LA NOCHE DE SAMHAIN

Reedicin Octubre-2012
Los antiguos pueblos celtas, llegado el final de
Octubre,

solan

celebrar

una

gran

fiesta

para

conmemorar el final de la cosecha, bautizada con la

palabra

galica

de

Samhain.

Significa,

etimolgicamente, el final del verano.

Esta fiesta representaba el momento del ao en
el que los antiguos celtas almacenaban provisiones
para el invierno y sacrificaban animales.
Se acababa el tiempo de las cosechas, y a partir
de entonces, los das iban a ser ms cortos y las
noches ms largas. Los celtas crean que en esta
noche de Samhain (hoy noche de Halloween),
los espritus de los muertos volvan a visitar el
mundo de los mortales. Encendan grandes hogueras
para ahuyentar a los malos espritus.

Era la fiesta nocturna de bienvenida al Ao

Nuevo.

La costumbre era dejar comida y dulces fuera de

sus casas y encender velas para ayudar a las almas
de los muertos a encontrar el camino hacia la luz y el
descanso junto al dios Sol, en las Tierras del Verano.
La noche de Samhain en la actualidad se ha
convertido en la noche de Halloween.
Ejemplo de ello es

la vieja tradicin de dejar

comida para los muertos, hoy representada en los

nios que, disfrazados, van de casa en casa, pidiendo
dulces, con la frase trick or treat (trato o truco).

Al parecer, los celtas iban recogiendo alimentos

por las casas para las ofrendas a sus dioses. Rituales
que, supuestamente, incluan algn que otro sacrificio
humano y para los que preparaban un gran nabo
hueco con carbones encendidos dentro, representando
al espritu que crean que les otorgaba poder.
En esa mgica noche de rituales, la noche de
Samhain, se abra la puerta al ms alla y los vivos y
los

muertos

tenan

la

oportunidad

de

poder

comunicarse.
Tras la romanizacin de los pueblos celtas con
alguna excepcin como es el caso de Irlanda- y, a
pesar de que

la religin de los druidas lleg a

desaparecer; el primitivo Samhain logre sobrevivir

conservando gran parte de su espritu y algunos de
sus ritos.

As pues, la tradicin ser recogida y se

extender por los pueblos de la Europa medieval, en
especial los de origen cltico, quienes tradicionalmente
ahuecaban nabos y en su interior ponan carbn
ardiente para iluminar el camino de regreso al mundo
de los vivos a sus familiares difuntos ms queridos
dndoles as la bienvenida, a la vez que se protegan
de los malos espritus.

Con el auge de la nueva religin-el cristianismola fiesta pagana se cristianiz despus como el dia de
Todos los Santos (la traduccin en ingls es, All
Hallows Eve,

de ah la expresin

actual de

Halloween).
A pesar de ello, los irlandeses , entre otros
pueblos de origen celta, siguieron celebrando la

tradicin festiva de la noche de Samhaim, el 31 de

Octubre, desde el ao 100 d.C.

LA NOCHE DE SAMHAIN SE CONVIERTE EN

NOCHE DE HALLOWEEN
A mediados del siglo XVIII, los emigrantes
irlandeses empiezan a llegar a Norteamrica. Con
ellos llegan, su cultura, su folclore, sus tradiciones, y
tambin su noche de Samhain. Eso s con algunos
cambios,

estos

europeos

comenzaron

utilizar

calabazas-mucho ms grandes y fciles de ahuecaren lugar de los nabos.

En un primer momento, la fiesta sufre una fuerte
represin por parte de las autoridades de Nueva
Inglaterra, de arraigada tradicin luterana.

