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Samhain |
 | | With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. |
 | | Personal prayers in the form of objects symbolizing the wishes of supplicants or ailments to be healed were cast into the fire, and at the end of the ceremonies, brands were lit from the great fire of Tara to re-kindle all the home fires of the tribe, as at Beltane. |
 | | At Samhain, the apple harvest is in, and old hearthside games, such as apple-bobbing, called apple-dookin in Scotland, reflect the journey across water to obtain the magic apple. |
| www.celticspirit.org /samhain.htm (1362 words) |
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