In late autumn, when the bright leaves are flying around, the days are getting shorter, and winter is getting closer, the most mysterious of the Celtic holidays appears on the wings of the icy wind. It marks the meeting of the living world with the world of the dead, it reveals everything that is hidden, it cancels time itself … His name is Samhain.
The last drop of time
Samhain is two-faced: it symbolizes the death of fading nature and the beginning of the dark half of the year, connects the world of people and the world of spirits. For a whole week, the Year Circle stops its course, and it's time to take stock.
In the ancient days of Samhain, otherworldly forces walked freely on the earth. From the hills, magical creatures of the sids arose, they offered people magical objects and took the most beautiful girls as wives. The magical people never interfered in the course of human life, although they had the gift of foresight, and could help people with their predictions or save them from evil. Legends describe the Seeds as tall, beautiful creatures, vastly superior to people in wisdom, perhaps later it was they who began to be called elves.
However, not only the Seeds entered the human world on Samhain. Many evil forces, hungry spirits wandered under the cold November sky of the middle world, and only extreme caution and special rituals could save them from them. Without defending himself, any person risked being in the hands of otherworldly forces, leaving the world of the living and ending up in the world of spirits.
The main ritual of protection was sacrifice, they could appease the forces of the Other World and save from hostile creatures. Cattle were sacrificed to the gods, fish in the coastal areas, most often with the help of fire. Bloody sacrifices were also used, when the throats of animals were cut over the altars of pagan deities. After the sacrifice to the children of the Celts, the foreheads were smeared with blood, these were echoes of even more ancient times, when people were sacrificed.
In addition to evil and good deities, the souls of the dead could return to the world on the Samhain holiday. The living could show honor and respect to their ancestors, remember those whom they loved, make peace with those with whom they were separated by enmity during their lifetime. The Celts could hear the voices of the deceased, feel their presence, and were not afraid of them, because they knew that they wanted to share transcendental knowledge with them, or just be near the living.
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The time has come not only to remember those who have left, but also to understand your own soul, to understand what has become superfluous, unnecessary in life, that it is time to let go forever, with which you can part without regrets, because the time has come.
Festival of Pastoralists and Kings
Samhain is a magical time, however, in addition to magic these days the Celts also paid tribute to economic concerns. No wonder the word "samain" comes from the Sanskrit "samana" - "gathering", "gathering". On the days of the festival, the kings, chiefs and people of the Celts gathered together for feasts, festivities and the resolution of disputes through duels. In Samhain, the due date for the payment of taxes was coming, and each of the tribe was to appear at the celebration with tribute and gifts to the leaders.
Late autumn also saw the end of the grazing season, at which time sheep and cattle were returned to human dwellings. Some of the cattle were left for the tribe, some were sent for slaughter, for supplies for the winter and, of course, for feasts in the days of Samhain.
But no one could light up feasts or cook food with the help of the old, dying fire. All the lamps and fires were extinguished, and then in the hearths of the kings the druids kindled a "new", "pure" fire. A new fire was obtained by friction, and it was considered a sign of the special favor of the gods if the flame was ignited by a lightning that fell into the ritual fire.
After lighting a pure fire, it was time for feasts. Samhain food is nourishing, winter food, it is not just food, it is designed to protect the feasting from evil, to give them strength to survive the coming winter. Freshly baked bread, a lot of boiled and fried meat, cereals, milk, cheeses, apples, nuts were always served on the Celtic tables on the holiday. Wine predominated in Gaul, beer in other Celtic countries and mid, a drink made from fermented honey. Bards - Celtic storytellers - entertained those gathered for the feast to the accompaniment of the ancient analogue of the lyre. The remnants of the meal were not thrown away, they could still be useful for magical purposes. Bread crusts, for example, were scattered across the fields by shepherds to keep their livestock from predators.
In Samhain, the Celts tried to guess what awaited them with the help of the spirits who came into the world of people. It was a dangerous game, the spirits could really open the future, or they could maliciously play a trick on a person, make him believe in an illusion as an actual event, or give an unwanted, frightening answer to a question. Here are just a few of Samhain's most famous divinations.
Apples were used to identify the betrothed or the betrothed. The fruit was cut into nine parts, eight were eaten, and the ninth was thrown over the shoulder. If you then quickly look around, you could see the one who is destined for a spouse.
By a pair of chestnuts thrown into the fire, they wondered about the consent in the family: they watched whether they would roll to the sides or burn down lying side by side, side by side.
It was believed that on the days of the holiday, you can find out about the number of future children by dripping egg white into a saucer of water.
Rings, coins and buttons were baked into bread or oatmeal, and they looked to see who gets what in his portions. The one who received the ring in the coming year had to marry or get married, the one who found the coin - to get rich, and the one who got the button lived the next year without changes.
The Irish have a special belief: you cannot look back to Samhain when you hear footsteps behind you, because this is death, and if you meet her eyes, she will take you with her.
Christian conversion
With the advent of Christianity in the lands of the Celts, as in many pagan countries, it turned out that the customs of antiquity could not be completely eradicated. It remained to adapt the pagan holidays to the needs of the new religion, which was eventually done. Little by little, Samhain became All Saints Day, and the eve of the holiday, known to everyone as Halloween, remained an echo of the veneration of spirits.
Under the influence of the Christian religion, Samhain has become a day of remembrance for the dead, when the departed return to our world. The Celts greeted such newcomers with honor, laid banquet tables for them, commemorated them with respect, and if they could hear or see them, talked to them as if they were alive.
For Christian priests, the sids and other magical creatures turned into evil spirits, bringing only harm to the living. The deceased ceased to honor and wish to meet with them, on the eve of All Saints' Day, people tried not to leave their homes, so as not to accidentally meet with ghosts that freely roam the earth.
Moreover, at this time, the church demanded complete abstinence and humility from believers so that prayers and piety could protect them from eternal evil.
However, the adherents of Christianity failed to completely destroy the rites of Samhain. Remained the traditional jumping over the fire to cleanse the evil. Instead of the skulls of defeated enemies, sacks filled with straw with painted skulls were hung on the fences, and hollowed-out pumpkins with candles inside were installed on the windows. The children still walked around the courtyards, sang ritual songs and begged for alms. Those who served generously could count on a happy and rich year, and tight-fisted owners could well have missed some property.
Samhain of modern times
Although not in its former form, Samhain has survived to this day. The most surprising thing is that it continues to be celebrated not only in such traditionally “Celtic” countries as Ireland and Scotland, but also in Russia, which seems to be very far from the Celts.
Now it is no longer a mystical holiday of interaction with the other world, self-improvement and communication with the spirits of the dead. Rather, the new Samhain resembles a holiday of Celtic art, dance, music and theater, in mood it is much closer to St. Patrick's Day, and does not look at all as mysterious as in ancient times.
The Samhain International Festival is annually held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities, and is very popular among experts and lovers of Celtic culture.
In one form or another, but for many centuries Samhain has come to earth in its turn, and will continue to come until the Year Circle stops, in other words, this holiday will remain with us until the end of time.
Author: Ekaterina Kravtsova
