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Speaker 1: Welcome to BrainStuff, a production of iHeart Podcasts. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with another classic episode from The Vault. In this one, we get into the history and modern traditions around Samhain, a fall holiday that helped inspire today's celebrations of Halloween. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Say it with us, Samhain. That's the correct pronunciation of the word spelled S-A-M-H-A-I-N. It's the name of an ancient pagan festival that helped lay the groundwork for modern Halloween. Not that one displaced the other. Samhain's still around and is still celebrated today. Around the world, contemporary pagans from Wiccans to Druids gather each year to observe the traditions and rituals associated with it. Feasts are shared. But Samhain isn't just another costume party with an emphasis on the creep factor. For observers and many pagan communities, it's a deeply spiritual time of reflection and remembrance. Historical records don't give us a very clear picture of what the first Samhain celebrations might have entailed. The festival is Celtic in origin, and its name comes from the Old Irish language. During Ireland's early medieval period, which lasted from about 400 to 1100 CE, Samhain marked the onset of winter. Transition has always been a central theme of this festival. One medieval Irish tale says that Samhain is when the summer goes to its rest. Nowadays, Samhain is usually observed from October 31st through November 1st. That puts it about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Pagans living below the equator often wait until April and May to hold their Samhain rituals. By the time this holiday rolled around, the summer harvests were over and done with, yet the harshest part of the winter season was still a few weeks away. According to the 2003 book Stations of the Sun, A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by historian Robert Hutton, this made Samhain a perfect backdrop for important tribal meetings in pastoral Ireland. Some lasted for days. Quite a few Irish folk stories are set during Samhain. Many involved the death of kings and other dangerous or deadly happenings. Supernatural forces became associated with the festival. Fairies, for instance, were said to be especially active during Samhain. While historians debate its origins, at some point, the belief arose that Samhain was also a time when the spirits of one's dead ancestors had easier access to our world, opening the door for communication between the living and the deceased. But Samhain got some competition in the late 800s. More than 300 years earlier, Pope Boniface IV had established May 19th as a Christian day of remembrance, honoring those who had died for their faith. But in 873 CE, this holiday, the Feast of All Holy Martyrs, was moved to November 1st. Later, it would be renamed All Saints Day. Was the date change a bid to Christianize Samhain rituals? The idea has been suggested, but some scholars have their doubts. Either way, Halloween as we know it now owes a huge debt to All Saints Day. Another name that Christian tradition goes by is All Hallows Day. Past generations gave the night before, that is October 31st, a title of its own, All Hallows Eve. As time passed, this was shortened to Halloween, with a dash and apostrophe, before the label ditched its punctuation marks and became simply Halloween. Secular Halloween traditions these days may involve trick-or-treating, costume parties, and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, or a horror film. But if you're a modern-day pagan, you might have a slightly different itinerary on October 31st and into November 1st. Dumb suppers are among the traditions Samhain celebrants may choose to observe. This custom calls for place-setting to be set out and often left empty at an otherwise hearty meal. This symbolically acknowledges deceased ancestors or other family members or friends who have died. All of the living guests eat in silence as they reflect on the departed and the nature of life and death. Sometimes attendees burn messages written for the person or people in question. Sometimes the dinner's courses are handed out in reverse order. There's lots of room for variation. Making the tradition personal is often part of the concept. Samhain observers may also participate in quiet meditation or divination ceremonies, or may decorate their personal altar with gourds, dried corn husks, and other autumnal symbols. Because remembrance is such an important aspect of Samhain, the altar will often include photos, symbols, or belongings of loved ones who have died. Outdoors, bonfire rituals are Samhain's staple among Druids and other observers. Pagan groups who keep gardens sometimes treat the festival as a hard deadline for their harvests. Any edible material that isn't gathered by the time Samhain ends is left behind as a gift to the spirits. And in keeping with this festival's emphasis on tradition, some observers treat Samhain as the beginning of the Celtic New Year. But this doesn't mean that all Wiccans, Druids, and other contemporary pagans swear off of secular Halloween. Some enjoy the secular Halloween season, but just don't engage with it on October 31st. Others make time for both trick-or-treating and Samhain rituals. Today's episode is based on the article, Before Halloween, There Was Samhain, on HowStuffWorks.com, written by Mark Mancini. BrainStuff is a production of iHeart Podcasts in partnership with HowStuffWorks.com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more shows from iHeart Podcasts, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Speaker 1: Welcome to BrainStuff, a production of iHeart Podcasts. