Hello everyone! This is Casimir with The Skald’s Circle again. Today we’ll be talking about Halloween and Samhain. Two related Holidays that have a storied past.
Autumn is known for many different things: the changing of the leaves, everyone’s favorite foods, and other things that we, as modern people,
Jack o’ Lanterns, in America, are the pumpkins with faces carved into them left out to celebrate the season. Their origin can be traced back first to an even older thing from folklore, and one of my favorite things — the Will o’ the Wisps. (Corpse lights, swamp gas, and other such things that light up the night.) Jack o’ lanterns, as we know them today, can with absolute certainty be traced back to 19th century Ireland, where faces were carved into turnips. However, the carving of vegetables, such as gourds, can be traced back to as far as 10,000 B.C.E. The idea behind Jack o’ Lanterns on Halloween is that the grotesque faces, carved into the vegetable of choice, (I think turnips look the creepiest [read “best”]) would ward off the spirits of the dead wandering the earth. Jack o’ Lantern, the name itself, is tied to a story about a man who was too evil to go to
The masks served a similar purpose. We use masks to hide our identities. Similarly in cultures all around the world masks are used to hide, but also to change. Whether it’s to take on the role of heroes or gods in stories and rituals, or to hide ourselves from the spirits that roam when the veil is thin. It is believed that personifying the spirits wandering the world would protect you from them. Evidence of
I admit that I have a little bit of an attraction to fire. I think we all have that fascination with fire. That fascination with fire goes back far into history. Bonfires were a common practice for Samhain going all the way back to the ancient Celts. One of the more fascinating practices, a man dressed in cowhide would circle the town sunwise, pieces of the hide would be burned and it was believed that the smoke from the fire had cleansing abilities and it would keep those who breathed it safe from bad luck. Fire was, and is, believed to have cleansing powers. As time went on and cultures changed, the fires remained, and they actually kept the same basic idea. They still cleansed, but now they also did things just keep the Devil and his servants away.
Traditions are an amazing thing. We remember them because our parents remember them, and so on and so forth until we can eventually get our way back to our ancestors who started those very traditions. Sometimes we forget the reason why we follow our traditions; we change the idea behind our traditions and keep the practice. Other times, we remember the reason why we follow the tradition, even if the rest of our traditions around it change, and still follow it. An example of that being the destruction of the idol of Marzanna in Eastern Europe to celebrate and bring about the end of winter. Our traditions make us what we are. They shape our cultures, and contrary to popular belief, they are not unbending iron rods that force us to behave according the words written in stone. They are ropes that allow for us to travel safely, through the dark, through running water, up sheer cliffs… However, if used improperly, a rope can entangle or hang oneself. So, use your traditions wisely.
I hope you have enjoyed our discussion of mythology, folklore, and history on History with The Skald’s Circle. If you’d like to know more, or perhaps discuss it with me I’m always more than willing. Also, if you have something you would like us to research, please let us know! Also if you learned something new, give us a like, and let us know, we really appreciate being noticed. Until then, I’ll be back next week with another fascinating topic. This is Casimir, signing off, and remember, always check your sources!
Sources:
McNeill, F. Marian. Hallowe’en: its origin, rites and ceremonies in the Scottish tradition. Albyn Press, 1970. pp. 29–31
MacCulloch, John Arnott (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Chapter 18: Festivals.