Samhain is here
So begins the darker half of the year
Harvests are done
Tomorrow winter will have begun
The veil between our world
And the other is unfurled
Tricksters, goblins and trolls
Will roam freely on this night for all souls
Avoid them spotting you
By dressing up as if you are one too
And through your area go
Seeing who is friend and who is foe
At each door shout ‘trick or treat’
And hold out your bag for a tasty sweet
But most of all on this All Hallows Eve
Feel the magic and believe
- Cat Heffernan
About this poem
At our home, we love celebrating Halloween. We are lucky enough to live in an estate with loads of young families, so the whole thing is a massive occasion for us. The house is covered in spooky decorations, pumpkins are carved, and costumes are at the ready.
As to are the mountain of treats for tonight’s parade of trick-or-treaters.
I wanted to write a poem that both marked this and the fun we have, while also gently introducing my boys to the wider context of where the festivities originated from - most importantly, that this time of year would have been the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrating the end of harvest and start of the dark half of a new year.
And later, that this time also became a church celebration of All Saints’ Day (All Hallows Day) on the 1st of November; the eve of which being how we got the modern-day name of Halloween (All-Hallows-Eve).