Death and Rememberance - Samhain

One of my favorite quotes on life and death is,

"[The Goddess] gives birth to abundance. But as life is Her gift, She lends it with the promise of death. This is not darkness and oblivion, but rest from the toils of physical existence. It is human existence between incarnations."

-Scott Cunningham

Pronounced “Sow-en”, Samhain is the pagan holiday which focuses on death. It marks the witch’s New Year as the cycle of life and death is complete. This is the Sabbat the Sun God dies, to eventually be reborn again to the Goddess at Yule. It is celebrated beginning at sunset on October 31^st, the same day as Halloween. Samhain in Wiccan tradition, as well as many others, is the day of the year when the veil between the world of the living and dead is the thinnest. It is this day that spirits roam the Earth and visit loved ones.

Death can be a hard concept to understand for children who’ve never known anyone or anything who has died. Death can be hard to accept for those children who have known a loved one, including pets, to pass away. The reason that Cunningham’s quote is one of my favorites is because it shows that we should not fear death, nor should we be sad for those who have passed on. They are at rest.

This Samhain, we will perform a ritual after trick-or-treating which will allow us to honor our loved ones who’ve passed on.

A few years ago, Adonis’ mother passed away from breast cancer and everyone is still grieving. The children were all very close to her and still make drawings and prayers for her. This ritual can be another way of honoring her memory. My own grandmother is close to moving toward her physical rest. She recently found out that she has stage 4 lung cancer and I hope to be able to honor her life on this Samhain, even if she has not yet passed. Her being in the hospital so suddenly, with relatively no notice and such a short time to live, reminds me how fragile life is and how unexpected death can be.

Many cultures leave offerings of food, toys, or beverages for spirits traveling through this world on Samhain. Our ritual that night will do the same. We still care about the people and animals who have been a part of our lives and so we will feed their spirits. A candle will be placed in the window to help guide them if needed and an extra place at the table will be set if they’d like to join us. Samhain is also a holiday of candy, being Halloween and all. We will have the children leave a piece of collected candy at the altar to share with the spirits and to sweeten the spirits’ journey.  Our ritual will also include a chance to share a person or pet they’d like to remember or honor and to say some things that they remember or enjoyed.

Life is celebrated as a gift and remembered on this special Sabbat.



Next Sabbat: Yule

Trick-or-Treat Traditions!

This is my first blog post for the Pagan Blog Project 2012. Everyone else is already on T, so that's where I'll start.

T is perfect timing for upcoming Samhain or as my kids know it, Halloween.

Up until now, October 31st has been, for our children, a day filled with transforming yourself (oh, another T!) into someone or something else and collecting as much candy as possible. They have no realization of the traditions our American version of Halloween was derived from.

The American version of Halloween is a combination of traditions from Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland. "Souling" was a common practice on Hallowmas in Great Britain and Ireland where children would go door to door, saying prayers and singing songs for the dead in exchange for food. Later, Scotland developed their own version in which children went "guising" and disguised themselves, going door-to-door with carved turnips for cakes, fruit, or money. Since pumpkins are more abundant in America, that tradition was also taken but modified to make our Jack-o-Lanterns. Houses are decorated in spooky ways to encourage a fright on Halloween night. We have had our Halloween decorations up since the last weekend of September. We get really excited about this holiday.

Since we live in Southern California, we also see a lot of Mexican influence in the holiday.  El Día de los Muertos is November 1st. This is the Spanish holiday of honoring the dead. Traditionally, toys are bought for children who have passed and alcohol is bought for adults who have died. These offerings are left on altars which are erected throughout the cities. Calaveras, or skulls, are seen everywhere as this is the traditional symbol for the day. Little sugar-candy skulls are given to each other as gifts.

In Wiccan tradition, this is the day that the God dies and we reflect on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Traditionally, food is left on the doorstep for spirits and a candle in the window to help guide them. The veil between worlds is also the thinnest on this night. This belief, which is not just a Wiccan theme is usually what prompts the stereotypical teenager to hold a "creepy" séance or bust out the Ouija board.

Halloween in France was relatively unknown until about 20 years ago. It was known as an American holiday and thus, rejected by many. As time goes on, the holiday is more widely accepted. People go to costume parties and trick-or-treating is done from store-to-store and not house-to-house. Germans hide the knives on this night so as to prevent returning spirits from harming the living.
 
Learning about traditions around the world can not only open your mind, but also give you interesting new ways to celebrate Samhain with your family.