We were also treated to this poem by Jill Wells
(Pronounced ‘sow-inn’ (like the female pig), Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or “darker half” of the year. It begins at sunset on 31 October and continues into the early hours of 1 November)
Samhain
Sunset on All Hallows Eve
The rays turn orange then red
And as the sun sinks in the west
The black of night welcomes in the dead
The end of light, the start of darkness
Samhain marks the beginning of winter
The night it’s best to lock your doors
When the barriers between men and spirits splinter
If you dress in animal horns and skins
And try to disguise your humanity
The spirits can’t possess a non-human being
This way the Celts kept their sanity
Put some garlic at your door
Pull the curtains and light the fire
Sing some hymns and pray to God
To keep you safe and not to tire
The next morning when the sun returns
The doors to the spirit world close
Be thankful for the coming winter
And a chance for some post-harvest repose.
Jill Wells