7 Strange Halloween Traditions from Around the World

1. Samhain – United Kingdom

Many of the holidays, religious or otherwise, that we celebrate today stem from Gaelic tradition. Samhain is one of four seasonal festivals, which also include Imbolc [marks the beginning of spring], Beltaine [marks the beginning of summer], and Lughnasadh [marks the harvest season]. Samhain marks the completion of a successful harvest and serves as a transition into the winter season.

Although many Halloween customs are associated with death and the occult, this arose out of a natural desire to celebrate the completion of a harvest, which also marked the necessary death of plants and animals, so that humans could eat through the winter. In the modern United Kingdom, many people who practice Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism pay tribute to their roots by celebrating Samhain traditions during Halloween. One common way to celebrate the season is to build two bonfires on Halloween night and dance through them in a rite of purification.

Traditionally, farmers would bring their livestock and drive them between the flames, but now that’s been replaced with a ceremonial passage of people and goods. There’s often a meal shared between family members and friends, where there are places laid for the ancestors, and a candle placed in a Western-facing windowsill to guide the dead back home.

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