Hello all, This is one of several coming Halloween entries.  In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calendar, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven.

More than 2,000 years the Celts used a calendar that began and ended at "Summers End" or Samhain around Oct 31/Nov 1.  A festival of sorts was held to commemorate the death of the old year and the birth of a new year. In Mississippi we (my family) generally decorate to a degree for the "Harvest", which is the Christian way of celebrating an age old ritual without all the blasphemous Pagan language.  We use Thanksgiving as an excuse to put gourds and pumpkins everywhere not to mention all of the little corn dolls put above doorways for abundance.  Now my entire tiny rural town in Mississippi does this and to a large degree many of my fellow Texans.  Many are like myself, descended from farm laborers who I feel have a special connection to the earth and the seasons.  That is not to say that our Yankee friends or our city folk don't feel the same allegiance to our Earth Mother. Anyway

The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds was thinnest during this time of the year and that this was the best time for the living to communicate with those who had passed on.  I usually burn a sage bundle for my late friends and family and offer prayers to others who have passed on.  The Celts believed that the Lord of the Dead gathered the souls of the dead of the previous year who had been confined to the bodies of animals waiting to enter the Underworld.  Once the sins were forgiven the dead were welcomed into the Celtic otherworld of Tir-na-n'Og.  Of course while all of this world shifting was going on, homesick souls could move into the mortal world to "visit" their living relatives.  Families burned offerings of the currency of the day, fresh fruits and vegetables, to welcome friendly spirits and "pay off" unfriendly ones. 

Thats all for today's Samhain history lesson.

Until next time

Goddess Bless