Samhain ~ Halloween... my rant for the day...

[Bad JuJu]

[COLOR="darkorchid"]It is definately part of Gaelic pre-Christian tradition - think stories around Avalon, Morgaine and so forth... this time and these myths and stories are why my first name, Raven, has been chosen both for me and by me.

Very interesting! The Raven in native Alaskan legends is a trickster figure--shape-changer, world-changer, always making some mischief. Is the Raven in Celtic legend similar?

And I find ravens themselves fascinating--their intelligence and their voices are remarkable.

[Tater]

Merry meet,
I don't participate in the Halloween thing and many other Christian holidays for exactly the reasons posted here, specifically the commercial one! It seems like nowdays, every holiday is out to make money. Halloween (Samhain) is barely over and Christmas stuff is everywhere! When my brothers and I were young, our parents made sure to stress that it wasn't all about what kind and how many goodies were under the tree on Christmas morning. That is the total opposite of what I see today. Maybe that is why I feel much more comfortable with and continue to celebrate the Pagan tradations.
Blessed be

[RoadRaven]

Yes, Dogmamma ( and IF)... the widely-held meaning of "witch" has been brought straight to you from the fear of male priests 'way back when', a new religion keen to take the unnatural power from women and which viewed women as evil (the original sin, the temptress - look what they did to the disciple Mary Magdalane) - we have the power to create life, we can bleed copiously every month and not die - and back then many women had knowledge of healing, and this knowledge is being found and shared again - amongst men and women, Christian and Pagan alike.

JuJu... in North America, the Raven often appears as a God but in Celtic understandings, the Raven is a signatory creature... the Raven is often associated with powerful Goddess figures.
The Celts believed the Raven to be one of three oldest animals (the other two being the trout and the stag). The Raven is a creature of wisdom (there is a saying/blessing wishing the "wisdom of the raven".
Ravens are associated with death transitions in Celtic lore - Raven is the carrier of souls between the spirit world and the earth plane. Raven can foretell the beginning of a new life, but usually is associated with the transition from life to the next place we travel.

Tater... like you I am sad at the commercialisation, and like your parents, my partner and I stress that these commercial events are actually not about buying more stuff. Their birthdays are when the money is spent.

[bcipam]

I hadn't realized that our Halloween was now being celebrated outside the USA. How sad. Personally it's one holiday I can do without. I guess as a kid I enjoyed it - who wouldn't enjoy getting candy and sweets that would last a year but now the holiday is just well, too entirely commerical. My neighborhood "dresses up" its houses almost like it's Christmas time (and don't get me started about that!).

As an evangelical christian I don't get all weirded about the holiday celebrating pagan symbols and rituals - Halloween has long since advance from that - it's now just a great big event for candy makers and those who make home decorations. Kids have no idea what the holiday really means. It's sad to realize especially since the USA is the fattest nation in the world, that we celebrate a holiday by giving out candy to little kids who probably eat too much junk food and dont get enough exercise as it is.

SO NZ, so sorry for exporting the holiday. I feel your pain.

[Bad JuJu]

JuJu... in North America, the Raven often appears as a God but in Celtic understandings, the Raven is a signatory creature... the Raven is often associated with powerful Goddess figures.
The Celts believed the Raven to be one of three oldest animals (the other two being the trout and the stag). The Raven is a creature of wisdom (there is a saying/blessing wishing the "wisdom of the raven".
Ravens are associated with death transitions in Celtic lore - Raven is the carrier of souls between the spirit world and the earth plane. Raven can foretell the beginning of a new life, but usually is associated with the transition from life to the next place we travel.

Thanks for that new info, RR. I've always been very interested in North American raven lore--it's intriguing to hear how other cultures have "interpreted" the raven. From your description, it sounds somewhat like the Irish banshee. Hmmm.....

[Bad JuJu]

Isn't it great how many different beliefs are represented in this thread? So far, I see a couple of pagans, several Christians, at least one atheist, and I don't know what else. And NOBODY is flaming or being flamed! That's my idea of something to celebrate.