"Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery."
We celebrated Samhain this past weekend with our Austin friends at the ESA Harvest King Festival. It was a pretty mellow weekend for both of us. Deshawn got the chance to take part in a traditional Indian sweat, which was very cleansing for him. I got the chance to honor my son in a stone dedication ceremony, as well as spend some meditation time in a beautiful wooded area. The weather was perfect, a warm 75 during the day and 60ish chilly nights, the best camping weather ever!!!! I also got a chance to embrace my inner crone and pass some of my hard learned wisdom on to a young woman who is going through some serious changes in her life. It was a beautiful, spiritual weekend and I am more at peace with myself because of it.
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