Roman Faunus also occupy parallel 'Horned God' roles.
The original Pagan Celts did ‘not’ believe in the Christian notion of evil (Satan). However, in order to degrade the native Pagan religion of our ancestors the Christian Church produced the destructive myth that native horned deities, like the above, were all different faces of the 'Devil'.
More about the Horned God here: http://ufodigest.com/article/sign-horned-one
Evil within the Church – the lie to end all lies…
Bigoted absolutist moralisers are still to this day using this outrageous Christian lie; deviously linking our rich Pagan spiritual birthright with ecclesiastically - professed evil. Of course, traditional Church allegations of malicious Witchcraft relate to the zealous missionary quest to purge the land of our old Pagan religion and replace it with their new brand of biased, eastern, spiritual terrorism. Witchcraft itself is an ancient vestige of true Celtic Paganism and has always stood as a ‘positive’ means for man to link to the eternal psychic realm and his/her connection to the divine. Our British folklore is chock full of olden-day wisdom that is there to be discovered for any freethinker.
The Church, as devious as ever, naturally held a lethal vested interest in disparaging every aspect of the Old Religion, so that it could replace it with fundamental ecclesiastical authority. Later on, any individual who dared to simply question the Church was soon arrested, tortured and finally hanged by the neck or burnt alive at the stake for their dissent from Church control. Clearly, the real evil within society never came for any poor soul living alone accused of witchcraft or heresy, but from the self-righteous monsters in high positions of ecclesiastical power.
Sadly, many folk today never question this malicious Church-orientated falsehood or realise how cunningly the Church has robbed them of their British spiritual birthright. Many never even know how they have subconsciously towed the Church’s line. We have accepted their vile Church lies for centuries, yet today a new light shines and it will glow brighter with every freethinker that learns the truth!
Halloween/Samhain stands as a powerful symbol of popular cultural defiance against religious mind control and fundamentalism today.
More Halloween facts (not Church-orientated spin) below...
(1) Halloween is traditionally one of the oldest British religious festivals celebrated in Scotland particularly up to and beyond 1870s. It is not an American invention.
(2) Trick or Treat is not an American invention - the games, fun and harum scarum at Halloween are all typically British being listed in Robert Burns 1875 poem Halloween for all to see. It is part of our traditional culture.
(3) There is absolutely no medical evidence to suggest that dressing up or the wearing of masks is psychologically damaging to children or in any way harmful. The allegation is false. Children have been happily celebrating Halloween for hundreds of years without harm.
(4) Halloween is a genuine Celtic festival and was celebrated in Britain long before it was Christianised. The early Christians invented All Saints Day on November 2 to try to replace Halloween but failed because the people enjoyed Halloween so much.
(5) Attacks on Halloween by religious bigots are now outlawed under the Religious Hatred laws and Pagans are demanding that the Church of England stops those amongst its members who feel they have to insult the ceremonies and rites of other religions. Can you imagine the outcry if they had accused Muslims of abusing their children by making them fast during Ramadan?
(6) Everyone to his own, Pagans see the modern Christmas as an appallingly materialistic travesty of ancient religious ideals, yet we don't go around demanding that Christmas decorations and outdoor illuminations are banned.
(7) Saman's Vigil is the Anglicised interpretation of the Celtic festival 'Samhain' pronounced 'Zoween' or 'Sowin'. It is also termed Festival of Light or Fire. The Vigil of Saman, or Samhain, occurs on October 31st and was observed for at least a thousand years before Britain was Christianised.
(8) Samhain was the Celts' most important festival because it was marked as their New Year's Day.
(9) Saman is the Celtic lord of Death and Rebirth. Samhain is the mysterious, late season festival for remembering our beloved ancestors and renewing fire for the harsh cold months of winter. Its basis is intimately linked with 'LOVE' and the natural cycle and not any type of evil, as trouble-making evangelists would have us believe.
(10) Christian fundamentalist activists always rush in to claim that Halloween is not a British tradition and should not be followed in the U.K. This falsehood relies upon igniting 'Anti-American' sentiment within insular British minds, because the truth of the matter is that Halloween is NOT an American importation, it is an entirely British tradition, which was actually exported to the U.S.A. by European immigrants. Such fundamentally - inspired racism, against our American cousins, should not be tolerated in a modern UK society.
Halloween is primarily an ancient celebration of love for life, our mysterious affiliation with the earth and intimate respect for the dearly departed.
Have fun and be safe …
Children are best accompanied by adults when Trick or treating and the ever-present dangers of messing with fire at Halloween, Bonfire Night, or indeed at any other parties, must always be kept in mind.
Think of the animals...
Speaking of the later date of November 5th / Bonfire Night, do please remember that hedgehogs like to hide in dry stacks of twigs so always check they are not there 'before' lighting fires.
Fireworks also create a great deal of avoidable stress for domestic pets, such as cats and dogs, so why not forget the noisy bangers etc this year and give the pets a break?
NB. Pat is the author of several published books including, ‘The New Pagan Handbook’, ‘The Devil God’s Best Friend’ and ‘Pagan Heritage’. http://patregan.jimdo.com/
Please see the following explanatory blog link for more facts regarding Halloween and discover how some superfluous fundamentalist prejudice was previously stopped
http://pat-regan.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/halloween-spiritual-connection-to-our.html
A happy and safe Halloween to all…
Pat Regan ©
More important data here on this festival:
http://halloweenchoice.nfshost.com/halloweenharding.htm
Visit this informative site for more info on the ‘real’ reasons behind previous disinformation put out by sectarian fundamentalists.
http://saff.nfshost.com/haloween.htm
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