Samhain is popularly known today as Halloween, a contraction of the words "Hallowed Evening", and it retains much of the original form and meaning it had long ago in Celtic lands. It has nothing to do with Satan or evil, marks the last harvest, the beginning of winter, a time to reaffirm our belief in the oneness of all spirits, and that physical death is not the final act of existence. The barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds is thinnest at this time, and spirits can enter the physical world. Our ancestors protected themselves on this night by carving faces in vegetables, lighting candles near windows to guide the wanderers, and leaving plates of food for wandering spirits, a common practice in Ireland today.
No comments:
Post a Comment