Halloween vs. Samhain - It's All a Matter of Timing

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

So, regardless of the exact date and time, what did the original pagans actually celebrate on Samhain and what are the similarities between Samhain and Halloween? I assume that All Hallows Eve had something in common with the original pagan holiday in order to get them to go with the Christian program.

Thy believed it was a time of liminality, a time when the veil between worlds thinned enough that it could be crossed - you could go to the Otherworld, but the usual direction of travel was from there to here - a time when the dead came back to visit. Because of that, it was a time of feasting during which food would even be left out for the dead ancestors, to avoid pissing them off because they were left out of the celebrations.

To some, it was a time of fear, because they feared visits from ancestors who were pissed off because the living had not been doing right.

But the basics are that they believe it was a time window when the dead could return to once again walk the earth - albeit in spirit rather than bodily - which could be either a help or a hindrance depending on how one had conducted his own life over the past year.

It had nothing to do with demons, devils, or witches... the baggage that Christianity has tried to hang onto the day.

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Similar to the Day of the Dead in Mexico I imagine. Still, how is the Christian version similar? I never looked into Halloween, I thought it was a Catholic deal with Saints and all, so I didn't really give a shit. Thanks for the cool information at any rate.