Samhain* (Halloween) Activities
This information does not change from year to year.
For this year's date, time, place, go to events page
Pumpkin Carving
Bring a pumpkin! Extra pumpkins, patterns, wonderful pumpkin carving tools, and light refreshments will be available. The results of our efforts can be taken home or will grace the party. (see below)Samhain Celebration and Potluck
Wear a costume!It's a potluck, so bring food!
Come early to help decorate and set up!
*History of Samhain
Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween), was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. It marked the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the other world. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables.
They also lit fires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. Our jack-o-lanterns are traveling fires.
Samhain became the Halloween we are familiar with when Christian missionaries attempted to change the religious practices of the Celtic people. The Christian feast of All Saints was assigned to November 1st. The day honored every Christian saint and was meant to substitute for Samhain, to draw the devotion of the Celtic peoples, and, finally, to replace it forever. That did not happen, but the traditional Celtic deities diminished in status, becoming fairies or leprechauns of more recent traditions.
~~ Sena Havasy, based on Jack Santino, About.com