What does Halloween mean to you as a pagan, and how do you celebrate it? (church, spirits)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am a Christian, and every year, I hear apologetics about why Christians should not celebrate Halloween ( because it is based on pagan/ occult themes). I realized I have never really known a pagan, much less asked one how the average one celebrates this holiday today. I would be curious to know what significance this day has to you religiously, and how you celebrate it. Thank you in advance, for anyone who would want to post about it.
I am a Christian, and every year, I hear apologetics about why Christians should not celebrate Halloween ( because it is based on pagan/ occult themes). I realized I have never really known a pagan, much less asked one how the average one celebrates this holiday today. I would be curious to know what significance this day has to you religiously, and how you celebrate it. Thank you in advance, for anyone who would want to post about it.
Thank you for asking. Like with anything we tend to celebrate it differently I'm sure.
For me personally I celebrate it as I am having dinner I sit a place out for those I have lost of late, not everyone of course just those who have say passed in the last couple of years or so. I cook food as if they had come over for dinner just like anyone else. As I sit down I invite them to come join me/us. I remember them by thinking of times that we had together & the memories I shared with them. I don't talk to them but I do talk to a fellow pagan/s who I have invited over about people who have passed. At the end of the meal I talk to food that I cooked for those I invited & sit them outside & give the rest to the Gods. It's more about remembering them then anything else, thats the way it is for me anyhow.
As a whole most Pagans believe tha this time of year the veil between worlds are at thier thinest allowing those loved ones to come visit us.
The best one was a sort of hybred Halloween. I had a stuffed animal dressed as a vampire. (it was a BIG stuffed bear) and a table. I did my alter and it was sitting to the side unnoticed. and I had thirteen candles burning. I had this display of various real massacres with a stick and a death count to represent the real menace in the world. And I had candy and tomato juice (labeled blood) and cups. I ask if they wanted blood of tomato or candy.
Surprisingly I emptied the tomato juice that night. Everyone thought it was wonderful and 'spooky'. I don't think anyone noticed the alter or knew it had been used to define the space they entered.
My alter went inside and I did a private ceremony for myself, but there were lots of good energies all around.
I have a brand new porch here, (the old one was rotting out) but the kids are to few and far between.
Hi CA mom,
Jusy to add a tiny bit of clairification- Not a pagan new year to all pagans- Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is Celtic in origin and not all pagans follow the Celtic path.
In these modern times, Samhain is one of 8 Wiccan Sabbats. Other Sabbats have been absorbed into modern culture such as Groundhogs day which is Imbolc.
As for the occult aspect, it bothers me that religious leaders call Halloween occult which leads to what they are saying is occult. That is just an attempt at brainwashing.
By definition, occult simply means hidden knowledge. The knowledge was hidden not because it was bad or evil, but because it gave people power and that was a threat to the early church. The tradition lives on today.
Occult is not about blood sacrifice or doing harm. Back when spirituality and science was studied together by alchemists, their scientific findings had to be kept hidden. To share such a discovery would be heresy. I'm sure the alchemists valued their lives so kept the knowledge hidden.
I fall under the outskirts of the pagan umbrella. I dress up and hand out candy, carve pumpkins and all that stuff for the sake of fun!
However, I do know the origin and purpose for all the traditions.
Way back when, turnips were carved, not pumpkins. That would be wasteful.
Dressing up made it so the bad spirits would not recognize a living human and bother them. We humans had to blend in to be safe.
I tend to be a bit sensitive and have an odd connection with death and the dead. I do not happen to notice any thinning of a veil between here and the spirit world. If a ghost or spirit wants to be noticed, it will do so when ever it chooses to.
However, All Saints Day and Dia de Los Muertos coincide with Halloween and have that same theme of respect and honor for the dead.
Last edited by OwlKaMyst; 10-30-2012 at 10:23 PM..
Reason: Corrected autocorrects mistakes
Being part Irish, part Seneca and all Discordian pantheist, I celebrate it the way most people do -- by leaving apples for the ghosts and dressing up (this year I was an ant -- my power animal for this half of this year). Tonite I finish carving the pumpkins, roast the seeds, light them up and then we all watch scary movies together. Vincent Price anyone?
It has no religious meaning at all. I like the little kids in costumes, though, and the miniature candy bars.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
