Other names for this holiday include Samhuinn, Last Harvest, Summer's End, All Hallows Eve, The Great Sabbat, Hallowtide, Hallowmass, Hallows, Halloween, The Day of the Dead, All Soul's Night, All Saints' Eve.

October 31st

All Hallow's Eve is the eve of All Hallow's Day (November 1st). And in this instance, even popular tradition seems to remember that the eve is more important than the day itself.

As the third and final harvest festival, Samhain celebrates the ending of the harvest and, like Mabon, the holiday is a celebration of abundance and honoring Nature's gifts to us. Not only is Samhain the end of the harvest (as well as the end of autumn); but it is also the end of the pagan year.

One of the things that makes this holiday uniquely pagan is its acceptance and celebration of death as a natural part of our existence. It is A time for honoring the dead, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and as guardians who hold the wisdom of mankind. It is a celebration of the afterlife where we do not die, but instead rest and continue to learn and prepare for our next incarnation.

With darkness encroaching but not complete, it's also quite literally the year's twilight time and is believed to be the night when the veils between the worlds of humans and spirits is at its thinnest. Traditional lore speaks of the dead returning to visit their kin and the doors to the Lands of the Sidhe (or Faery Realm) being opened for this one night. In the past, candles and food were traditionally left out for the spirits of our loved ones, to feed and help guide them along their journey. This is often seen as the origin of the jack-o-lantern.

To this day Samhain is seen as the night when the dead come through the veil of the otherworld and visit their living relatives and friends and join in our rituals and celebrations. It is a time for remembering those who have passed on into the otherworld.

Also, due to the thinning of that veil separating the otherworld from our own, it is viewed as one of the best times for communicate with spirits as well as forecasting what is yet to come (divination).

The recognition and celebration of death during Samhain is not just for the paying of respects to loved ones who have passed on, but also a time to recognize the death of summer and ever quickening dormancy of Nature. To put to rest disturbances and troubles over the past year. A time for reflection. For taking inventory of life, getting rid of weaknesses and other undesirables, and reestablishing priorities.

Some celebration ideas for Samhain include:

• Prepare a dumb supper. This is a traditional supper where you set a special plate at the table for your spirit guests, welcoming them into your home. The supper is ate in silence as a time for remembrance of those spirits. (Afterwards, placing the plates outdoors as a gift to any animals that might happen by is a special way to give thanks to the nurturing love of Nature.)
• Carve a special pumpkin for your front porch or entryway to light your loved one's spirits to your door.
• Preparing and baking corn bread for is one way to give honor for the harvest. Like Mabon, this is a day for thanksgiving of the harvest. Celebrating that harvest with a home cooked meal is a nice way to recognize that gift of plenty.
• Begin your evening with a quiet meditation for the purpose of contacting your loved ones in spirit. Or simply welcome your relatives into your home and talk with them about your year, your accomplishments and so on.
• Light a candle in the name of each of your friends and relatives who have passed into spirit or to celebrate the New Year.
• Traditionally, home fires were often extinguished and then re-lit from the festival bonfire. This is from the days when Samhain was one of only two days (the other being Beltaine) when it was considered correct to extinguish the "hearth fire" and then to re-light it. If your fire failed at any other time of the year, it was thought to be a very bad omen.