Samhein—All Hallows Eve—Halloween
Halloween is one of those festivals that it always feels odd celebrating in New Zealand, given its very close association with the northern hemisphere’s seasonal cycles. Even the nature of contemporary celebration—dressing up in scary costumes, jack o’ lanterns, trick-or-treating—are all activities that make more sense in the gathering dark of autumn evenings, rather than the long, light, early evening of late spring/early summer in the southern hemisphere.
The modern, secular festival of Halloween derives originally from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was associated with harvest end and the passing of the year from summer into the dark and cold of winter. From what I have read, it also had elements of a “day of the dead,” when what more eastern traditions would describe as “the hungry ghosts” had to be placated with offerings of food. Once Christianity became the dominant religion, the 31 October/1 November date for Samhain became the religious festival of All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Day, which formally commemorates all the Christain saints. The day after All Saints is All Souls, which remembers those who have died in the faith, but without achieving sainthood. (There are definite overlaps to the earlier Celtic tradition here. Even the bonfires of Guy Fawkes, a few days later, echo the bonfire tradition of Samhain …)
But whether a harvest festival or a feast of the dead, it is hard to get into the spirit of Halloween on a clear spring evening with lilac, wisteria and the first poppies all blooming, and fresh green growth everywhere. Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, I have always turned to story to get the Halloween experience, and because I don’t really care for horror movies, that pretty much means books. (OK, there’s Buffy, as well …)
One of my all-time favorite Halloween stories is the Scottish tale of Tam Lin, and my favourite retelling is found in Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Armourer’s House (Oxford Children’s Library, 1951), in the Chapter titled “A Tale for Hallowe’en.” Here’s a small sample to give you a feel for why, even though it’s very much a kids’ retelling, I think it’s well worth a read.
” … Oh, but it was wild and lonely up there, with the larks singing in the wide skies, and the whaups crying, and the land dropping away from her feet to the blue hills of the Border Country. And all at once Janot was afraid, and just for a moment she thought that she would take the gold pin from her gown and leave it for a gift to the Fairy Kind, and go home quickly, as she had come. But she was not one to turn away from a thing because she was afraid; so she bent forward across the well-curb, and broke off a long wild-rose spray that arched above it. There were two pink blossoms upon the spray, and as she broke it off, the petals fell from one of them, as is the way of wild roses when their branch is shaken. She leaned forward to watch the five petals floating in the dark water, and there was her own face looking up at her from the depths—aye, and another face looking over her shoulder! A thin face it was, and dark enough to startle any maid.
For the time that it might take your heart to beat twice, Janot never moved. Then she turned slowly from the well-curb, still holding the rose-switch in her hand. Close beside her on the green-sward stood a brave young gallant, clad all in green, from his close-fitting hose to his feathered bonnet. And oh, but he was bonny, despite his black hair and his wan, dark face; there was a cleft to his chin and a quirk to his eyebrow, and the eyes of him were bright and grey …
… I am called Tam Lin,” said the young man, and, as he spoke, he doffed his bonnet to her so low that it swept the fern …”
So that’s a very small sample of one of my favourite Halloween stories. What is yours? And why? I’d love for you to tell me.
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The etching in Jaransor, from The Heir of Night, from a series of images done by PJ Fitzpatrick who drew the Heir map, but the "feel" also suits the description of Carterhaugh, a "wild and lonely" place.
Those drawings are fantastic. They have such a mood about them. Perfect for Halloween. I know we don’t have much of a Halloween tradition here in NZ, but I’ve always wished we did!
I sometimes think we should ‘reverse’ all the festivals, so Halloween moves to autumn and Easter to spring, Christmas to midwinter etc. so the celebrations that go with them could be more in keeping with our seasons … But then we would be out of step with the rest of the world!
I had about 3 trick or treaters visit my house here in Australia, and they weren’t even dressed up – what a letdown! But what I really wanted to comment on was the fact that you, too, love the tale of Tam Lin! I’m looking forward to getting the version you recommended, but just wondering if you had ever read “Fire and Hemlock” by Diana Wynne Jones? It’s a gorgeous retelling, and Diana Wynne Jones is a master at all things Celtic.
Also, what are your thoughts on the fact that Druidism was only recently recognised as an official religion despite the fact that it predates Christianity by a thousand years or so.
Not even dressed up—that is definitely very poor spirited! And I haven’t read Fire and Hemlock yet, although I love Diana Wynne Jones as an author and have seen it recommended many times; I didn’t even know it was about Tam Lin, but now I know that it is I will definitely have to put it right up there “to read.”
The Tam Lin version in Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Armourer’s House is only one chapter of the book, told as a Halloween tale within the larger story, but still worth a read imo. I believe The Armourer’s House has been reprinted recently but there will almost certainly be a copy in the local library (or available through interloan) as Sutcliff’s books are still very popular. I did read Tam Lin by Pamela Dean many years ago, but it did not work the same magic for me as the Sutcliff version did when I first read it as a kid.
Re druidism, I wasn’t aware of that—although I knew of course that it was the pre-Christian Roman Empire that primarily put down druidism, ruthlessly as I recall, because the druids were seen as constantly spearheading rebellions against Rome.
Great post!!!!–It’s interesting to hear about how you guys celebrate on the other side of the equator!!!–But also, I love hearing about Tam Lin!!!!–I read the Pamela Dean version a couple years ago, and have never been able to get the story out of my head. I remember trying to look up the story on the internet a couple of times, but never found anything good–so, I can’t wait to check out your recommendations!!!!
With the proviso that it is very much a kid’s version, I hope you enjoy. 🙂 And I don’t know if you saw ArcheeS’s recommendation for Fire and Hemlock as well—I definitely want to check that out.
Tam Lin. Wow. Just reading the name causes a rush of memory.
Fairport convention, and days spent at folk festivals.
Remind me to bore you next time we meet, with pictures of Waylands Smithy and the Ridgeway…
BTW hope this comes out ok – am fighting my smartphone!
It came out perfectly—and yes, would love to see the photos!:) How could Wayland’s smithy or the Ridgeway be boring…