What Pagan Festival is Halloween?
Absolutely Halloween – Samhain Samhain was known in Ireland as the “Lord of Darkness”. The Druid religion was practised by ancient Celtic tribes that populated Ireland and parts of Europe. This religion worshipped Samhain, the Lord of Darkness. Some writings also speak of Samhain as the “Lord of the Dead”. But scholars suggest that this is incorrect. The Druid New Year began on November 1st. It is also known as the “Feast of Samhain”. The Celts only recognized summer and winter seasons. Literally translated, Samhain means “Summer’s End”. At this time, the hours of nighttime were growing significantly over the hours of sunlight. Hence, Lord Samhain reigned over the long winter months as the influence of the Sun god and the summer season (Beltaine or Beltane) preceded. Samhain’s influence grows with the increase in the hours of darkness, as he can only roam the earth during hours of darkness. The Druids believed that on their New Year’s Eve, all of the people who died in the past year wo
