Our New Year


Wicca's take time to notice the world around them. One of our biggest festivals is Samhain, otherwise known as Halloween on the 31st. This we celebrate as our new year because our ancestors considered the months November to January to be 'Dead days', as there was hardly any light to work the land by.
     Samhain is when the barrier between the world of the living and the dead is at it's thinnest. It is a time when spirits are likely to pass into our world; this is the origin of why people dress up as monsters and vampires to go trick or treating on Halloween.
    We light two candles at this time, one to symbolise last year and one for the coming year, making our thoughts focus on what we would like to achieve in the future. It is also tradition to lay a place at the table for any family members that have passed away, and to leave an extra portion for them just in case they come to visit. We do not, however, conjure spirits, as it is not seen as right to disturb the dead.
    The pumpkin that you see in front of most houses at Halloween comes from the tradition where we light candles in the window to guide welcome spirits home and deter others. After midnight, the King of the Hunt appears and comes to take all the souls that have passed form the other world to this one back to where they came from. You shouldn't be outside on Halloween after midnight just in case you get caught by the King of the Hunt too!