Samhuin Festival 2010 Edinburgh

Posted by ourjotterbook on Monday, November 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment

It’s the time of the year again where people around the world decorate their houses with jack’ o lanterns (scary pumpkin face cut out), kids don on scary masks and costumes ‘trick-or-treating’, and people having ghastly parties, visiting haunted attractions and watching horror films.

Halloween has its origins derived from the Gaelic harvest festival of Samhuin (pronounced “sow-en”). For Pagans, it is a time to honor their ancestors and loved ones who are deceased, a time to celebrate the cycle of life and also the end of the harvest season where Summer meets Winter.

In Edinburgh, the locals celebrate this festival by holding a parade every year. People would turn up in colorful costumes playing flutes, drums, carry torches and parade down the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to the West Parliament Square near the St. Giles Cathedral. It is here that the festival takes on a more fiery approach with impressive fire displays while captivating the spectators with a theatric play of Summer verses Winter.