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Samhain High Day Essay 1st Draft
Samhain, or November’s Eve takes place on October 31st and coincides with the first frost in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Though there is some contention as to whether the ancient Celts saw it as such, Samhain is generally perceived as the Celtic New year by modern pagans and Celts alike1. In his The Religion of the Ancient Celts, MacCulloch describes the festival as a time to honor the dead, cleanse and protect home and hearth and assist the powers of growth2. Though agricultural and harvest origins have been postulated3, by the time of the Christianization of Celtic lands, Samhain was primarily associated with the dead4. Dumb suppers were set at the November Eve feast and also placed by the hearth to allow the traveling dead to warm and refresh themselves5. Though the harvest and livestock culls brought much feasting to this time, this gladness was tempered by the increasing dark and dieing land. Less light, and the growing dark that accompanied it meant an increase in the unknown. At this time, new hearth fires were lit from sacred bonfires. MacCulloch proposes that this was done to expel evil from the household and begin the New Year in a good way6. These bonfires represented the sun and strengthened the community’s resolve to pass through the winter. To gain this protection and strength for themselves, people also jumped through these bonfires. It is thought that this may be related to previous sacrifices made at this time, either human or otherwise7.


1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain#.27Celtic_New_Year.27_questioned
2. MacCulloch, J. A. (1911) The Religion of the Ancient Celts p.p. 168, 261-263
3. MacCulloch, J. A. (1911) The Religion of the Ancient Celts p.p. 169; 264
4. MacCulloch, J. A. (1911) The Religion of the Ancient Celts p.p. 170
5. Bonwick, James (1894) Irish Druids and the Old Religions p.p. 87
6. MacCulloch, J. A. (1911) The Religion of the Ancient Celts p.p. 260
7. MacCulloch, J. A. (1911) The Religion of the Ancient Celts p.p. 262