Sowen or Samhain is a pagan holiday that has been celebrated for centuries by various cultures around the world. It is observed on October 31st or November 1st, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The holiday holds great significance as it is believed to be a liminal time when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. **Sowen** is often associated with death and is considered a time to honor and remember loved ones who have passed away. Many people believe that during this time, spirits and souls of the deceased can interact with the living. As a result, various rituals and traditions take place during Sowen to commemorate the dead and seek protection from any malevolent spirits.
Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death.
After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, and contained much of the traditional pagan practices before being adopted in 19th-century America through Irish immigrants bringing their traditions across the ocean.
As a result, various rituals and traditions take place during Sowen to commemorate the dead and seek protection from any malevolent spirits. One of the most popular customs during Sowen is the lighting of bonfires, which are believed to ward off evil spirits and help guide the souls of the departed. People also carve turnips or pumpkins into lanterns, called jack-o'-lanterns, to scare away any wandering spirits.
What Is Samhain? What to Know About the Ancient Pagan Festival That Came Before Halloween
D ressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating are popular Halloween activities, but few probably associate these lighthearted fall traditions with their origins in Samhain, a three-day ancient Celtic pagan festival.
For the Celts, who lived during the Iron Age in what is now Ireland, Scotland, the U.K. and other parts of Northern Europe, Samhain (meaning literally, in modern Irish, “summer’s end”) marked the end of summer and kicked off the Celtic new year. Ushering in a new year signaled a time of both death and rebirth, something that was doubly symbolic because it coincided with the end of a bountiful harvest season and the beginning of a cold and dark winter season that would present plenty of challenges.
According to historian Nicholas Rogers, author of Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Samhain was a “time of stock-taking and perhaps sacrifice” — including probably animal sacrifice — during which “pastoral communities [prepared] to survive the winter.”
Rogers also notes that little is firmly known about the particulars of the holiday, since the limited sources available are either folkloric literature like the Celtic sagas and Roman authors who would have likely “trashed” the traditions of a culture with which they were often in conflict.
To understand what we do know about Samhain, it’s important to recognize how the structure of the year’s calendar affected the Celts’ religious practices. According to The Guardian, much of modern pagan practice is based on the wheel of the year, a major determining factor in Celtic worship. The Celtic year was divided into two halves — light and dark, which were delineated by two of their four annual fire festivals. In between, rituals or ceremonies were celebrated marking solstices (when night is either the shortest or longest) or equinoxes (when day and night are equal). Samhain, the fire festival that marked the beginning of the dark half of the year, is situated between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that, during this festival, the world of the gods “was believed to be made visible to humankind,” leading to supernatural tricks and trouble; ghosts of the dead and spirits from the Otherworld were also thought to return to the earth during Samhain. To appease deities during this time, sacrifices (generally of crops and animals) were burned in bonfires as a protective measure from from evil otherworldly beings and offerings were left out for other visiting mischievous spirits. Tricks and pranks were often played, but blamed on fairies and spirits during the three-day period when the line between the two worlds blurred.
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Additionally, costumes are worn to disguise oneself and blend in with the spirits to avoid any potential harm. In recent times, **Sowen** has been widely adopted and adapted by various cultures as Halloween, which has become a commercialized holiday celebrated with costume parties, trick-or-treating, and other festive activities. However, pagan communities still observe the original traditions of Sowen, emphasizing its deep spiritual and cultural significance. Overall, **Sowen** is a sacred time for pagans to honor their ancestors, connect with the spirit world, and celebrate the eternal cycle of life and death. It serves as a reminder of the impermanence of life and the importance of remembering those who have come before us..
Reviews for "Connecting with Nature's Harvest: Samhain as a Celebration of Abundance"
1. Sarah - 2 stars: Sowen pagan holiday was not what I expected at all. I was looking forward to a traditional Halloween celebration, but instead, I found myself surrounded by strange rituals and strange costumes. It was all very confusing and made me uncomfortable. I would not recommend attending this event if you are not familiar with pagan customs.
2. John - 1 star: I attended the Sowen pagan holiday with an open mind, but I was extremely disappointed. The whole event felt disorganized and lacked any sense of fun. The activities were limited, and there was a lack of entertainment. I felt like I wasted my time and money attending this event.
3. Lisa - 2 stars: I had high hopes for the Sowen pagan holiday, but it fell short of my expectations. The atmosphere was too dark and eerie for my liking, and I didn't understand the purpose of some of the rituals. It felt like a gathering for a select group of people, and as an outsider, I felt out of place. I would have preferred a more inclusive and accessible event.
4. Mark - 1 star: Sowen pagan holiday was a complete letdown. The whole event was filled with superstitions that I found hard to believe in. The organizers could have done a better job explaining the history and significance behind the traditions. Overall, it was a strange and unenjoyable experience for me.
5. Emily - 2 stars: I was excited to experience a different kind of holiday celebration at the Sowen pagan holiday, but unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations. The event lacked structure and clarity, leaving me confused about the purpose of various activities. Additionally, the crowd seemed unwelcoming to newcomers, making it difficult to fully engage with the festivities. I would not recommend attending this event unless you are already familiar with pagan customs.