On Halloween day, the witches come out to play. On the thirty-first of October of every year, all around the world, people of all ages, ethnicities, and walks of life creep from their houses, costumed or otherwise, to participate in varied celebrations all circling around the same rapidly expanding worldwide celebration- Halloween. Depending on the celebrator’s homeland, many different events can occur- trick-or-treating, pumpkin or vegetable carving, carnivals, bobbing for apples, and costume parties, among others. These more commonplace celebrations conjure the typical image that comes to mind when the term Halloween is thrown around, particularly in America- children going door to door asking for candy, dressed in their spookiest outfits and costumes in hopes of drawing out praise or fright. Remarkably, Halloween for Wicca practitioners is less about begging for candy or dressing in costumes than it is about honoring the lives of those who walked the earth prior, and reconnecting and …show more content…
The celebration falls under another name- Samhein, pronounced sow-en- although some modern day pagans prefer the Halloween terminology. It is widely believed by the Wiccan community that this day, particularly sunset on this date, is a time when the veil between worlds is stretched thinnest, making it a powerful time as well as a unique time for those seeking connection to their ancestors. Depending on the practices and preferences of those involved, séances, spell work, and other rituals are commonplace on this day, as many of those in the minority religion strive to make use of the simultaneous ending and new beginning of the earth. Though this practice has been ongoing for centuries, and become complex through the many different lines and subcultures of those participating in it, the history behind the time and date of Samhein- or, Halloween- in relation to the Wiccan practice is much simpler than initially