Cyber Cauldron

Pagans celebrate Samhain everyone else celebrates Halloween. But what are the differences between the two. There is one major difference between Samhain and Halloween and that is what is celebrated.

Samhain celebrates the final harvest, the end of summer, the Celtic New Year, While Halloween celebrates the night before All Hallows Day now commonly called the Feast of All Saints, November 1.

The name Hallowe’en is a shortening of All Hallows’ Even, or All Hallows’ Evening. All Hallows is an old term for All Saints’ Day (Hallow, from the Old English “halig”, or holy, compared with Saint, from the Latin “sanctus”, also meaning holy, or consecrated).

In the original Old English, it was known as Eallra H?lgena aefen

Although many of the actives of Halloween are the same as Samhain they are rooted more in Christian Ideology. Like many Christian festivals Halloween was moved close to a related pagan festival it was in 837AD, when Pope Gregory IV moved All Saints day to the 1^st November.

Over the years Samhain and Halloween have become inter tangled and so mixed that you can no longer see where Samhain starts and where Halloween begins. For example it would have been traditional for pagan to of carved vegetable lanterns including ones made from pumpkins but today everyone carves Jack ‘O’ Lanterns wildly accepted in common lore to of derived from the character Stingy Jack and the tale of how he conned the devil. In was in 1866 when the carved pumpkin became associated with Halloween and then with Samhain.

Halloween strikes debate with Christians and Pagans, The Pagans (Wiccan’s Mostly) See Halloween as being offensive as it promotes the idea of the “Wicked Witch” While some Christians see Halloween as a danger because it promote the devil and paganism. But the more enlighten on both side see it as a fun holiday for kids where they can dress up and get some sweets that originated in the states based on old customs and Christian influence and has less to do with the Eve of all saints day or Samhain and has lost all religious connection.

It very rear to find any Christian observing All Hallows’ Alli as many see it as a purely secular holiday devoted to celebrating “imaginary spooks” and handing out candy. Although it common to see both pagans and Christians out with their children trick or treating dressed as ghost and ghouls.

Cyber Cauldron Shop Pagan Paraphernalia Altar supplies