With all its fun, creepy traditions, Halloween might easily be the most magical day on the calendar. But did you know that Halloween has ancient roots? The traditions of Halloween come from a large range of old mid-autumn celebrations, the most prominent of which is a Celtic holiday called Samhain. Pronounced SOW-wen, Samhain is still practiced by certain communities of people, and it’s been seeing a bit of a revival in recent years. Let’s take a look at how Samhain’s ancient traditions influence our modern Halloween ones.

The Wheel of the Year

If you’re in the southern hemisphere, you might be thinking, “Wait a minute, it’s not autumn. It’s spring.” You’re absolutely right! One of the biggest differences between Halloween and Samhain is that Halloween is always on October 31st, no matter where in the world you live. But Samhain comes from an entirely different calendar called The Wheel of the Year, which follows different rules.

The Wheel of the Year is the calendar of eight holidays that pagans, wiccans, witches, and other spiritual people follow. Unlike regular holidays that occur on fixed dates throughout the year, the Wheel of the Year is correlated with the cycles of nature instead. The eight holidays - called sabbats - are governed by the turnings of the earth, as well as the positions of the sun and moon. They occur on solstices, equinoxes, and the midpoints between those events.

Because the Wheel of the Year follows the pattern of nature, this means that the holiday cycle is flipped depending on whether you’re in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere. For example, people in the northern hemisphere might be celebrating Yule in December, but for the southern hemisphere, Yule would fall in June. This is because, for those who celebrate the Wheel of the Year sabbats, the phases of nature are more important than the dates on the calendar. Yule falls on the winter solstice, regardless of if that happens in June or December. Mabon falls on the autumnal equinox, which can be in September (northern hemisphere) or March (southern hemisphere). And so on. So while Halloween may fall in October regardless of your location in the world, Samhain only coincides with it if you’re in the northern hemisphere. If you’re in the southern half of the world, your Samhain will fall on April 30th-May 1.

Sound confusing? It might be, a little bit! The reason for this is that the Wheel of the Year as we know it today originated primarily in Europe. As some of these holidays became more assimilated into the world, and more people outside of paganism began observing them, the names were changed and the dates became fixed. This, however, prioritised the northern hemisphere. That’s not all bad though - while Halloween and Samhain being on the same day makes it easy to remember for the northern hemisphere, they only get to celebrate once per year. But people in the south get to celebrate twice!

Where do Halloween Traditions Come From?

Honouring the Dead

Samhain symbolises a time when the veil between the tangible world and the intangible world is at its thinnest. Because of this, it’s a great time to honour loved ones we’ve lost, as their spirits are said to walk among us during this time. This emphasis on death and the afterlife is why skeletons and ghosts are such big symbols of Halloween. Crows and ravens, too, are often said to be messengers between planes of existence, so they are prominently featured as well.

Many cultures have a more serious variation of Samhain that focuses heavily on honouring the deceased, such as Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It’s common for families to leave offerings to the spirits of the dead, as a way of remembering them. Samhain itself includes many similar traditions such as what’s called a “dumb supper,” so named because it’s a meal laid for the dead and living to share, and the living eat in virtual silence. In Ireland, children will sometimes play games or sing songs after a dumb supper, to entertain any visiting spirits. If a full meal is too much to coordinate, many cultures believe spirits are grateful for smaller offerings, also. Handheld cakes, for example, are common food offerings that people will leave on their front steps or on the sill of an open window for the spirits of the dead to take as they pass by.

While the exact history is murky, the handing out of candy to trick-or-treaters can be viewed as a representation of this tradition of feeding the dead. Before costumes were commercialised the way they are now, trick-or-treaters dressed up as ghouls and goblins, symbolic of spirits and entities from beyond the veil. Giving them candy as they pass by echoes the tradition of leaving food offerings for the dead.

Light in the darkness

The thinning of the veil may allow spirits of loved ones to visit us during Samhain, but it can also allow more malevolent entities to enter our world. To keep malignant evil spirits away, lights and costumes play a large part in Samhain festivities. You are likely familiar with jack o’lanterns, but did you know that originally, pumpkins weren’t used to make them? The first jack o’lanterns were carved out of turnips, because that’s what grew more abundantly in northern Europe. It was only once European colonists settled in the Americas that turnips were exchanged for pumpkins, which were more prominent there. The idea is that, by carving these vegetables into lanterns and placing lights inside, people could protect themselves from malicious spirits while also lighting the way for benevolent spirits with whom they may want contact (such as loved ones).

The use of costumes during Halloween also harkens back to a Samhain tradition of “guising” - dressing in costumes or masks to conceal one’s identity and confuse the fae. Among the legendary spirits that roam the earth during Samhain, the fae are one of the most mischievous. Legends stack up a mile high about fae or fae-like creatures who want to trick people, stealing names or souls and trapping them in the fae realm for eternity. Because many cultures believe that the fae can cross through the veil and into our world on Samhain, people took to guising as a way of throwing them off and keeping themselves safe. Initially, when costumes were somewhat more gruesome than they are today, the idea was to blend in with the spirits walking the earth. Now though, costumes tend to be just for fun, but they still serve the purpose of guising.

Having fun

While Samhain certainly carries plenty of more somber themes, one of the other big themes is celebration. Samhain is the last Wheel of the Year holiday before winter sets in, and as such is often regarded as the New Year’s point by those who observe the Wheel of the Year. Samhain is a fire festival. A celebration of the year gone by and anticipation for the year to come. It’s the end of the harvest season and the start of the cold, barren season. This means it’s a great opportunity to kick up our heels before the frost sets in!

There is a certain amount of mischief in traditional Samhain celebrations, including pranks. Ever wonder why we say “trick or treat?” While it’s more a festive greeting than anything these days, it used to be a genuine question. If a person didn’t have anything to offer the trick-or-treaters at their door, the trick-or-treaters would play a prank on them instead. Similar to the tradition of costuming, this connects to the wily and mischievous tendencies of the fae. According to legend, faeries love playing tricks on people who don’t show them proper respect. So make sure you have candy for your local trick-or-treaters, in case any of them decide to follow this old Samhain pranking tradition!

Connecting to Samhain

Samhain may be an ancient holiday, but its influence is clear in our modern day Halloween celebrations. There are plenty of ways to connect with the magic of Samhain - a holiday that’s older than recorded history - but one of the best ways is to find the magic within ourselves. Spend some time in nature. Wear something special. Do a spell, set an intention, or create some Halloween craft.

If your magical side tends toward potions, check out our list of potion kits - especially our Halloween collection! Buy a cauldron while you’re at it, and let your magic flow freely. Halloween - and Samhain too - is all about magic, after all.