Hallowe'en/Samhain 2025

The Friday before last (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin, putting up some decorations and making some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons, made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya and my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, and dyed green). The drink recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin: 

Summer-Autumn Update (2025) + Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this post finished yesterday, so it's on a Tuesday instead. :) 

 

We're now in October, so it's time for my summer-autumn update! :) You can see my previous updates for 2025 below: 

Winter-Spring Update (2025):  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/winter-spring-update-2025-easter-baking.html

Spring-Summer Update (2025): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/07/spring-summer-update-2025.html

Plus, Samhain/Hallowe'en is coming up), so I've included a section with inspiration for celebrating (scroll down to the bottom of the post).

In mid-July, I went to Yallabina, a belly dance event that I also went to last year. It was at a different venue this time (still in Brighton). Afterwards I got a mocha frappe from Hellenic Bakery, which I really liked. 

In late July, I met up with my belly dance friends to celebrate a birthday. We went to a pub in Woodingdean (Brighton). It was nice to see them all after a while. 

Then at the beginning of August, I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/08/lammas-2025.html

I also met up with family members that month, who were visiting the UK. It was the first time I'd ever met them, so it was good. We had lunch in Harry Ramsden's (fish and chips restaurant in Brighton), then went on the pier. I've had takeaway from Harry Ramsden's but hadn't eaten in the restaurant before and I also hadn't been on the pier in years, so it made a change!

I shared a couple of pictures from that day in my Late Summer Photos + Happy Madron/Autumn! post, which you can see here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/09/late-summer-photos-happy-madronautumn.html

Here's a pic of my meal at Harry Ramsden's:

 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2024

On Thursday the week before last (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin, putting up decorations and making some food and drink. Unfortunately I wasn't well on the day itself, so I had a slightly delayed celebration! 

I put the decorations up on Hallowe'en (I like to decorate then and keep them up until the beginning of December!). And I made my favourite Demon's Blood drink  (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice), which is a recipe from The Real Witches' Kitchen book by Kate West.

Then the next day when I was feeling a bit better, I made the food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made some potato salad (one of my favourite types to make, which is based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya).

I normally use spring onion and chives for the potato salad rather than rosemary which is in the recipe, since it's quite strong. But this year I decided to use rosemary for a change. It was quite nice, I didn't use too much. I didn't take a picture but if I make it with rosemary again next year, I'll take one then. :)

I had the potato salad with some buffet type food from the supermarket (cheese and pineapple, paella arancini balls, halloumi fries etc.).

Here's a picture of the pumpkin:

 

Summer-Autumn Update (2024) + Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

It's October once again and time for my summer-autumn update! You can see my previous updates for 2024 at the links below:

Winter-Spring Update (2024) https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/winter-spring-update-2024.html

Spring-Summer Update (2024) + Happy Lammas! https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/07/spring-summer-update-2024-happy-lammas.html

I've also included a section with Samhain/Hallowe'en inspiration, so scroll down to the bottom for that. :)

In mid-July I went to a belly dance event called Yallabina!, which was co-hosted by Nadia Undine whose classes  I've been to. I watched performances and danced a bit at the end. It was the first time I'd danced this year, so it was nice to get back to it. 

At the beginning of August I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/08/lammas-2024.html

 

Then in mid-August I went to Five Guys at Brighton Marina. I got a burger and chips (fries), Coke and a chocolate milkshake.

Here are a couple of photos I took at the marina:

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2023

Last Tuesday (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and having some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. It requires rosemary and garlic, but I used chives and spring onion instead of rosemary because I prefer them.

I also made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice), which is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. I had the potato salad and drink with some buffet type food from the supermarket.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin: 

 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2022

Last Monday it was Hallowe'en and Samhain (31st October). I celebrated with a pumpkin and by having some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with orange juice and apple juice, and dyed green). The drink recipe is from The Real Witches' Kitchen book by Kate West.

I also made some potato salad, based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I normally use chives/and or spring onion instead of rosemary because I like it better. This year I used spring onion because I couldn't get any chives.

