The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

 

• How do you celebrate Samhain? (i.e. Ritual, Pumpkin Carving, Offerings, etc)
• I know there are a bunch of ways for the pronunciation of Samhain, how do you pronounce it?
  
• Ideas for celebrating Samhain when you're in a completely Christian household?

Last year I worked a local haunted trail, so scaring the pants off people was last year's celebration. This year the trail was cancelled, so on the 31st we're taking over the sidewalk in front of a local bar to do a flash mob Thriller / Time Warp dance.

I pronounce it sow (like ow I hurt myself) -win, emphasis on the first syllable.

For your friend's ashes (my condolences), light a candle (usually black) and some incense in his/her/zir memory and meditate on the wonderful times you had together.

For living in a Christian household, try to be as neutral as possible. Again, candles and incense are great.  If there are kids in the house (and even if there aren't), movies like Hocus Pocus, Corpse Bride, and Nightmare Before Christmas are a great way to bring the family together.

And I'll add things as I remember them.

There's a rustic little apple town not far from me, right at the snow line, that I like to visit in the morning if I have the day free.  Crisp fresh air, plenty of turning leaves, and fresh pressed cider.
Then, trick r treating with the pups.  After, colcannon & cider with the family.  Hard stuff when everyone goes to sleep.
My observances don't begin until everyone is in bed.  Usually very quiet & contemplative stuff.  

Pronunciation: SAH-win.  But "Hallows" is my preferred term.

As for celebrating in a Christian household, my family IS Christian, so I just stay up later than the rest of 'em.    But I also light candles & incense-- the occultist's way to 'hide in plain sight' I suppose-- right around sundown, to help me stay in a certain frame of mind.  Plus I'm the one who decorates the house & I do whatever cooking is going to happen; you could say that both are observances of mine, after a fashion.  
 
A story from a couple of years ago.  I had lit incense sticks & placed them at various places in the yard-- but well out of the way of little trick-r-treating feet of course.  It's almost 10, the kids all pretty much done, everyone inside is fed & happy, and I'm out in the yard, piddling about, in my mindset and just doing my meditative thing.  Then comes that feeling I'm being watched, so I look up: there in the middle of the road are 4 cats, sitting in a straight line, all watching me.  They were there, unmoving, for several minutes.  It was a neat little moment.

Well I love to carve pumpkins, take my daughter trick or treating. I also leave food out for the dead, and my ancestors. I like to light a candle or fire and say some prayers.

How do you celebrate Samhain? (i.e. Ritual, Pumpkin Carving, Offerings, etc)

I consider the things I do for Halloween and the things I do for Samhain to be separate Stuff, though they happen around the same time. (I celebrate Samhain on the 1st of November.) They're both about community, but Halloween is a celebration of secular, local community- strengthening bonds by rotting each other's children's teeth out- and Samhain is a celebration of the historical family (and extended, chosen family), particularly those that have passed.

Halloween involves mass quantities of candy, my Peanuts/Snoopy Halloween decorations, and 'spooky' movies like Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, Resident Evil, Shaun of the Dead, etc.

Samhain involves a meal for my Beloved Dead comprising of seasonal/comfort food, shrine offerings of water, fire, bread, and usually booze to my Beloved and Nameless Dead, outdoor offerings of water and bread to placate the restless dead and Good Folk, and sometimes divination to communicate with my Dead, if I feel a particular nudge.

I do have crossover in jack-o-lanterns; scary faces sit in the window/on the porch to keep out the restless dead/wandering Good Folk, and cute ones are scattered here and there because pumpkins.

I know there are a bunch of ways for the pronunciation of Samhain, how do you pronounce it?

Historically, it's pronounced 'sow-in' or 'sah-win' with stress on the first syllable, depending on regional accents. I tend toward the latter.

Ideas for celebrating Samhain when you're in a completely Christian household?

If you won't be barged in on in your room, you could do divination to communicate with the dead. Jack-o-lanterns at liminal spots to keep the wandering dead away from your home (windows, doors that lead outside, fence gates or edges of property) would probably not raise alarm. Working on a project related to your family dead, like the family tree, sorting through old family belongings, recording family stories and memories would all be appropriate.

