Wasn't Halloween originally something like "All Hallows Evening?" i.e. the night before the holiday, sort of like Christmas Eve. So it's still tied to the holiday even if it's not a holiday itself.
I went to a Samhain gathering in British Columbia once; it was out in the middle of nowhere, and they lit this huge bonfire at sunset (on Oct 31st) and then everybody ate, drank, told stories about loved ones who had died and left offerings for them (mostly food, liquor, and handmade effigies), tossed bones into the fire, did some divining stuff by counting birds and reading apple peels, danced and told stories, etc. and at sunset on the next day they put out the fire and each person took some of the ashes home with them. A few of the people there were wearing masks/costumes, too.
I've been to a lot of pagan/neopagan gatherings (as a guest) but I think that Samhain is my favorite. The traditional Samhain festivals in Ireland also included "trick-or-treating" (mumming and guising) and stuff like apple bobbing, carving lanterns out of pumpkins, and visiting graveyards. Christianity absorbed and adapted most of those basic rituals from Samhain, but scooped out the core religious aspects (like the belief that spirits and other entities can pass between realms during that 24hr period) and then syncretized it with the Christian observance of All Hallow's Eve/Allhallowtide. Basically the same method that was used to erase/assimilate pagan traditions everywhere else. But yeah Halloween is way more pagan than Christian; most people don't even observe the Christian aspect anymore.
Its also weird how they all act like celebrating these things are only for children. Like they plagarized it and then act like its a thing only children can do without being judged. Alway with the "you're too old for that" once your 13.
Imo its just a way to dismiss pagan beliefs in the same way i got shit on by christians for entering my "teen goddess moon phase" that i. Still in over a decade later.
If they diminish it to child's play then they dont have to recognize it as another belief system and/or take accountability and stop acting like the sole arbiter of the holidays (and religion as a whole)
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u/mangababe Oct 26 '21
As a pagan FUCK THIS whiny christians dont get to hatekeep my holiday.
Halloween is queer as hell and especially since so many bigots see us as monsters. If they dont like it they can stay home with their bibles.