| About this site |
| About us |
| Our beliefs |
| Your first visit? |
| Contact us |
| External links |
| Good books |
| Visitor essays |
| Our forum |
| New essays |
| Other site features |
| Buy a CD |
| Vital notes |
| Non-theistic... |
| Atheism |
| Agnosticism |
| Humanism |
| Other |
| Spiritual/ethics |
| Spirituality |
| Morality/ethics |
| Absolute truth |
| Peace/conflict |
| Attaining peace |
| Religious tolerance |
| Religious hatred |
| Religious conflict |
| Religious violence |
| Laws and news |
| Religious laws |
| Religious news |
|
|
 | 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
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:
|
| 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:
|
| Rowan Moonstone, a Wiccan, comments:
|
| The Irish English Dictionary, published by the Irish Texts Society,
defines Samhain as follows:
|
| The Scottish Gaelis Dictionary similarly defines Samhain as:
|
| 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 Watchman Fellowship Inc is a conservative Christian
counter-cult group 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:
| ||||||||
| 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:
| ||||||||
| 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:
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 a Massachusetts congregation of the Lutheran
church - Missouri Synod writes: 16
|
This misinformation is caused by numerous conservative Protestant writers copying material from other conservative Protestant writers, without first checking its validity.
Meaning of Samhain according to secular sources:
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 [sic] 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: http://www.triplemoon.com/
- "Brightest Blessings," at: http://www.no-exit-studios.demon.co.uk/
- http://nashville.citysearch.com/E/F/NASTN/0000/16/11/
- 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.
- J.C. Cooper, "The Dictionary of Festivals," (1995), Thorsons, London, UK, Page 189-190.
- Personal E-mail, 2006-FEB-23.
- "Halloween," Exposing Satanism, at: http://www.exposingsatanism.org/
Sponsored links:
|
Home page > Christianity > Practices > Holy Days > Halloween > here |
Copyright © 1998 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Latest update: 2006-OCT-29
Author: B.A. Robinson
|
|
|
Page Translator: