Hello, dahc here, and I was told something a little bit different from what I've read in the past Halloween articles about Samhain. So sit down grab something to eat, and get ready to hear my version.
I was told about Halloween and about its many names (those have been stated in other articles) before, but what I find to be interesting about Halloween is: (1) how the name Jack-o-Lantern came to be, and (2) Samhain.
Jack-o-Lantern
I was told that a person named Jack had tricked Satan into climbing a tree then quickly carved the cross into the tree, thus trapping Satan at the top. Jack made Satan promise that when he (Jack) died, he could not end up in the fiery depths of hell. Now, Jack wasn't a good person -- he was an alcoholic, drank a lot, and, well, all together, sinned a lot.
When Jack died, he was declined from heaven, and therefore sent to hell. However, because of the promise he made Satan agree to, Satan turned him away also. Jack asked where he was supposed to go and Satan sent him back. He gave Jack a candle to light his way, and it was an Irish tradition to use cabbage so he stuck his candle into a cabbage and ever since then has roamed Halloween night. Later on (particularly in America), they found it easier to use a pumpkin... I think you know what that means, too, so I wont explain it.
Samhain
It was, I believe, on Halloween night that evil spirits would enter our realm and cause chaos. Farmers who worshipped the sun god would burn crops on the mountains to give the sun god strength. Once night fell, they would worship the night god in the fear that they would otherwise be cast into darkness for 6 months to come.
That's just what I was told, and I don't know if I remembered it correctly... please correct me if I was wrong.
Enjoy,
dahc... leaping off into the shadows
