Life moved a little differently before we had calendars, clocks, and railways. People got up with the sun, worked when they had light, and moved with the progression of the year.
As part of tracking the changing seasons, and bringing some cheer along the way, our ancestors celebrated 8 festivals throughout the year, each aligned with a different phase of the sun, moon, and weather.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the year started with Samhain, which we now know as Halloween, occurring on the last night of October. Rather than being filled with pumpkins, bats, and chocolate, this used to be a celebration of the new year that started with remembering those who had passed, and making space for the year ahead.
Mabon, the harvest festival, was celebrated a month or so before, at the autumn equinox in September. This was a festival to celebrate the harvest, and a marker for slowing down and preparing for the winter months ahead.
For many years now, I’ve used Samhain / Halloween as a night to reflect on the old year, and to remember (and sometimes talk aloud to) my departed loved ones. And also to make resolutions. I usually leave a candle burning if I can do it safely, to see us through the night. And I wake up on the 1st of November refreshed and ready to put into practice whatever changes I have decided to make for the new year.
In the modern day, this has the added benefit of giving me a two-month head start on building up my habits before the rush of New Years Resolutions that we’re all bombarded with in January!
This time of year, then, strikes me as the ideal time to pick up a blog. I’ve been writing for a long time, but it’s been many years since I’ve written for myself. And I’m excited to get back to it and find my voice again.
I hope to use this space to explore history and folklore and the stories we tell to each other in the dark, round a fire, after one too many beers. There’s something magic and ageless about flames in the dark and the cold. Something about hope against adversity that speaks to the survivor in all of us, and makes us aware of the parts of ourselves that don’t fit nicely into smart suits or AI-generated summaries.
A little bit of magic to see us through the night.