Pero a finales del siglo XIX, los Estados Unidos

reciben una nueva oleada de inmigrantes de origen
cltico.
La fiesta irlandesa entonces, se mezcla con otras
creencias indias y en la secuela colonial, el Halloween
incluye entre sus tradiciones la conocida leyenda de
Jack-o-lantern, como se conoce actualmente, Jack
OLantern.
Esta leyenda tiene su origen en un irlands
taciturno y pendenciero llamado Jack, quien una
noche, de 31 de Octubre, cuenta la tradicin, que se
tropez con el msmisimo diablo.
Desde entonces comenz a extenderse la
leyenda negra de Jack-o-lantern; el tenebroso candil
de Jack.
Adems de esta leyenda en la noche de
Hallowen es tradicin el contar historias de fantasmas
y la realizacin de travesuras, bromas o bailes

tradicionales. La gente comienza a confeccionar

disfraces o trajes para Halloween.
Conclusin
Podemos concluir esta historia apuntando que
Halloween, se desvela como una noche baada por
una ura mgica, misteriosa y aterradora. Personajes
terrorficos y hechizados-brujas, fantasmas, duendes,
espritus-,

salen de sus cuentos de leyenda para

mezclarse entre los mortales que se preparan con

disfraces, bromas, pelucas, pinturas, y pelculas de
terror para recibirlos, aunque, sin perder el ambiente
de fiesta y el buen humor.
La fiesta de halloween carece ya de sentido
religioso, y como tantas otras, forma parte de nuestra
sociedad y cultura consumista.
Una

fiesta

ancestral

reconvertida

para

la

sociedad actual del ocio. Nada tiene que ver ya con los

rituales de los druidas ni con los pueblos celtas que

dominaron la mayor parte del oeste y centro de Europa
durante el primer milenio a.C.
Precisamente, es por ello, que no debemos
olvidar su verdadero origen.
Para los que piensan es una moda importada de
los estadounidenses aclarar que que se equivocan, ya
que precisamente son ellos los que han mantenido
viva esta vieja tradicin europea que, todava en
paises como Irlanda, se sigue celebrando cada ao
como la noche de Samhain y que poco a poco vuelve
a sus orgenes con ms fuerza.
Ejemplo de ello es

la vieja tradicin de dejar

comida para los muertos, hoy representada en los

nios que, disfrazados, van de casa en casa, pidiendo
dulces, con la frase trick or treat (trato o truco).

Como ya hemos explicado

los druidas celtas

recogan alimentos por las casas para realizar

ofrendas a la divinidad (se habla tambin de posibles
sacrificios humanos) y llevaban consigo un gran nabo
hueco con carbones encendidos dentro, representando
al espritu que les daba poder.
Hoy Halloween es una fiesta internacional de la
que no debemos ignorar su origen. Todava, durante la
noche

irlandesa de Samhain, se prenden grandes

hogueras en las que el vecindario arroja los trastos

viejos acumulados en sus casas para recibir el ao
nuevo celta.
Halloween
The myth of Samhain: "Celtic god of the dead"

Overview:

Identifying Samhain as a Celtic Death God is one

of

the

most

tenacious

errors

associated

with

Halloween.
Almost all stories about the origin of Halloween
correctly state that Halloween had its origins among
the ancient Celts and is based on their "Feast of
Samhain." However, a writer in the 18th century
incorrectly stated that Samhain was named after the
famous Celtic "God of the Dead." Many religious
conservatives

who

are

opposed

to

Halloween,

Druidism, and/or Wicca picked up this belief without

checking its accuracy, and accepted it as valid.
No such God ever existed. By the late 1990's
many secular sources such as newspapers and
television programs had picked up the error and
propagated it widely. It is now a nearly universal belief,
particularly among conservative Protestants.

Modern-day Samhain is the day when many

Wiccans believe that their God dies, later to be reborn.
[Wicca is a Neo-pagan, Earth-centered religion.] Thus,
Samhain is not a God of death; it is actually began as a
yearly observance of the death of a God.

Was/is Samhain a Celtic God?