 Here is a picture of my pumpkin:

 

Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays, but I wasn't able to get this finished yesterday, so I'm posting today instead. :) 

 

Samhain (my favourite sabbat apart from Lammas) is coming up! This year it's on a Monday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en, which is thought to have originated from Samhain customs. In the past I've written several posts with ideas for celebrating and last year I did a round-up post linking to them all. During 2022 I've been writing posts sharing some links and ideas for the sabbats, rather than an in-depth post, so here is Samhain's. :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! You might like my Happy Beltane! post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/happy-beltane.html

 

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Lammas in late July/early August and Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox in September. It marks the end of summer and the start of the winter season. Madron is the official start of autumn, but I think in the past summer and winter were seen as the bigger seasonal shifts. It is also thought to be one of the times of year (along with Beltane) when the veil between the worlds is thin. It is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival, and takes places on 31st October, although some people may celebrate from 31st Oct to 1st November (sundown to sundown).

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2021

It was Hallowe'en and Samhain last weekend (Sunday 31st October). I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, dyed green) and potato salad and baked some gingerbread skeletons.

The Demon's Blood is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen and the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I use chives and or/spring onion instead of rosemary. This year I used chives. I had the potato salad with some other snacky/buffet bits.

Here's a picture of my pumpkin:

Samhain/Hallowe'en Round-up

It's nearly time for Samhain (one of the most popular sabbats and my favourite apart from Lammas!). This year's it on a Sunday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en (thought to have originated from Samhain).

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html

April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html 

Winter-Spring Update + Beltane Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've done celebration idea and inspiration posts for Samhain. In 2021 I've written some round-up posts, featuring my past sabbat posts and articles from elsewhere. So here is the one for Samhain! :)

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It comes after Lammas at the end of July/beginning of August and Madron/Mabon (aka the Autumn Equinox) in late September, and is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival. It's considered by many to be the Witches' New Year and one of the two times of year when the veil between the worlds is thin (the other is Beltane in late April/early May). Halloween/Hallowe'en (since the name comes from All Hallow's Even, "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it) is the modern-day counterpart. Check out the Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en post for more information.

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2020

Last Saturday (31st October) it was Samhain/Hallowe'en. I celebrated with a pumpkin and by making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink and some potato salad, and also baked some gingerbread skeletons. 

Demon's Blood is ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, and dyed green. The recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. And the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya. I planned to use spring onion and chives, but couldn't get any chives.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin: 

 

More Samhain/Hallowe'en Inspiration

My favourite sabbat Samhain is coming up on 31st October! (My other fave is Lammas). It's on a Saturday this year. I started celebrating the sabbats in 2010, and since Hallowe'en is the modern version of Samhain, I celebrate both these days.

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html

April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html 

 

For the past few years, I've done celebration idea posts which you can see below: 

Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html 

More Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/celebrating-samhainhalloween.html

And last year I wrote a series of Inspiration posts for the sabbats. Here's Samhain's: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/10/samhainhalloween-inspiration.html

 

For Samhain/Hallowe'en 2020 I'm sharing more inspiration. As I've written quite a lot on Samhain in the past, I'll just give a brief background and then share some ideas for celebrating. :)

 

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest sabbat on the Wheel of the Year and takes place on 31st October. Although some may celebrate from sundown on 31st Oct till sundown on 1st November. It is a cross quarter sabbat, and follows Lammas at the start of August and Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox in September. This festival is also called the Witches' New Year in some circles. As mentioned before, some people end the old year and start the new year at Samhain (I tend to think of it in this way), whereas others consider Yule/the Winter Solstice to be the start of the new cycle. 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2019

Last Thursday (31st October) it was Samhain/Hallowe'en. I celebrated with a pumpkin and by having some food and drink, including my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice and dyed green!), a recipe I got from Kate West; and potato salad based on a recipe in The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya.

This year I actually had two pumpkins, a little one and a bigger one. Here's a pic:

Samhain/Hallowe'en Inspiration

 

My favourite sabbat (apart from Lammas) is coming up! It's nearly time for Samhain. This year it's on a Thursday (31st October). I've celebrated Hallowe'en (the modern counterpart of Samhain) since I was a child, so these days I do a combined celebration.

