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Halloween and Samhain
Most historians agree that the first trace of what we call Halloween comes from Samhain (pronounced a “sah-win” by the few pagans I know and “sow-in” via the dictionary). Some people have told me that they object because it comes from Samhain and they have the mistaken idea that Samhain was an Irish or Scottish goddess of the dead or some such. There were a couple of Celtic gods of the dead, none of them were Samhain. For the Brits, it was Gwynn ap Nudd. For the Welsh it was Arawn. So far as I’ve been able to find, the Irish and the Scottish didn’t have a god or goddess…
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Halloween Thoughts
I love Halloween. Besides Christmas (which is also my Nameday) and the whole Pascha season, it’s my favourite holiday. My friends all know this. I love the pageantry of it all. I love dressing up in costume, seeing all the little kids run around like sugar-crazed monkeys, and being able to decorate everything around the house. I love the movies and the T.V. shows (especially the kid-friendly ones). I know that this is going to get me in trouble with someone out there, but what is up with this whole “Harvest Festival” thing? It seems like it’s a new fad with certain religious groups to have what they call a…