Origins Of The Halloween Bonfire
Ghost/Paranormal
Monday 30th, October 2023
At one time Samhain was seen as the end of the summer months which also signaled the start of the coming year.
Samhain is the time of year when the veil between the world of the living and deceased is believed to be at it's closet, allowing crossing over the veil.
So as a means to stop evil spirits crossing over into the world of the living, each community would gather together and light large fires, enter the bonfire, in an effort to ward off these evil spirits from the community for the coming year.
Another part of the belief was that members of the community would take embers from the bonfire back to their own house and put out the fire in the hearth and re-light the fire with the embers from the bonfire.
Additionally, the next day the ashes from the bonfire were spread across the land to further ward off bad luck for the coming year for farmers and their crops and live stock.
Another belief around bonfires was that if you dropped a cutting of your hair into the embers of the bonfire the identity of your first husband would be revealed, another belief was that the bonfire encouraged dreams.
The origin of bonfires has certainly been lost over the years with many bonfires turning into competitions between rival areas to see who can build the biggest bonfire or a case of individuals just throwing everything they can into the bonfire for no other reason than they can.
Samhain is the time of year when the veil between the world of the living and deceased is believed to be at it's closet, allowing crossing over the veil.
So as a means to stop evil spirits crossing over into the world of the living, each community would gather together and light large fires, enter the bonfire, in an effort to ward off these evil spirits from the community for the coming year.
Another part of the belief was that members of the community would take embers from the bonfire back to their own house and put out the fire in the hearth and re-light the fire with the embers from the bonfire.
Additionally, the next day the ashes from the bonfire were spread across the land to further ward off bad luck for the coming year for farmers and their crops and live stock.
Another belief around bonfires was that if you dropped a cutting of your hair into the embers of the bonfire the identity of your first husband would be revealed, another belief was that the bonfire encouraged dreams.
The origin of bonfires has certainly been lost over the years with many bonfires turning into competitions between rival areas to see who can build the biggest bonfire or a case of individuals just throwing everything they can into the bonfire for no other reason than they can.
