Long before Halloween, the people of Britain and Ireland marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter with Samhain (said "sow-in"). It was the Celtic new year: the time when cattle were brought down from summer pastures and the dark half of the year began.
The thinning veil
Samhain was believed to be the night when the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin. Families set an extra place at the table for those who had died and left a candle burning in the window to guide them home.
Turnip lanterns and guising
Before pumpkins arrived from America, lanterns were carved from turnips and swedes. Children went "guising" in disguise, reciting a verse in exchange for food, the root of trick-or-treating.
Marking Samhain at home
- Light a black or orange candle in the window at dusk.
- Write down what you want to leave behind with the old year and burn the paper safely.
- Lay out photographs of loved ones who have died, with a small offering of bread or apples.
- Burn myrrh or frankincense, both traditional for remembrance.
- Hold obsidian or smoky quartz, stones of protection and letting go.
However you mark it, Samhain is a night for remembering and for clearing space for the winter ahead.
