66. Halloween? How about Samhain (pronounced So-wan) instead? Yes, it's the origin of Halloween.

Spiral Herbal Remedies is celebrating Samhain with a 10% coupon!
Samhain (So-wan) is the origin of Halloween and it was a tradition that began in Ireland. Of course, like all ancient traditions, it has been transformed. 

Samhain is a Gaelic tradition that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year, winter when the days are shorter and cooler in the Northern Hemisphere. Samhain is held on 1 November, but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.

Samhain is believed to have pagan origins, and some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. It was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds were open. These burial mounds were portals to the Otherworld. (A parallel universe/ supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance, and joy. It exists below ground where our ancestors - gods and goddesses live, along with the dead.)

Samhain was a threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned, meaning the Aos Sí (the 'spirits', 'fairies', deities) could more easily come into our world. These beings were appeased with offerings of food and drink, to ensure the people and their livestock survived the winter. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them.

 Mumming or dressing in disguises was part of the festival. People went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. 

In the 9th century, the Church shifted the date of All Saints' Day to 1 November. Over time, it is believed that Samhain and All Saints' day syncretized into modern Halloween.

Happy Samhain and its modern version: Halloween.
Go to spiralherbalremedies.com and use the discount code Samhain for 10% off your next order. Apologies, the discount cannot be applied to our Herbalism Classes.