What is Samhain?

In ancient times, when the Old Europeans still hunted, gathered and herded, the year was simply divided into two seasons. The joyful beginning of the year was at the beginning of May when the sheep and goats were led out to their mountain pastures. The end of this Summer season fell at the end of October/ beginning of November, this was the “Gates of Winter.” The herds were brought back to the safety of a sheltered settlement, all debts were settled, and offerings were made to thank the deities for their summer bounty and petition the deities as they showed their winter aspects, to be merciful to those who honored them. The deceased ancestors were also honored and fed, as they also were petitioned to watch over their descendants thru the bitter winter. The Celtic tribes call this time Samhain, “Summer’s End,” while the Slavic tribes call it Zaduszki, “Ancestor’s Eve” or Velines, “The Day of the Souls.”

2024: Field Trip Edition!

This year we are excited to present two "field trip" options to local pagan rituals celebrating Samhain in our area. We encourage SCC members and celebrants to attend either (or both!) of these events, and look forward to seeing your beautiful faces there!

We hope that visiting other pagan groups, instead of hosting our own event, will provide the opportunity to strengthen our ties with our local communities, meet new and old friends, and give our organizers some much-needed rest before the next season.

The two events are both associated with local area CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) organizations:

Frederick Maryland CUUPS

Sat Oct 19th 7:00pm - 8:00pm
[RESCHEDULED] Sat Nov 2nd 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick - 4880 Elmer Derr Rd, Frederick, MD 21703
No cost
Samhain Facebook Event
Frederick CUUPS website