Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
History and Religion
Samhain — the time between

Samhain — the time between

Last updated on: November 1, 2024 at 4:22 am by Ann Trip

0 Comments

Samhain — the time between 2024-11-01T04:22:50+00:00 Ann Trip

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Samhain

Pagans around a bonfire at Samhain PHOTO BY UNKNOWN

The Celtic New Year, the Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season. The light half of the year has ended and we are traveling into the dark part. This makes sense as in the United States we also shift out of daylight savings time. This year it’s on Nov. 3, so by the way don’t forget to fall back. The Celtic New Year is one aspect of Samhain, sometimes forgotten though by many Pagans.

Samhain Ritual at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, NJ. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANN TRIP

Pagans seem to remember the last harvest and especially honoring the dead. but the New Year? Not so much. It could be because the Jewish New Year is in the early fall or that mundane and calendrical New Year’s is Jan.1. Whatever the reason, Druids celebrate the Celtic New Year as part of Samhain. The Celtic celebrations include bonfires. Now, I am not asking us to light bonfires, they’re illegal in most places, or at least require a permit. What I’m saying though is that at Samhain let’s acknowledge the Celtic New Year in some form.

According to the Celts, the year’s ending starts at sundown Oct. 30 and ends at sundown Oct. 31. This means that the Celts believe that between sundown Oct. 31 and sundown Nov. 1 are 24 hours outside of regular time or time that “stands still.” This is the “day” in the Year and a Day promises we make. Mundanes also use the term a year and a day often as well.

This is the time between honoring our ancestors and the newly dead, and the beginning of the New Year. This “time out of time” we often reference during Samhain rituals.

I asked participants at Sacred Wheel CUUPs’ ritual to write anything they didn’t want to carry into the New Year. After having a few minutes to think and write, participants shared some of the ‘refuse’ they wanted to leave behind. People responded with ideas like procrastination, stress, smoking, hate, fear and unhealthy relationships. I asked them to put their lists on their altar for a day, add to them if they thought of more. Then, I asked them to burn those papers.

Samhain

Day of the Dead 54 PHOTO BY TOM HILTON

My congregation also does this as part of the Fire Communion ceremony in January for the mundane New Year. It is in a way similar to the ritual the Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael, co-senior minister led this past Sunday. Sammler-Michael held a New Orleans Funeral March with a small “coffin.” She asked us to visually picture tossing the past year’s negativities in the box while the Jazz parade marched along. Many members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, New Jersey participated in this ritual and the funeral march. This was very symbolic and it was so welcoming and touching to witness. Now, I know this is not Druid, maybe Caribbean, however the similarities are there. Instead of Samhain, they have the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). This is also a two day celebration from Nov. 1st through 2nd.

Some of us have a lot of bad energy from the past year to dump. There are so many negatives that I needed to dump, such as my recent relationship. It was short lived and ended right in time for the New Year, if I say so myself. However, I can finally say that my fear of dogs has finally subsided. I tried ridding myself of that for a very long time. My elder, the Rev. Foxxy Pullen is the most proud of that conquest, probably more than I am. This is something she and her late husband, Herm, worked a lot on with me. Next up for bat, is battling my fear of highway driving.

So going back to the time in between, this seems to be the case lately at least for me. I feel like life is at a stand still, less now that we aren’t in the heat of the pandemic. I wonder if our ancestors ever felt like that outside of Samhain. Yes, I am doing things, sometimes multiple things in a day; sometimes too many to count, yet it feels like things are at a standstill.

Samhain

Jack-O’-Lantern Trio PHOTO BY DARYL MITCHELL

So, when our mundane friends and family are out trick-or-treating, yes answer the door and give them candy. However, remember this is a somber holiday too. I have been to Witches Balls that held both aspects together tastefully. After all, our ancestors disguised themselves wearing their clothes inside out to avoid harassment from evil spirits. It is also thanks to them that we have jack-o’-lanterns. Of course they didn’t use pumpkins, they used turnips.

So hold a dumb supper for your ancestors, set the food outside afterwards. Apparently, one should never look at the ancestor’s seat because seeing the dead will bring misfortune. I’m not one for superstition but I will follow that bit of advice.

So, let’s remember all the aspects, especially the Celtic New Year. Blessed Samhain.

And Follow Your Gut Instincts; Always Trust Those Uneasy Feelings

History and Religion

Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael

Rev. Foxxy Pullen

Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

Previous Post

October 1, 2024

Ritual on a budget — dollar store to the rescue

Next Post

November 30, 2024 Coming of Age: a class not just for adolescents

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I was half expecting to hear you were called to Athena with that owl! I, ..."

Lady_Ashmire

When I first knew I was ..."

"I usually try to repair things where possible before replacing.I’m reasonably handy with it, but ..."

kenofken

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rot (compost) and ..."

"It’s not clear to me why they could not hold both at the same time ..."

kenofken

Changes — as UU Pagans, lets ..."

"Yes, the UU religion does not have a Creed. Therefore, the seven principles and six ..."

Ann Trip

Changes — as UU Pagans, lets ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Current Events CUUPS Press Release Interfaith liturgy Media Review podcast Religious Education Seasonal Reflection Spiritual Practice Summary Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz