CELTIC STUDIES / HOLIDAYS One of humanity's most enduring myths is that the dead, on certain nights of the year, can leave the Other World and move freely about the land of the living. Every year on October 31, when the children of the world parade through the streets dressed as monsters, skeletons, and witches, they reenact a sacred ceremony whose roots reach back to the dawn of time; and in the giving and receiving of sweets as gifts, we reestablish an ancient fraternal exchange between the visible world and the invisible world. Author Jean Markale meticulously examines the rituals and ceremonies of our ancestors' festivities on this holiday and shows how they still shape the customs of today's celebration. During the night of Samhain, the Celtic precursor to today's Halloween, the borders between life and death temporarily disappeared, and the wealth and wisdom of the sidh, or fairy folk, were available to any who were intrepid enough to dare enter their realm. Markale enriches our understanding of how the transition from the light half of the year to the dark centered on this festival during which everyday existence stopped and consciousness opened to a world impossible to experience at any other time. JEAN MARKALE--poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller--has spent a lifetime researching pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. He is the author of more than forty books, among which are The Druids, The Grail, The Great Goddess, The Celts, Merlin, Women of the Celts, Courtly Love, The Epics of Celtic Ireland, and King of the Celts. He is a specialist in Celtic studies at the Sorbonne and lives in the Brittany region of France.

Introduction

1. The Celtic Festival of Samhain
The Festival of Samhain in the Celtic Calendar
The Rituals of Samhain
Death and Rebirth of the King

2. The Fantastic Night
The Liturgical Games of Samhain
The Interconnection with the Other World
The Abolition of Time
The Profound Meaning of Samhain

3. The Festival of All the Saints
The Dating of All Saints' Day
The Festival of the Dead
Purgatory
The Protectress of the Anaons

4. The Shadows of Halloween
The Permanence of Halloween
The Diffusion of Halloween
Beliefs, Rituals, and Spells

Conclusion: Exorcising Death

Notes

Bibliography

Jean Markale (1928-2008), was a poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller, who spent a lifetime researching pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. He was a former specialist in Celtic studies at the Sorbonne and author of more than 40 books, including The Druids, The Grail, The Great Goddess, The Celts, Merlin, Women of the Celts, Courtly Love, The Epics of Celtic Ireland, and King of the Celts.