Re The Importance of Halloween.

[Peter and Denise Clements]

No: HPFGUIDX 41774

Stephanie wrote:

>So why is this date so important?  Is it just coincidence, or is there some
magical reason that something big always happens >on this date?

Now me:

Halloween was originally a new year festival (in 5BC) called Samhain which
literally meant the end of summer. The Irish Celts celebrated it on Oct 31
to mark the end of the harvest. Preparations would be made in readiness for
the coming winter (Yule) They also believed that this was a time when the
gap between those in the living world and those who had passed away that
year was at it's thinnest. It was also believed that those who had passed
over would come back looking for a body to possess. So everyone would dress
up as ghosts'n'ghoulies, light bonfires and be as destructive as possible to
ward them off. In the circle of life this was the end. In the 1800's the
Irish migrants took their beliefs to America and Halloween has become what
it is today.
Samhain has, for some, become a time to turn their attention inward for
growth, knowledge and spiritual advancement. A time to take stock of what
you have learned and what you have left to accomplish. It's a time of
endings and beginnings for people, and a time when the earth is resting.

Now, let me make myself VERY clear. I am NOT saying that JKR has or IS
preaching witchcraft. These are the origins of Hallloween and they WERE
beliefs held by Irish Celtic FARMERS.

Denise