before we start I don't know if you have noticed but the melody in introduction has changed
as one of you rightly pointed out it was out of tune so I've fixed it
and I've played it and record it again, it was down one step, I believe
drop D, well it isn't matter I think it sounds better now
another aspect
I am dividing this video into two parts, I'll start with what this season is all about
and the historical background, and at the end I have a long message for you for this season
well, with no more delay let's get started
Hello friends my name is Arith Härger
and today I'm going to talk about Samhain
I'll not deny it, this is my favorite time of the year so I'll have loads of information to share with you
October is coming to an end, and we are near Halloween
or All Saints' Day, a very traditional Christian celebration for thousands of generations
but is it really a celebration from the Christian holiday's calendar?
or an adaptation from a very ancient past before the Christianization of Europe?
well, in truth Halloween comes from the harvest festivals
held by this time of the year by many European cultures since immemorial times
we know about the Celtic Festival - the harvest festival
given the recent Gallic name of Samhain, a day that marks the end of summer
a day connected to the harvest and also to the dead and the ancestors and the Celtic new year
the eve of the 1st of November when the Celtic winter begins
the 1st of November for the Celts was the beginning of the year itself
and the Feast of Samhain was their New Year's Eve
it was a day between the end of a season and the beginning of another
so in other words a time which belong to neither season
a sort of mysterious time which belonged to neither the past nor the present
Samhain, like other pagan festivals, was so deeply rooted in popular tradition
that Christianity had to try to take it over
the aspects of communion with the dead and with other spirits was christianized as All Hallows
moved from its original date from the 13th of May to the 1st of November
and extended to the whole church by Pope Gregory III
or the IV
historical sources vary but what they have in common is that this was done by the Pope in the year of 834
people wouldn't complain that much now, since they would still celebrate the old pagan holiday
but in a different manner and turned to the new faith
even with such a new faith introduced
this day never lost its former essence and much of the popular imagination and superstition
from the earlier period of this celebration, is still associated to the Fall pagan festival
and came to our modern days because some people, including churchmen
preserved some of the cults of- of the ancient Era
much of the superstitions were around the dead but by this time the harvest celebrations also took place
bonfires, the coming of autumn and the natural world changing
metaphorically speaking this was the beginning of the very death of nature
the magical passage into winter when the day's grow darker and the skies at dusk
are painted with the colors of fire and very land takes this form
all of this was thought to be held most prominently during the evening before All Hallows
from where the modern name Halloween or All Hallows Evening comes from
the term itself originated in Scotland
by the passing of time and with the coming of the Christian faith
and all the tales from the old pagan past
that were told to people to scare them and never think about the pagan believes again
news customs evolved that had little or nothing to do with both the pagan celebrations
and the Christian All Saints Day or later called All Souls Day, on November the 2nd
some people burned candles to drive away malevolent spirits of the dead
on the eve of All Hallows
spirits that would enter the world of the living at this very night
the custom of adults and children disguising themselves to trick the spirits, or the living
and beg for coins or food
it's the origin of trick-or-treating
however to the Celts it was true that they believed that
a gap between this world and the next
could be indeed open and the spirits of the dead, other beings and even the gods
would come to the mortal world
some people held the celebrations for the dead
hoping that they could have any contact with their ancestors
others would disguise themselves with masks because they feared that in this day
the spirits of the gods would come and take them to the next world
since this was the day that the deities and their helpers came to collect souls
all overEurope, before Christianisation, people rejoiced at this day because they knew
that this was the day that they would be so close to their ancestors
in northern Europe, for instance, there were a couple of celebrations to honor the ancestors during winter
such as the Dísir, honoring the female ancestors and the female deities
and the Álfablót to honor the spirits of the land, to thank them for the help they gave in harvesting during the year
this was also the time when strangers to the families living in each farm couldn't come near
because it was time for very private celebrations for each family
when they could join with their deceased and feast with them near their burial mounds at the farm
there was the myth, all over Europe, that this was also the time of the Wild Hunt
and each culture as its tales of the gods the spirits of the ancestors and spirits of animals
running across the sky searching for souls
to take away those who were dying or to take people at random if the gods thought that their time had come
or to take brave heroes worthy to be in presence of the gods
but let's take a look at the essence of this season
the lives of our ancestors depended too much on the cycles of nature
and they didn't have the resources we have nowadays so keeping whole herds fed through the winter
was impossible
so the minimum breeding-stock was kept alive
there were many mouths to feed in a season that completely destroys that which gives sustenance to animal herds
