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I want to know: what are your rituals this time of year?

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Samhain (pronounced sah-win) is the ancient Gaelic festival from October 31 through November 1 that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. Right now, we’re snug in-between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice. Huge festivals and cleansing bonfires were held to celebrate the seasonal change. The “veil” between the world of the dead and the world of the living would thin, the concept most associated with Halloween today, and aos sí (a race of supernatural beings or spirits or fairies related to Irish gods) would visit earth. Places were set for ancestors seeking hospitality in their family homes. People would dress as spirits or fairies to disguise themselves from the real spirits and fairies and then go door-to-door reciting verses for food and drink.

Trick-or-Treat? The implied threat of a trick is what prompts the treat, kids, never forget!

In the 800s, it’s probable that the Catholic Church was inspired by its churches in Ireland and Northumbria (Northern England and Southern Scotland) to change the date of All Saints’ day from May to November 1, in accordance with Samhain, and eventually into a three-day festival: Allhallowtide: All Hallows' Eve (31 October), All Hallows' Day (1 November), and All Souls' Day (2 November).

Old and new friends came over last night for a last-minute Halloween party and it was so nice. We had dueling bonfires (turns out, they were actually friendly, non-dueling) and vegetarian chili and cornbread and apple cake and margaritas and warm cider. We had a jack-o-lantern with a “new” world pumpkin (instead of an old-world turnip). We wore costumes and told stories.

We didn’t have an official ritual, per se, but …actually…I think maybe we did? Ritual is, “A repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment.”

It heartens me that regardless of what religions and governments and white supremacy have done to force assimilation, millennia later, we’re still giving candy to kids on October 31 to ward off tricks and gathering around bonfires to celebrate with our communities and wonder about the in-between nature of life and death.

VOTE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 4.

Thanks for being here!! 🙂