October is the month when we celebrate Samhain. It’s commonly understood to mean Summers end and marks the last of 3 harvest festivals celebrated in the wheel of the year. Moving forward, we await the onset of winter and a period of cold and shorter days. A period of time when there is much ess food to be gleaned from the fields and the land. In the past, that shortage of fodder to feed livestock would have meant considering a cull of some of the animals so the remaining stock would have food to eat. That cull would, for a short time, mean a glut of meat and the possibility of a shared communal feast. Something that might help humans to get through the leaner times of winter. I’ve mentioned food and feasting as something that is common to many faiths and religions, and also to Interfaith gatherings, and certainly I’m sure we’d all hope our friends from other faiths and religions will make it through the winter months.
Samhain is also a time of reflection on the year that is passing. A time to consider what has gone well, what has served our communities and a time to consider what has been less beneficial. In our wider society in recent months we’ve seen an outbreak of impromptu flag raising and some marches under a banner of ‘Unite the kingdom’. Sadly, a message that has accompanied these activities has been one that seeks to divide people, perhaps to blame sections of our society for the struggles many people are experiencing with the economy, with difficulties accessing services and other challenges to a settled way of life. Those kinds of challenges to a settled way of life might be seen as having a connection with the challenges faced by our forebears at winter time. But unlike those times when people in communities would support one another, the blame approach seems to target some sections of our society for a cull, as if they were the livestock least likely to survive through winter. Fellow human beings being scapegoated and targeted for removal! That’s one attitude I would consider not at all beneficial to society. I would hope that, in light of that reflection, we might all seek to leave behind the blame of people who have migrated to this country and blame of our neighbours whose heritage is found in the Indian subcontinent. As a species, we have always had a better chance of survival when we work together and the current struggles our nation might be facing are no different. Let’s share our harvest with our neighbours and work with them to help us all survive and thrive.
Mike Stygal
Belief and Education Officer/Interfaith Manager
Contact Mike here