so many animals were slaughtered during this time and the meat salted to preserve it
salt was very important to preserve meat and add it to the stored food for winter
not everyone had an easy access to salt
especially societies so far from the sea
mining salt was hard business
so salt became a very important and expensive substance
and everything that is either new, rare, hard to get
gains a tremendous importance, hence, without a doubt, the reason why salt was also used in traditional magical rituals
due to being a rare substance in those times
and people even killed for it
it might seem silly and a reason to laugh about, because nowadays we have salt in great quantities
and so easy to get
but people kill for what is rare and for what we give a certain amount of importance
which is why nowadays we kill for oil
and maybe the future generations will laugh about it, but they will kill for something else
new, rare and important
right, such a cheerful assessment
well, the crops too had to be gathered in by the 31st of October
and anything still unharvested was abandoned
there was even a folk belief that during Samhain night a creature called the Pooka
contaminated and destroyed whatever remained unreaped
maybe a folk explanation to show that the coming winter really affected any edible plant and fruit
leaving those sources of food unfit for consumption
which might lead to health problems
anyway, the Pooka is one of those Samhain night creatures
who delighted in tormenting humans
an ex-girlfriend of mine had this nickname, Pooka . . . this explains a lot
during Samhain night there would be a great feast
and much of the food provided coming from the newly slaughter cattle, of course
the Celts used entrails and other animal parts for divinatory purposes
and what they did not use provided a feast for the tribe
purifying the meat in the Samhain fires and it became a sort of ritualistic food
as I've said this was the time of the year when the cattle
could no longer graze on the green pastures ,summer was waning
note that autumn wasn't known to be a season and there was only
spring, summer and winter
and well, farm animals were slaughtered and
the surpluses of the harvest were stored for the coming of winter
storing food for winter was the key to survive
nowadays we do not give much importance to that
and that is why part of the spirit of the season was forgotten
well, speaking of the spirit of this season, everyone knows that all the monsters come out during this night
most of these supernatural elements in this celebration
have a wicked or/and an evil aspect due to the condemnation by the medieval church
to put on a costume was another part of the festival and involved people going
door to door in disguise to recite verses in exchange for food
Halloween trick-or-treating recalls this tradition
these monsters were just mortals in disguise
however, most of these spiritual beings
may be remnants of older pagan deities and spirits of nature
people used to leave offerings of food and drink out in the fields for them
this, of course, was because people wanted to maintain the bonds of friendship with the spirits and the gods
and avoid all kinds of mischief from them
also it was a way to ensure that the spirits of nature were appeased and winter wouldn't be so harsh on mortals
if the spirits of nature and deities can contact us and come through the thin veil
so do the dead as well, for they also belong to the otherworldly activities
people held feasts and invited their deceased ancestors to
attend those same feasts, this was in fact a true reason this celebration was held
with roots in our prehistoric past
as you might know agriculture is as "recent" as 5000 years ago, in some countries, of course
the furthest away from the Middle East the earlier to our era it gets
there are archaeological evidences that this celebration was held before the invention of agriculture
in ancient times Samhain in the beginning wasn't the celebration of the season and
the ending of the harvest, because there wasn't any harvest to be celebrated
the Coligny calendar (a Celtic time-keeping plaque found in France and probably dating to the late 2nd century of our Era)
with Celtic words but written in Roman alphabet
is assumed to reflect a far older indigenous tradition of this celebration
the year (as with the Gaeltic Celtic year) was divided into two
with the division from summer to winter occurring at Samonios
which may have given rise to the word Samhain
it seems there was a three night festival at this time
Iron aged people recorded time by nights, not days
and what people do-do- did during these three nights of Samhain is hardto discern from the archaeological evidences
during the Bronze Age and possibly long before, people observed the movement of the stars
and an embossed disk from Nebra, in Germany, seems to reflect the celestial skies at the start of winter
the disk shows the moon and a star constellation
that looks very similar to the Pleiades, given its prominence the Pleiades
certainly had considerable meaning to the people using this disk
it's interesting to notice that in Western astrology the Pleiades are associated with mourning the dead
and like all stars the Pleiades shifted its position over the years
and during the Iron Age the Pleiades rose to its apex in the
winter skies during the three nights of Samhain
Iron Age people mourned and remembered their dead at this time, then it may have given rise to the
association between the Pleiades and mourning the dead
the Nebra disc shows the importance of the constellation to prehistoric people and it may have even
been the marker people sought to begin their festivities
there is even folk traditions that druids celebrated Samhain when the Pleiades were at their apex at midnigh
so mourning and remembering the Dead may have been the
focus of the Samhain festival during the Iron Age
unfortunately Halloween forgot all about honoring the ancestors and we seem to