The answer is a definite yes and no:
YES. He did exist. Many Neopagan and
secular sources are probably wrong. As As Isaac
Bonewits

writes:

"Major

dictionaries

of

Celtic

Languages don't mention any 'Samhain' deity..." 8

However, there is some evidence that there really was
an obscure, little known character named Samain or
Sawan who played the role of a very minor hero in
Celtic mythology. His main claim to fame was that Balor

of the Evil Eye stole his magical cow. His existence is

little known, even among Celtic historians. He was a
hero, not a god. It is likely that he was named after the
end of summer celebration rather than vice-versa.
NO. Many conservative Christian and secular
sources are definitely wrong; there is/was no Celtic
God of the Dead. The Great God Samhain appears to
have been invented in the 18th century, as a God of the
Dead before the ancient Celtic people and their religion
were studied by historians and archaeologists.
McBain's Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic
Language says that 'samhuinn' (the Scots Gaelic
spelling) means 'summer's end'..." The Celts observed
only two seasons of the year: summer and winter. So,
Samhain was celebrated at one of the transitions
between these seasons.
Samhain is pronounced "sah-van" or "sow-in"
(where "ow" rhymes with "cow"). Samhain is Irish

Gaelic for the month of November. Samhuin is Scottish

Gaelic for All Hallows, NOV-1.
A language expert has commented that the "mh"
in Samhain and Samhuin "would originally have been
pronounced like an "m" made without quite closing
your mouth." At the present time, the original
pronunciation is still heard. Some tighten it to a "v"
sound (typical in the south) or loosen it to a "w" sound
(typical in the west and, especially, the north). In
"Samhain" the "w" pronunciation would be most
common." 20

Sponsored link.

There

are

many

sources

supporting

the

conclusion that Samhain refers to the festival, not a

God of the Dead. They come from Celtic, Druidic, Irish,
and Wiccan individuals and groups:
Wiccan

web

site

"Brightest

Blessings"

mentions:
"Samhain (October 31), most often recognized as
our New Year, is also called Ancestor Night. It
represented the final harvest, when the crops were
safely stored for the coming Winter. As the veil
between the worlds of life and death is thin on this
night, we take this time to remember our beloved
dead."

W.J, Bethancourt III has an online essay

which traces the God Samhain myth back to the year
1770 when Col. Charles Vallency wrote a 6 volume set
of books which attempted to prove that the Irish people

once came from Armenia. Samhain as a god was later

picked up in a 1827 book by Godfrey Higgins. 9 That
book attempted to prove that the Druids originally came
from India. The error might have originated in confusion
over the name of Samana, an ancient Vedic/Hindu
deity. Bethancourt comments:
"With modern research, archaeology and the
study

of

the

Indo-European

migrations,

these

conclusions can be seen as the complete errors they

were..."
Later, he writes: " 'Samhain' is the name of the
holiday. There is no evidence of any god or demon
named 'Samhain,' 'Samain,' 'Sam Hane,' or however
you want to vary the spelling."

Rowan Moonstone, a Wiccan, comments:

"I've spent several years trying to trace the "Great
God Samhain" and I have YET to find seminal sources

for the same. The first reference seems to be from Col.

Vallency in the 1700s and then Lady Wilde in her book
'Mystic Charms and Superstitions' advances the
'Samhain, lord of the dead' theory. Vallency, of course
was before the work done on Celtic religion in either
literature or archaeology." 12

The Irish English Dictionary, published by the

Irish Texts Society, defines Samhain as follows:
"Samhain, All Hallowtide, the feast of the dead in
Pagan and Christian times, signalizing the close of
harvest and the initiation of the winter season, lasting
till May, during which troops (esp. the Fiann) were
quartered." 13

The

Scottish

defines Samhain as:

Gaelis

Dictionary

similarly

"Hallowtide. The Feast of All Soula. Sam + Fuin =

end of summer." 14

J.C. Cooper, author of The Dictionary of

Festivals identifies Samhain as:
"Samhain or Samhuinn: (Celtic). 31 October, Eve
of 1 November, was the beginning of the Celtic year,
the beginning of the season of cold, dearth and
darkness." 19
Wiccans have attempted to reconstruct the
ancient Celtic religion. They include this festival as one
of their 8 Sabbats (seasonal days of celebration). They
do not acknowledge the existence of a God of the
Dead named Samhain or a similar deity by any other
name. Modern-day Druids and other Neopagans also
celebrate Samhain as a special day.