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with another classic episode from The Vault. In this one, we get into the history and modern traditions around Samhain, a fall holiday that helped inspire today's celebrations of Halloween. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Say it with us, Samhain. That's the correct pronunciation of the word spelled S-A-M-H-A-I-N. It's the name of an ancient pagan festival that helped lay the groundwork for modern Halloween. Not that one displaced the other. Samhain's still around and is still celebrated today. Around the world, contemporary pagans from Wiccans to Druids gather each year to observe the traditions and rituals associated with it. Feasts are shared. But Samhain isn't just another costume party with an emphasis on the creep factor. For observers and many pagan communities, it's a deeply spiritual time of reflection and remembrance. Historical records don't give us a very clear picture of what the first Samhain celebrations might have entailed. The festival is Celtic in origin, and its name comes from the Old Irish language. During Ireland's early medieval period, which lasted from about 400 to 1100 CE, Samhain marked the onset of winter. Transition has always been a central theme of this festival. One medieval Irish tale says that Samhain is when the summer goes to its rest. Nowadays, Samhain is usually observed from October 31st through November 1st. That puts it about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Pagans living below the equator often wait until April and May to hold their Samhain rituals. By the time this holiday rolled around, the summer harvests were over and done with, yet the harshest part of the winter season was still a few weeks away. According to the 2003 book Stations of the Sun, A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by historian Robert Hutton, this made Samhain a perfect backdrop for important tribal meetings in pastoral Ireland. Some lasted for days. Quite a few Irish folk stories are set during Samhain. Many involved the death of kings and other dangerous or deadly happenings. Supernatural forces became associated with the festival. Fairies, for instance, were said to be especially active during Samhain. While historians debate its origins, at some point, the belief arose that Samhain was also a time when the spirits of one's dead ancestors had easier access to our world, opening the door for communication between the living and the deceased. But Samhain got some competition in the late 800s. More than 300 years earlier, Pope Boniface IV had established May 19th as a Christian day of remembrance, honoring those who had died for their faith. But in 873 CE, this holiday, the Feast of All Holy Martyrs, was moved to November 1st. Later, it would be renamed All Saints Day. Was the date change a bid to Christianize Samhain rituals? The idea has been suggested, but some scholars have their doubts. Either way, Halloween as we know it now owes a huge debt to All Saints Day. Another name that Christian tradition goes by is All Hallows Day. Past generations gave the night before, that is October 31st, a title of its own, All Hallows Eve. As time passed, this was shortened to Halloween, with a dash and apostrophe, before the label ditched its punctuation marks and became simply Halloween. Secular Halloween traditions these days may involve trick-or-treating, costume parties, and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, or a horror film. But if you're a modern-day pagan, you might have a slightly different itinerary on October 31st and into November 1st. Dumb suppers are among the traditions Samhain celebrants may choose to observe. This custom calls for place-setting to be set out and often left empty at an otherwise hearty meal. This symbolically acknowledges deceased ancestors or other family members or friends who have died. All of the living guests eat in silence as they reflect on the departed and the nature of life and death. Sometimes attendees burn messages written for the person or people in question. Sometimes the dinner's courses are handed out in reverse order. There's lots of room for variation. Making the tradition personal is often part of the concept. Samhain observers may also participate in quiet meditation or divination ceremonies, or may decorate their personal altar with gourds, dried corn husks, and other autumnal symbols. Because remembrance is such an important aspect of Samhain, the altar will often include photos, symbols, or belongings of loved ones who have died. Outdoors, bonfire rituals are Samhain's staple among Druids and other observers. Pagan groups who keep gardens sometimes treat the festival as a hard deadline for their harvests. Any edible material that isn't gathered by the time Samhain ends is left behind as a gift to the spirits. And in keeping with this festival's emphasis on tradition, some observers treat Samhain as the beginning of the Celtic New Year. But this doesn't mean that all Wiccans, Druids, and other contemporary pagans swear off of secular Halloween. Some enjoy the secular Halloween season, but just don't engage with it on October 31st. Others make time for both trick-or-treating and Samhain rituals. Today's episode is based on the article, Before Halloween, There Was Samhain, on HowStuffWorks.com, written by Mark Mancini. BrainStuff is a production of iHeart Podcasts in partnership with HowStuffWorks.com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more shows from iHeart Podcasts, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
