So this little blog is about how I feel and perceive this time of year. I have to admit, in the past, I haven’t always been a fan of October and November; these two months, in my part of the world at least, have usually and typically meant a few things for me, including the ‘gap’ months between the end of the summer and Christmas. They were the dreary months in which the days got shorter, and the nights got longer. They were always the days in which the weather turned a little unfriendly, and it meant a time to find some sort of distraction until the inevitable build up to Christmas from the beginning of December (even before, sometimes!). Now, however, I don’t see it that way; as I have got older, I have come to appreciate all times of the year more, most of all because I’ve lived abroad for so many years, so it has helped me to develop an appreciation for how things are back home in England. I very much like the concept of the ‘Wheel of the Year’ in paganism: the year is divided up nicely into 4, with the two solstices and equinoxes respectively. It is then divided further into what are sometimes called ‘sabbats’, which are the yearly festivals or observations on and in between the equinoxes and solstices. Of course, for anyone wired in the same way as I am, one might clearly draw a parallel between ‘sabbats’ and the word ‘Sabbath’, which we get from the Hebrew ‘shabbat’, with its contemporary meaning of ‘day of rest’ in both mainstream Christianity and Judaism. Etymology, or, in simple English, ‘word roots’, really is a drug for me! Anyway, it brings me to this time of year, and the festival traditionally marked in the northern hemisphere on the 31st of October as Halloween. Now, as a teacher that has taught many foreigners learning English, I’m fully aware of the modern concept of Halloween, and how ‘popular’ the Americanised, modern version of it has become in many countries across the continent (I mean Europe, that’s what we Brits call it), as well as all over the Western world. My main line of work at the moment is with a school based in Poland, so the bulk of my students are Polish on a week-to-week basis. It’s quite normal that I ask them if they have any plans for any upcoming cultural or religious festivals, and they then inform me of their plans. In short, I like to get to know my students beyond a simple, didactic level. I was a little surprised that a lot of my Polish students ‘observed’ Halloween in some way, usually by going to fancy dress parties, and wearing costumes. Of course, I have had plenty of mothers telling me how they took their kids trick or treating, too! Now, for those that don’t know, Halloween as we know it is a much older festival/celebration: it has its roots in Celtic cultures, and it was traditionally meant as a way of marking the end of the harvest, and the subsequent beginning of the winter and the unavoidable tough times ahead. In Irish, it is still known as ‘Samhain’ (pronounced SA-w’n, imagine pronouncing ‘win’, but without the ‘i’ in the middle), or in Scottish Gaelic it’s known as ‘Samhuin’. Through my students, I’ve learnt a lot more in the past few weeks about its origins, as well as original significances and meanings. It was, and in many contemporary neo-pagan groups still is, believed to be the point in the year in which the veil between the land of the living and the land of the dead is at its thinnest; in other words, a time of year in which those who have already ‘passed over’ might come back into our world as we may know it. An uncomfortable thought for some, I’m sure. It’s certainly not what I was taught in school in the contemporary society of mainstream Judaeo-Roman Christianity in the west; however, like with all things in life, I like to keep an open mind. Other customs were supposedly that Celtic peoples had big bonfires, and indulged in revelry as a way of marking the time of year. Some folks were even said to dress up by wearing ghoulish masks lest they ran into any unkind, malevolent spirits that they may have chanced upon on their travels. It was a time to honour those that had died, and passed on to other realms; it was a time to keep the memory of those that were no longer with us, at least…not in a physical, fleshly sense. This may ring some bells with other traditions around the world akin to Halloween, such as ‘Dia de los muertos’ in Mexican culture; some of you may have seen the scary masks they wear, often resembling a skeleton or something else. Anyhow, coming back to the original point, Halloween is really the modern name for something much older. Like with all things in life, in time, they change. They adapt. They evolve. Think of how early Christians must have celebrated Christmas (or not, depending on certain beliefs) in times of strife and persecution - is it the same way as we celebrate it now? I wouldn’t imagine so.
