Communing With the Dead

Later this week, on October 31, and November 1, Samhain, or, as so many of us call it, Halloween arrives. In my last post, I wrote about apples and their significance to the celebration.

But the pumpkin by your front door is a relative newcomer to the tradition. As I researched the pagan festival I learned that in Ireland, on the night when the veil is thinnest and spirits and faeries are among us, the Irish lit coals in turnips and gave them a name we still use today: jack-o-lanterns. When our Irish ancestors immigrated to America they began carving pumpkins native to this country.

As a child, when I dressed up in a costume, knocked on my neighbor’s door, and gleefully shouted, “Trick or treat?” I didn’t know the Celtic pagan roots of the activity. In Ireland, tricks were considered the purview of faeries. And y’all know faeries can be fearsome.

How long has Samhain been with us? Certainly aspects of it have developed over the centuries, for instance, the turnip jack-o-lantern dates back to the middle ages. But the practice of celebrating Samhain as the separation of the lightest time of the year to the darkest, the time associated with death and the harvest, has been estimated to date back 2,000 years.

On my recent pilgrimage to England, I visited Stonehenge, Avebury, Boscaswn-Un, and other stone sites where the earth, celestial observances, and seasons were exalted by my ancestors. There’s no stone circle in my Southern courtyard, and the tall downtown buildings of Savannah obscure most of the sky.

But in my way, I observe Samhain. My father was born on October 31 and also died at this time of year. During his lifetime he was very clear; he always wanted a pumpkin pie instead of a birthday cake. Baking at the darkest time of year is very evocative for me, bringing memories of both my parents and grandmothers. My way of communing with the dead is to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch for my father on the 31. I imagine there will also be candlelight and mulled cider before the night is through. Memories of those who have passed through the veil will be abundant.

Do you do anything special to mark Samhain?

As the wheel of the year turns, may you be blessed with health and peace!