We’ve lost some of the meaning of our ancient Halloween tradition

I CELEBRATE the feast of Samhain with religious fervour. I guess I need it. Every year when the black shroud of winter falls over us in the afternoon, I feel it like a body blow, writes Victoria White.

Call it Seasonal Affective Disorder. Call it winter. The least I can do is observe a ritual for letting go of the light and facing into the darkness.

It’s no wonder we Irish gave the world Halloween. We live very far north but thanks to the gulf stream we rarely benefit from reflected light on snow. For thousands of years, our ancestors have marked Samhain from sundown on October 31 until sundown on November 1 as the dying of the light before the winter. The Mound of the Hostages, a Neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara is aligned with the Samhain sunrise.