Good Afternoon,
Yes, it's that spooky time of year again. Halloween or what we Celtic Druid's call Samhain, pronounced (Sow-en). I've gone over the history of Halloween with you before and shared spooky stories of hauntings and spirits, so today I'm going to talk with you about the feasts of Samhain and what they encompass.
The ancient Druid's consumed the sacred Swine, or pig meat for their Sabbat feasts. A nice pork roast served with apples is a traditional harvest dish. I, as a matter of fact, just had a wonderful pork roast dinner the other night with loved ones and it really was delicious. Root vegetables are predominant during harvest season so serving potatoes, turnips, beets, as well as cabbages and brussel sprouts are also tasty and timely.
Cooking potatoes with cabbage (Colcannon) is traditional Celtic-Irish dish served with lots of sweet butter. Roasting root vegetables is a wonderful way of bringing out the Autumnal flavors of the season. Remember to serve all meals with bread as the harvest Sabbats are reminiscent of harvesting the grains from the fields and bread was a primary staple for the ancients when they had a bountiful harvest.
One type of traditional feast was called the Dumb Supper. Samhain is a 'Memorial Day' for us, a day of the dead if you will, remembering those who have passed on. One way of remembering those loved ones is by serving an entire dinner with all of the guests refraining from speaking at all. Everything, from serving the food, consuming it and cleaning up afterwards was done in total silence. This is to honor those who can no longer speak with us on this side of the veil.
A less somber way of honoring those who have passed on is to serve a dinner, talking allowed, and have a single plate set aside for those who have passed on. Be sure to place on the plate a sampling of the foods available along with a drink. No one is to touch the plate or chalice of drink as the dinner or party progresses. They are there for the spirits to partake of. Now, of course, they don't actually eat or drink the offerings, but it is believed that they intake of the essence of the food and drink. After the dinner is over the food and drink can be discarded, but not eaten by the living.
A delightful dish for the dessert portion of the feast can be an apple pie or cups of homemade applesauce with dollops of whipped creme' on them. Having something sweet brings the importance of living life fully to the forefront.
I hope you have a delightfully spooky Halloween/Samhain. Celebrate, honor those who have passed on and live life to the fullest. This is my Samhain wish for you!
Peace and Happiness
© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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