Noson Calan Gaeaf - the Dying of Things

  ‘As the darkness now draws near

See the cycle of the year

As the light goes within

Let the hallows dance begin!’

Samhain Blessing

   In Celtic regions, the night of the 31st October & passage into 1st November has been celebrated for centuries as the Celtic fire festival of Samhain, and in Wales, Calan Gaeaf. For rural folk, Calan Gaeaf marks the end of the harvest season and it’s long association with death and the Dead - though different celebrations, this is where Halloween and Calan Gaeaf, or Samhain, are similar! Samhain has always been acknowledged as a time when the veil between the living and the dead is at its most thin.

It was on Nos Calan Gaeaf or All-Hallows Eve that the spirits were said to roam freely, and it was believed that the ghosts of the dead were to be seen at midnight on every stile across the land. In different parts of Wales these ghosts took on different characters but two of the most common were the Ladi Wen [white lady], and mainly in North Wales the tail-less black sow [hwch ddu gwta] and was associated with lighting bonfires after dark. As the fire died down they feared the appearance of the black sow and would chant verses such as:

Adref, adref am y cynta’, Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola’

Be sure you are the first at home, the tail-less black sow is sure to roam.

For us, working the land, watching the plant material die back, the leaves fall and start to decay and as we spread compost over beds before shutting them down for winter, it is when we are in most direct contact with the dying of things, the coming slumber, the death and decay that feeds life in the next cycle of the seasons. It’s a chance to reflect on death, the dead, and the rhythms and cycles of nature that connect us with them. Growing food and eating seasonally is a powerful way to bind ourselves to the seasons and the cycle of life.

   Soon the 2021 veg box season will come to an end, too.  So, this week, we thought we’d share with you a few alternative ways to celebrate Calan Gaeaf, to join with us in marking the end of an abundant harvest season:

Take a Samhain Nature Walk - Take a meditative walk in a natural area near your home. Observe and contemplate the colors, aromas, sounds, and other sensations of the season. Experience yourself as part of the Circle of Life and reflect on death and rebirth as being an important part of Nature.

Feast of the Dead - Prepare a Samhain dinner with all your lovely veg box produce. Include a place setting at your table or at a nearby altar for the Dead. 

Have a Bonfire - A great way to mark the passage of any season or cycle. Maybe mark the death of an unwanted habit by writing it on a piece of paper and casting it into the flames!