Meaning

of

Samhain

according

to

most

conservative Christians:
The belief that Samhain is a Celtic God of the
Dead is near universal among conservative Christian
ministries, authors and web sites. They rarely cite
references. This is unfortunate, because it would
greatly simplify the job of tracing the myth of Samhain
as a God back to its origin:
In 1989, Johanna Michaelsen wrote a book
opposing the New Age, Humanism and Wicca. It is
titled "Your Child and the Occult" 4 She writes:
"The Feast of Samhain was a fearsome night, a
dreaded night, a night in which great bonfires were lit to
Samana the Lord of Death, the dark Aryan god who
was known as the Grim Reaper, the leader of the
ancestral Ghosts."

The
conservative

Watchman
Christian

Fellowship
counter-cult

Inc
group

is

which

attempts to raise public concern over religious groups

whose theological teachings deviate from orthodox
Christianity. Lately, they have also been expressing
concern about the dangers of inter-religious dialog.
They seem to imply that belief in Baal, a Middle
Eastern deity, made it all the way into Celtic lands.
They assert:
"It [Halloween] was at this time of the year that
Baal, the Celtic god of Spring and Summer, ended his
reign. It was also when the Lord of the Dead, Samhain,
began his reign."

David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer,

converted to conservative Christianity after his trial and
incarceration. He has claimed that he was simply a
lookout for an evil Satanic cult who actually performed

the murders. He further states that "Sam" in "Son of

Sam" comes from the name of the Celtic God of the
Dead, Samhain, which he pronounced "Sam-hane."
His story is suspect because:
He mispronounced Samhain.
Samhain is not a Celtic God.
Samhain is not a Satanic deity either.
The police investigators are convinced that he
was a lone killer, not a member of a group.
David Porter, author of "Hallowe'en: Treat or
Trick?," comments:
"The Celtic New Year festival was known as the
celebration of Samhain, the Lord of the Dead."
The "Exposing Satanism" website states:
"Halloween, All saints day, All hallows eve or All
souls day is [sic] a festival. It was held to honor the
Samhain the so called "lord of death". It was a
Druidical belief that on the eve of this festival Samhain,
lord of death, called together the wicked spirits that

within the past 12 months had been condemned to

inhabit the bodies of animals." 21
John Ankerbert & John Weldon have written a
series of pamphlets that are among the best works by
conservative Christian authors for the general public.
They make extensive use of footnotes and exhibit
careful research of their topic. 17 Apparently they were
faced with a conflict with respect to Samhain - whether:
to follow the findings of historians and
archaeologists, and admit that Samhain is simply the
name of the festival, or
to support previous Christian authors and
refer to Samhain as the Druidic God of the Dead even
though there is no archaeological evidence to support
that conclusion.
They compromised by stating:
"...400

names

of

Celtic

gods

are

known...'Samhain' as the specific name of the Lord of

Death is uncertain, but it is possible that the Lord of

Death was the chief druidic deity. We'll follow the lead
of several other authors and call him Samhain."
This is a strange comment, because they must
have been aware that there is no mention in the
historical record of a major Celtic God called Samhain.
Thus is it most improbable that Samhain would be the
chief Druidic deity, and have gone so long undetected.
On the other hand there are conservative
Christians who follow the lead of archaeological and
religious

research.

Richard

Bucher

from

Massachusetts congregation of the Lutheran church Missouri Synod writes: 16

"Nothing in the extant literature or in the
archaeological finds supports the notion that there ever
existed a god of the dead known as Samam
(sometimes spelled, 'Samhain,' pronounced 'sow -en'),
though hundreds of gods' names are known. Rather,

Saman or Samhain is the name of the festival itself. It

means "summer's end" and merely referred to the end
of one year and the beginning of the new.
This misinformation is caused by numerous
conservative Protestant writers copying material from
other conservative Protestant writers, without first
checking its validity.