enjoy more what it has become however during the ninth century the
Roman Catholic church changed their All Saints Day to the first of November as I've said
it became the day for remembering the dead
remembering the ancestors
it might seem strange to you to notice that
the church who so fervently fought against pagans in order to make people
forget and forsake their ancestral traditions and impose and implement their beliefs
kept this element of Samhain
in truth, it was a very cunning "marketing" weapon
to collect more worshipers of the new faith into their flock
the church knew it was a very important celebration and it would be very hard to lead them
astray from their important and ancestral celebrations so deeply rooted in their hearts
so the church just included it in the new faith and both parties were "happy" with it
recognizing and adopting Samhain as a Christian celebration
was a way to appease the mood of the pagans and turn them into allies
Now, aside with the historical background I would like to give you a
very long message for this season, I think it's important and I do not often do that
you are part of this community I'm creating here so I would like to share this message with you
nowadays this particular festivity is probably
one of the most celebrated dates in our modern culture, it seems to be
admired, immortalized and approved each year and its popularity is considerably growing
across the Western world, I dare say all over the globe
in modern times it is the beginning of a holiday season and the opportunity to go out at night
dressed in a notably weird costume and as if it were a ritual going around
the neighborhood playing trick or treat
children do love this and so do their parents
for it is an opportunity to be part of the community in a cheerful way
and it's an escape from the average daily life, it's party for everyone
the decorations are also part of this celebration to enhance the atmosphere
and nature of course does its part and bring the cold, rain, mists and very vibrant colors
it seems a little excessive the lack of moderation when eating treats (for children)
and of course intemperance in drinking alcohol (for adults)
but it's just one time of the year right?
we all need to celebrate once in a while and have a little freedom as long as we do not disturb others
Halloween is the glimpse of what remains of our ancient traditions during this time of the year
this is the season to honor our ancestors to be in contact with them since the connection between this world
and the next comes closer and in mythological references this is the time of the year
when the gap between worlds is opened and the spirits might come easily into our world
well, it doesn't matter the mythological references
I mean, they are cultural explanations but what is important to retain here
beyond the myth and metaphors
is that once again this is the time when we are
closely connected to the supernatural in a spiritual way
there is a good opportunity here, a possibility that we can achieve connectivity with the spirits
and undergo a spiritual experience that might changes completely
often for the best
but it's not only about our connection with the spirits
and the knowledge we might gain during that process
this is indeed the time of the year when... that we also change our behaviors and moods and
our personalities have to adapt to a new reality, this is the time when darkness
conquers the natural world and the light and warmth of the Sun is gone
such as the flowers and the green meadows and everything that is beautiful in nature
there is a huge change in nature a transfiguration, a metamorphosis
the cycle of life comes to and end or at least this is the beginning of that end
it gets colder, the leaves fall, the trees are naked and the nature dies out in general
wild creatures either hibernate or seldom come out
this is just part of nature that we must accept the same way we must accept ourselves and our own changes
our moods darken and there is a sense of melancholy and sadness
death is in the air, that's what it is
but death is a part of nature and with death also comes life
nature it is giving the possibility of a new life to be created
so you too must give yourself that opportunity this is the perfect time to
make your inner spiritual journey and find yourself and undersand your place in this world
darkness can be a friend when you spend more time indoors
getting to know what really makes you happy
the trick is not knowing what defines us during happy times
but to understand who we truly are and what we truly want in the most desperate moments
we all have shadows in ourselves that we tend to hide, the wounds will never fully heal if we deny them
this time of the year is to be in contact with our ancestors and that also means
being in contact with your past, understand it, it helped shape who you are today
and you must know how to let go of the past just as you must let go
of those you loved, or make a new approach with what really made you happy
and with the things and people that you are certain that there is a chance to
rekindle the light that now seems so dim and faint
Halloween, Samhain, All Saints Day, whatever you want to call it
this is the time to embrace the other side of nature and your own other side, you can't live apart from one side
and try to run your life with the other, you can't break your heart in half
and throw it away and live with the other, that will keep you out of balance
it keeps you away from your own essence and out of touch with the other aspects of your own desires and wishes
self-awareness is what will actually help you to live life and not just survive in it
this is the period in your life to find a rebalance and a restoration of your own being
I wish you all happy holidays and that you might find balance in life and within yourselves
I hope you have enjoyed this video and thank you for today
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