One of the best ways I’ve always found to be able to understand things and their roots is through etymology, that’s to say the origins of these words, and the etymology of Halloween is no different. Halloween can sometimes be written as ‘Hallowe’en’, thus giving us our first clue; it had been known as ‘All Hallow’s E’en’, with ‘e’en’ being a shortening of ‘even’ or evening’, sometimes rendered simply as ‘eve’. Of course, anyone that has a basic grasp of English will be familiar with this as we have ‘Christmas Eve’ on the 24th of December, and ‘New Year’s Eve’ a week later. The word ‘hallow’ in English shares its roots with the word ‘holy’, as is often heard in The Lord’s Prayer in English, with the particular line ‘…Hallowed be thy name’ in reference to God in mainstream Christianity. So, what was it back then, this All Hallow’s E’en? Well, it was perhaps a predecessor to ‘Hallowmas’ or ‘Hallowtide’, which, in turn, was supposed to mark the day before All Saints’ Day, traditionally marked in the Roman Catholic calendar on the 1st of November, followed by All Souls’ Day on the day after. Now, speak to anyone here in the UK about ‘All Saints’ and they might talk about a girl band from the ‘90s, but it was and very much still is in fact a Christian festival. It is marked on different days in slightly different ways, depending on which denomination you read about. Anyway, I now come full circle as I can now talk again about my Polish students. Tuesday 1st of November was a public holiday in Poland, meaning that I also had a ‘day off’, even though I’m no longer based out there, as my company was officially closed. So I went about asking my students how they were going to mark All Saints’ Day, and what the traditions were. I was met with a unanimous answer, which was that the custom is to go to a cemetery which ‘keeps’ your loved ones that have passed, then stay a time over their gravestones, light a candle, and say a little prayer in order to honour their memory. Truly, it’s something I find to be most beautiful, but it’s not only found in Poland; in fact, most Catholic countries I’ve visited in Europe do the same, or something similar. I’ve seen beautiful photos of cemeteries all lit up with candles everywhere, often red and white candles, as a way of showing the Polish national colours, and showing your patriotism! Despite not being Catholic, I too lit a candle on the 1st of November, and I said a prayer for those who are no longer here; I also included my wonderful partner (who is incredibly open minded and supportive of anything that comes from the heart), and my beautiful children. We took a moment to remember those who we’ve ‘lost’, and my little 4-year-old girl wanted to honour the memory of her ‘old grandad’ - I had a lump in my throat, and no mistake! It was a poignant moment, and one that wasn’t lost on me, either.
There are of course other things that are observed in early November too, such as the 11th of November every year; in Poland, it’s their Independence Day from when they gained their freedom in 1918, but here in the UK, it’s known as Armistice Day - the day that the fighting stopped. There’s a famous saying that goes something along the lines of ‘At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we shall remember them’. If you don’t know, it’s a type of memorial for the brave men, women, and even animals that gave their lives in service of king/queen and country in various wars. We all take a moment every year at 11 o’clock to hold a short vigil, or to show our respects. Now, as a humanitarian, I believe that war is unnecessary and abhorrent, but I still have deep gratitude and respect for those who came before we did, and fought for what they believed in. My great-grandfather on my dad’s side apparently fought at the infamous Battle of the Somme in 1916 in which the blood of the British, Germans, French, Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, and far too many others was said to have stained the soil in the fields of the Somme. Both of my grandfathers served in the Royal Navy and the Army respectively, too, so there’s a legacy of service within the most recent generations. Although my aforementioned great-grandfather survived the dreadful Battle of the Somme, he was said to have suffered with physical ailments thereafter; who knows what kind of mental, emotional, and spiritual ailments he went through after what he must’ve seen in . It wasn’t spoken about. But still, it’s another time to remember those who came before us, in-keeping with Samhain, All Saints’ Day, and so many other festivals around this time of year.
In the heathenry of olden times, as well as in modern-day neo-paganism, a festival is generally also held on the 11th of November called ‘Feast of the Einherjar’. This translates loosely as ‘the feast of the warriors’, or ‘those who fought alone’. In Norse folklore and tradition, the Einherjar were the warriors who fell in battle, protecting and shielding their kinfolk, the ones they held most dear; upon dying, they were supposedly taken by the Valkyries to Odin’s Great Hall (Valhalla), where they would feast and do glorious battle every day with their kinsmen and kinswomen until Ragnarök (the purported end times in Norse culture). I personally love the imagery and heroism of Norse legends and folklore, and there can be no denying the resemblance that some of their myths and tales bear to other cultures, albeit in a more bellicose and glorified way, perhaps.
Whatever you may or may not believe, whatever may or may not resonate with you in your life, surely you would agree that early November in the northern hemisphere seems to traditionally and historically have this recurring theme of remembrance of our ancestors, memorial of our forefathers and foremothers, honour to our kin and even kith which came before. As I write this, barely 3 hours have passed since I stood to attention and held a two-minute silence, as is our way of doing things here. I shall also proudly wear a poppy tonight when I go to work in my 2nd job; countless people will see it, and who knows what kind of feelings and memories it may evoke. Each person’s experience is uniquely personal.
So, perhaps you too might say a prayer, spare a thought, light a candle, or raise a glass to those whom you’ve loved but are no longer with us here this November. You wouldn’t be the first, and you certainly wouldn’t be the last. I personally believe that they look upon us and watch over us as we go about our daily lives, hoping perhaps to one day meet again.
Love and blessings from Old Albion.
D x
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