Sponsored link:

Meaning
sources:

of

Samhain

according

to

secular

Most newspapers and other secular sources

appear to be following conservative Christian thought,
rather than academic research. Two examples are:
Lee

Carr wrote

the text

for a web site

"Halloweenies...For kids not meanies." 5 She writes:

"Druids would feast and build huge bonfires to
celebrate the Sun God, and thank him for the food that
the land produced. The next day, November 1st, was
the Celtic New Year, and it was believed that on this
day the souls of all dead people would gather together.
Therefore, on Halloween, the Celts would also honor
the God of the Dead, Samhain."
Scottish Radiance writes about Samhain: 7
"The Celtics believed, that during the winter, the
sun god was taken prisoner by Samhain, the Lord of
the Dead and Prince of Darkness...On the eve before

their new year (October 31), it was believed that

Samhain called together all the dead people."

Gods named Sam...:

There appear to be many, mostly male, deities
which had names starting with "Sam." None were
Celtic. However, the similarity in their names to
Samhain might have contributed to the confusion:
Samael was a name in Hebrew for an accuser
and a member of God's inner council in charge of dirty
deeds
Samana, "the leveler" is the name of an Aryan
God of Death (a.k.a. Yama, Sradhadeva, Antaka, or
Kritanta) according to the ancient Veda scriptures of
Hinduism.

Samas was the Sun God of the northern

Semites
Sams was the Sun Goddess of southern
Semites
Shamash was the Sun God and God of
righteousness, law and divination of the Assyrians and
Babylonians

Another Celtic "God": Muck Olla

"Muck Olla" surfaces in some conservative
Christian sources as an alleged "early Druid deity." 10
Another web site refers to Muck Olla as a Celtic sun
god. 15 Muck (if we can be so familiar as to refer to a
God by his first name) is in reality a type of mythical
boogie-man from Yorkshire in England. His name is

grounded in old folk stories; he never existed as a

Druidic God.

References:
The following information sources were used to
prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks
are not necessarily still active today.
Broceliande,

"Wheel

of

the

Year,"

at:

at:

http://www.no-exit-

http://www.triplemoon.com/
"Brightest

Blessings,"

studios.demon.co.uk/
http://nashville.citysearch.com/E/F/NASTN/0000/1
6/11/
Johanna Michaelsen, "Your Child and the Occult:
Like Lambs to the Slaughter," Harvest House, Eugene
OR, (1989), Page 185.

Lee Carr, "Halloweenies...For kids not meanies,"

at: http://nashville.citysearch.com/
J. & S. Farrar, "Eight Sabbats for Witches,"
Phoenix Publishing, Custer, WA (1981), Page 121
Scottish Radiance, "The Story of Halloween," at:
http://www.scottishradiance.com/
Isaac Bonowits, "The Real Origins of Halloween
3.9.7" at: http://www.neopagan.net/
W.J.

Bethancourt

III,

"Halloween,

Myths,

Monsters and Devils," at: http://www.illusions.com/ A

superb site.
Mrs. Gloria Phillips, "Halloween: What It Is From A
Christian

Perspective,"

at:

http://www.webzonecom.com/
The

Watchman

Fellowship

at:

http://www.watchman.org/
Rowan Moonstone, "The Origins of Halloween"
at: http://www.geocities.com/
Patrick Dineen, "An Irish English Dictionary"
(Dublin, 1927), Page 937 Quoted in 12

Malcolm

MacLennan,

"A

Pronouncing

and

Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language"

(Aberdeen, 1979), Page 279. Quoted in 12
David L. Brown, "The Dark Side of Halloween",
LOGOS

Communication

Consortium,

at:

http://www.execpc.com/
Richard

Bucher,

"Can

Christians

Celebrate

Halloween" at: http://www.ultranet.com/

J. Ankerberg & J. Weldon, "The Facts on
Halloween: What Christians Need to Know," Harvest
House, Eugene OR (1996), Page 6.
David Porter, "Hallowe'en: Treat or Trick?,"
Monarch, Tunbridge Wells, UK (1993), Page 24.