Samhain & Dziady - when the veil thins

The end of October marks the end of Autumn in the traditional Gaelic calendar. Samhain (pronouned sah-win) possibly means “summer’s end” and hence, winter’s beginning. It is thought that this welcoming of the darker half of the year is also the celebration of the Irish Celts’ new year. Each new day started with darkness (at dusk) as did each new year (in winter).

As well as welcoming the new year and the winter, the period of Samhain is a time when feasts of the last harvest are had, ancestors are remembered and the spirit world comes in contact with the living.

A similar celebration at the same time exists in the pre-Christian Polish calender too - Dziady - which is sometimes translated to “ancestors” or “forefathers”.

Many (but not all!) have lost a direct link to the ancestral memory of these celebrations due to families ceasing to practise them. Despite this, there are those who try to rediscover the traditons and keep them alive.

The current practices are probably not going to be exactly the same as the ancient ones, but this doesn’t make them any less meaningful. Change is part of this world, be it seen as good or bad. Some things we value and want to hold onto and some things we let go. This change is, in part, reflected in the passing of seasons and recognised through celebrations such as Samhain.

Around Samhain, some of the things I like to do include preparing for the change of season, cooking food like plum pie and fresh loaves of bread, creating autumn wreaths, making a fire or bonfire, carving pumpkins (or potatoes, like this year) and spending time thinking about those close to me who have passed.

A poem for Samhain/Dziady

Remember our ancestors and creatures,
whose lives have come and gone.
The dead come back on Samhain (Dziady),
through the memories of the living.
The earth goes to sleep for winter,
to come back next spring,
just as the dead go back to the earth,
to be born again.

References