HALLOWEEN ORIGIN 🍂

#Repost///@hedgerow_healing: 🍂 HALLOWEEN ORIGIN 🍂Samhain, Noson Calan Gaeaf, Kalan Gwav, Kalan Goánv, Halloween - whatever you choose to call it, the festival itself is still rooted in ancient traditions and beliefs of the Celtic people. It is not, contrary to popular belief, an 'American holiday'. The Halloween that we know today originated from the Celtic harvest festival (most commonly known as Samhain), which marks the Celtic New Year, the beginning of winter, and honours our ancestors. It was (and still is) believed that on this night the veil between worlds is thinnest and spirits roam the earth freely once more. The veil is said to be thinnest at dawn and dusk, and ceremonies and community celebrations were held during the darker hours.The Druids believed that one of the doorways the dead would walk through lay in ancient burial chambers and passage tombs left by our ancestors, and were said to hold ceremonies at these sites, dressing up and altering their appearance to protect themselves from any evil spirits. This is where dressing up on Halloween comes from! In Scotland this is known as 'guising'. Large community bonfires were lit, and community feasts were held. Any bones from animals eaten during the feast were thrown into the ceremonial fire, and individual hearths were reignited using burning embers from the communal fire. The dead were welcomed into homes, and an Irish tradition is to leave extra plates of food out at dinner tables for souls of dead kin who may come back to visit. In Wales, you would write your name on a stone and throw it into the communal fire. The next day you would search through the embers, and if your stone was burnt clean you would receive good luck in the coming year. ...#halloween #samhain #celticnewyear #calangaeaf #wales #irelamd #scotlamd #cornwall #brittany #samhaintraditions #celticfestival #wheeloftheyear #celticcelebration #festivalofthedead #ancienttraditions #halloweenorigin #witches #witchcraft #druids #druidry #druidcelebrations #drudicceremony #burialchambers #ancientireland #ancientpassagetombs #newyear #winter #halloweentraditions #samhaintraditions