Offerings that would be subtle and inexpensive could involve a favorite kind of candy or snack, playing music the person liked, watching one of their favorite tv shows or movies, reading a favorite book, etc. It doesn't have to be food or drink; a shared, pleasant experience can be enough.

• How do you celebrate Samhain? (i.e. Ritual, Pumpkin Carving, Offerings, etc)

My take on Samhain and Halloween is very much like Juni's.  Halloween is treated as a secular holiday, a community celebration that can be a bit goofy and irreverent.  Pumpkin carving is a part of the Halloween celebrations, as is handing out treats, costumed parties, decorating the house, watching ooky-spooky movies,  etc.

I celebrate Samhain separately from Halloween.... privately, mostly in silence, and without the silliness that accompanies Halloween.  Candles are placed in the windows to help the Beloved Dead find their way home and the house warded to discourage uninvited wanderers.  I hold a Dumb Supper, with places set for friends and family who have passed (framed pictures are set around the table, along with a plate and glass for each person).  After that, it's offerings to the deities and prayers for those who have departed during the past year.  

• I know there are a bunch of ways for the pronunciation of Samhain, how do you pronounce it?
  

Sow-en (Sow rhyming with how, rather than pronouncing it like 'reap and sow')

• Ideas for celebrating Samhain when you're in a completely Christian household?

My thought on it is that Samhain celebrations need to take into account the beliefs of the homeowners.

'Christian' encompasses a very wide gambit of beliefs regarding the Halloween season. A Christian household might be very open to others celebrating Halloween however a person likes; other Christian households may hold the belief that it's an evil thing and that those who celebrate it are eternally damned. If I were in the latter household, I'd limit my celebrations to silent, private prayers or, more likely,  take my Samhain activities off the property.  In a less conservative household, I might put out pictures of the departed, light candles, and put out a small offering plate.

I consider the things I do for Halloween and the things I do for Samhain to be separate Stuff, though they happen around the same time. (I celebrate Samhain on the 1st of November.) They're both about community, but Halloween is a celebration of secular, local community- strengthening bonds by rotting each other's children's teeth out- and Samhain is a celebration of the historical family (and extended, chosen family), particularly those that have passed.

+1

That's a lovely way to put it!  I've been struggling with the differences between Halloween and Samhain.. they are clearly different, but the exact details have eluded me.

We also celebrate Halloween in much the same way as others: pumpkins, trick or treating.  The next day we take chocolate chip cookies (great-grandmother's recipe) and do a cemetery tour, stopping at the three or four in town where we have ancestors buried.  We leave them each a cookie and a libation of water (former alcoholics and parents-of-alcoholics don't get alcohol) and talk about memories and stories.  We've done this for the past few years, and the kids actually really enjoy it.

Oops, I forgot to add!  Since you're limited in your ability to practice by yourself at home, it may be advantageous for you to look around for a local group with their own space.  Then you still get to do ritual, but you don't have to worry about stepping on your parent's toes.

Hello all,

Samhain is approaching and I have a few questions I'd like to throw out there. So here's the first one:  

• How do you celebrate Samhain? (i.e. Ritual, Pumpkin Carving, Offerings, etc)
• I know there are a bunch of ways for the pronunciation of Samhain, how do you pronounce it?
  
• Ideas for celebrating Samhain when you're in a completely Christian household?

 

I celebrate Samhain is by doing a silent dinner for my relative that has past and work on my family tree. I pronounced Samhain like "saw-win".  I completely understand the whole Christian household situation. I am, also, in a similar situation. I just plan to do my ritual when everyone is in their beds/rooms. Also I do not to make the ritual elaborate for example. I making my Samhain offerings from scratch (Pumpkin Scones and Apple Spice Cider) and no one is the wiser what I am up to. I also use the top of my dresser as an alter. So when I need to do a ritual I take off all the random stuff and lay my ritual stuff in order and once I am finish I put away my ritual stuff and put random stuff back up again.

It really depends on how open you want to be around your folks.

Hope this helps. :)

How do you celebrate Samhain? (i.e. Ritual, Pumpkin Carving, Offerings, etc)

Either I'm in costume that day, or if not I'm home doing some sort of ritual. I don't honor the dead or my ancestors in any way on Samhain or any other day of the year.