This Samhain: 4 Meaningful Ways to Pay Tribute to Your Ancestors
While Halloween today is a time of frights and delights, this is also a time when honoring the dead has roots in history. To the ancient Celts, October 31st, called Samhain, marked their New Year. It was said that on this day, the veil between the spirit world and the human was at its thinnest.
Spirits of the dead would pay a visit to their living loved ones, while the living celebrated their dearly departed.
So between watching scary movies and handing out candy, this makes for an excellent month to pause the festivities and take a moment to remember those who have walked before us. Here are four easy ways to connect with and honor your ancestors as the veil continues to thin.
1. Gather and display family photos and keepsakes
I find that newer generations don’t often put up photographs of people, possibly because they can be easily stored digitally. But displaying pictures and other keepsakes is still an excellent way to remember your ancestors.
Here are a few ideas along this line:
- Display an ancestral gallery by hanging framed photos on the wall
- Create a dedicated space for photos and other keepsakes
- Put together a family photo album – this is a good option for including facts and tidbits about each member
- Use a shadowbox for particular keepsakes or items that incite a memory
Note: If other family members have single prints of photographs, get them copied, or take a photo of a photo with your phone and print them at your local Walgreens or CVS.
2. Research your family lineage
There can be surprises and intrigue when delving into your family lineage. Often times, looking into your history can be the spark that may ignite an interest in a certain culture, country, or person.
Here are a few ways to find out more about your ancestral past:
- Contact or visit genealogical societies and institutions like libraries to help assist with researching your history
- Look through public records to aid in connecting the dots
- Peruse genealogy databases like Ancestry, FindMyPast, and MyHeritage
- Talk to any living relatives – plus get some family gossip!
3. Hold a dumb supper
No, I’m not talking a dinner for the stupid! ‘Dumb’ here means silent or mute. The dumb supper was a Samhain tradition where it was believed that the dead could dine with the living.
The dining table is the place where family gathers, after all.
To host one yourself, simply set a place at the table for a departed relative. These meals were typically held in silence for grieving purposes, but if your relative might prefer a little more merriment in their presence, then music and entertainment is welcome.
Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. Light a candle in remembrance
Perhaps you don’t have any photos or keepsakes, or already have a space dedicated to loved ones. Lighting a candle is always a viable option for remembering the dead, in that case.
Simply choose a quiet place, say the name of the person you’re recalling, along with any personal thoughts or statements, and watch the flame burn bright.
Even if you have no memories of them, or if they passed before your time, simply speaking their name gives you a chance to hold space for your ancestor.
Ancestry as a link to yourself
Your ancestry may not seem of much importance, but discovering where you came from can help shape who you are today. Cultural and family traditions, personality traits and interests, even trauma – these are all things that can be passed down, whether for better or for worse.
You are most certainly not your ancestors. At the same time, every human has a lineage that unwinds through history and connects them to people whose names they may not even know yet.
Take some time this October to pay tribute to those who came before you, not only to honor them, but yourself as well.
