The three day period of October 31 through November 2 on the calendar brings us three festivals or holy days that have marked the Christian calendar for centuries yet originated in pre-Christian pagan or old religion observances.
The affirmation of light as the darkness of winter begins is celebrated worldwide from Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, to the Celtic/Pagan fall festival of Samhain.
Halloween or All Hallows (Saints) Eve is a modern day reimagining of this tussle between the dark and the light, noted for its extravagant costumes, trickery, and fascination with the shadow side of our psyche. November 2 is All Soul’s Day, a Christian overlay commemorating ancestors, ghosts, and spirits. The Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) combines this Christian holy day with pre-Columbian energy and significance.
In between the ghosts and spirits of Halloween and the commemoration of souls on November 2 is the Christian feast of All Saint’s Day on November 1. Established to counteract the subversive and dangerous paganism of the fall festival of Samhain it is also an affirmation already contained in the ancient festival of fire and light. That affirmation states that the light will always overcome the dark and the good will always prevail over evil, that we are all ‘saints’ at heart.
In Britain the ancient Celtic festival of light has been subsumed into Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day on November 5. Guy Fawkes Day commemorates the burning at the stake of Guy Fawkes, whose attempt to blow up parliament was foiled in 1605. Lighting fires at this time predates Mr. Fawkes by several centuries. In modern times it has also become Fireworks Night and I remember many happy occasions as a child creating a Guy (an effigy made of old clothes and newspaper) and setting him alight on a bonfire in the backyard while setting off fireworks. Millions of others joined in across Britain to fill the night air with the acrid but enticing scent of fireworks and roaring fires.
Yes, we are fascinated with fire, darkness, the struggle of demon and angel, the light and the dark sides of our psyches. October 31 through November 2 is a time to celebrate all that, and know that you and your ancestors have been doing so for thousands of years.