The priests led late-night pagan rites and revels To mark The Celtic new Year BRITISH ISLES, 2ND CENTURY BCE.

Halloween can trace its roots back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. A two-day event from 31 October to 1 November, Samhain (pronounced ‘sow-in’) celebrated the end of summer and the harvest. The Celts believed that on the eve of the festival the dead returned to walk the Earth, along with more malign spirits. Bonfires were lit on hilltops to purify the land, defeat the evil ones and encourage the sun to return. It would be the responsibility of the druids, essentially the Celtic priesthood, to lead the festival’s sacred rites, which included ceremonial dancing and fortune telling, as well as more relaxed feasting, drinking and merrymaking.

SACRIFICE ANIMALS

As Samhain was held at the end of harvest, farmers at this time of year would lead livestock home from summer pastures to their winter shelters. Many animals would also be slaughtered for the evening’s feast, so druids may have been present to say a few prayers and offer some of the animals up to the gods as sacrifices.

INSPECT COSTUMES

Celts believed the boundary to the Otherworld was at its weakest during Samhain, so the dead and other magical beings would be able to return to the human world. Celts would protect themselves from evil spirits by wearing animal heads and skins to disguise themselves as the dead. A diligent druid may wish to inspect these costumes and ensure that preparations for the night’s festivities were running smoothly.

LIGHT BONFIRE

As the sun set, the festivities would begin. Druids would light huge bonfires, which were believed to keep evil spirits at bay and encourage the sun to return after winter. In a more practical sense, it would act as a beacon that would bring people together from far and wide to celebrate. The druids would also lead ceremonial dances around the fire.

PERFORM RITUALS

Over the course of the night, the druids would lead villagers in prayers to honour their gods and cast spells to ward off evil — sometimes even physically chasing the unwanted spirits out of the village. In contrast, the souls of deceased loved ones were welcomed, with food and drink even set aside for them to enjoy.

ENJOY A HERBAL ALE

While Samhain was a religious festival, it was also a celebration. Villagers would share a communal feast, partake in a flagon or two of herbal ale and play noisy games. In between rituals, who would object to your local druid taking a break and enjoying the fun as well?

READ FORTUNES

As well as being priests, druids were soothsayers and would take advantage of the perceived weakness in the veil to the Otherworld. This would include communing with the dead and other supernatural beings on behalf of celebrants, reading their fortunes and performing other divination rituals.

REKINDLE FIRE

After the night’s revelries, celebrants of the Samhain would take torches from the sacred fire back to their homes. They would put out their existing hearth fires and then rekindle them once more using the flame from the Samhain bonfire. This extinguishing of old fires symbolised the beginning of a new natural cycle.

SCATTER ASHES

The next morning, druids would lead the scattering of the ashes from the Samhain fires over the fields. This practice was intended to keep evil spirits at bay, perhaps so they wouldn’t curse the farmland. But it had the added benefit of fertilising the ground with the wood ashes’ nutrients