Long before Halloween existed, before plastic masks, jack-o’-lanterns, and bags of candy, there was Samhain.
For the ancient Celts, Samhain marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark half of the year. The last crops were gathered, the fields were cleared, and the air carried the scent of cold earth and woodsmoke. Samhain was considered the Celtic New Year, a threshold moment when one year died, and another quietly took form.
It was believed that on this night, something extraordinary happened…the veil between worlds thinned.
The living and the dead were no longer separated by distance or time. Ancestors could return home, not as ghosts to be feared, but as honored family. Households set places at the table with food and drink as offerings. Bonfires were lit to protect communities and to guide wandering spirits. People wore masks and cloaks to confuse any troublesome beings that might slip through the veil.
Samhain was never about fear.
It was about connection, reverence, and belonging.
The Church Arrives
Centuries later, when Christianity began spreading across the Celtic regions, the Church faced a dilemma. Samhain was deeply rooted in culture and identity, too beloved to be stamped out. So, the Church adopted a different strategy:
If you cannot eliminate a tradition, absorb it.
In the 8th century, the Church officially shifted All Saints’ Day, a day honoring Christian saints and martyrs, to November 1st, placing it directly on top of Samhain. The evening before was called All Hallows’ Eve, which over time softened into Hallowe’en.
A few centuries later, the Church added All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, dedicated to praying for the souls of the departed.
And so, a three-day Christian observance emerged:
October 31…All Hallows’ Eve November 1…All Saints’ Day November 2…All Souls’ Day
The language changed, but the themes remained strikingly familiar; honoring the dead, lighting candles, visiting cemeteries, and offering food in remembrance.
Many of the ancient Samhain customs continued, simply under new names.
Survival Through Disguise
In medieval Europe, children and the poor went door to door on All Hallows’ Eve, offering prayers for deceased family members in exchange for “soul cakes.” The act of disguising oneself, originally to hide from mischievous spirits, evolved into early forms of costuming and “guising.”
Turnip lanterns, carved to ward off unwelcome spirits, would later become pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns when Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the tradition to America in the 1800s.
The roots remained Celtic.
The expressions simply shifted with time.
A New World, A New Holiday
It wasn’t until Halloween reached North America that the holiday became secular and child-centered. By the 1900s, newspapers encouraged communities to host Halloween parties and neighborhood gatherings, an intentional shift away from superstition and into celebration. Trick-or-treating blossomed. Costume-making became an art. Pumpkins glowed on porches.
What began as a sacred night of ancestor reverence gradually transformed into a night of joy, imagination, and community play.
Yet beneath the costumes and candy, the ancient pulse of Samhain still beats:
We light candles in windows. We carve lanterns to guide and protect. We remember our dead.
Even now, Halloween is the only mainstream holiday that acknowledges death, not as a shadow to avoid, but as part of the human story.
The Thread That Remains
Although the Church attempted to reshape Samhain, it never erased it.
Instead, the two became entwined; one spiritual and rooted in nature, the other religious and structured.
And today, underneath the costumes, the laughter, and the candy bowls, the original invitation of Samhain still whispers:
Move gently into the darkness.
Honor what has passed.
Welcome what is yet to be born.
Samhain reminds us that death is not an ending, only a doorway.
With love and Light,
Rev. Brandelyn Cameron ✌️🤍
Nourish Your Body, Mind + Soul 