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's almost time for Beltane! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html


In previous years I've done celebration idea posts which you can see below:

Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html 

More Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/celebrating-samhainhalloween.html


This year I'm continuing my series of Inspiration posts, that I've written for previous sabbats.

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. The other two are Lammas and Madron aka Mabon/the Autumn Equinox. It is a cross quarter sabbat that takes place on 31st October. Although some may celebrate on 1st November too (sundown to sundown). It's also thought of by some as the Witches' New Year. As I said in last year's Yule/Christmas post, some people consider the year to end and start anew at Samhain, whereas others end the year at Samhain and start it again at Yule/the Winter Solstice (around 21st December). I think of it as both really, since it's the last harvest festival of the year but it's the start of a new cycle, so I start with it first. It's up to you what you want to do. :)

Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en

It's time for Samhain! This year it's on a Wednesday (31st October). Samhain is my favourite sabbat (apart from Lammas). I also celebrate Hallowe'en, the modern version of Samhain. I celebrated Hallowe'en as a child, so I have combined celebrations these days.

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's Beltane! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html


In the past two years I've done posts about celebrating Hallowe'en and Samhain. You can read them here:

https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html 

https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html

This year I'm sharing more ideas for celebrating both Samhain and Hallowe'en, so hopefully there's something to suit you if you celebrate both (like I do) or prefer one or the other. :)


Hallowe'en info


Hallowe'en (more commonly spelt Halloween, but you can also spell it as "Hallowe'en because it's a shortened version of All Hallows' Even) is thought to have originated from Samhain. In later years 1st November was made All Saint's Day by the Christian church, and the night before was known as All Hallows Evening (shortened to All Hallows' Ev'en or Eve). It's the time of year when the veil between the worlds (this world and the next, or the world beyond the one we know) thins and your loved ones may come back to visit. Also spirits are more likely to be around in general and the practice of lighting a pumpkin is thought to have originated from the pagan ritual of lighting a candle to honour and welcome your ancestors, and keep unwanted spirits away. (See below for more). 

For more about the history of Hallowe'en you can read this article: https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-history-of-halloween

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2017

For Hallowe'en/Samhain last Tuesday (31st Oct) I celebrated by making some food and drink. I did my usual Demon's Blood drink and the potato salad I've made the past two years (the recipe is from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya but I did it with chives and spring onion instead of rosemary). I also made a Mexican milk drink called horchata, the recipe is from my Llewellyn Sabbats Almanac book.

I had a pumpkin, some pumpkin candles, the pumpkin container/lantern with a tealight in from other years and knitted ghost decorations. There were also orange and green candles and I lit a white one for my girl cat who died in January. (A Samhain tradition you can do is light a candle for any relatives, friends or pets that have passed away in the past year). :) Here's a picture of the pumpkin:

This year's pumpkin.

More Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas

A year ago I started a series on posts on the sabbats. I started with Samhain which was fitting because it's one of my favourites (along with Lammas) and also it's considered the Witches' New Year. Other Samhain themes are ancestors returning since this is one of one of the two times of the year when the veil between the worlds is said to be thin (the other is Beltane), honouring your ancestors and those you've lost, and shadow work. It's also the 3rd and last harvest (after Lammas and Madron), so you can think about what you've harvested in the past year and/or season. Read last year's celebration post here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's Beltane so you might enjoy this post on ideas for celebrating: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html


This year I'm posting about more Samhain celebration ideas. First of all here are a few links with information about Samhain and Hallowe'en (since they are closely linked):

Samhain- The Precursor to Halloween: https://www.stneotsmuseum.org.uk/articles/samhain-the-precursor-to-halloween/

10 Folk Beliefs about Samhain/Halloween: https://tesswhitehurst.com/10_folk_beliefs_about_samhain_halloween/

The Herbs and Astrology of Samhain: http://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/the-herbs-and-astrology-of-samhain

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2016

For Hallowe'en/Samhain last Monday I made my usual Demon's Blood drink. I also made some potato salad like I did last year (the recipe is from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya) and had it with some buffet type food such as hummus, breadsticks and chicken bites.

As I wrote in my Celebration Ideas post, I wanted to bake gingerbread but wasn't sure which type. In the end I went with the recipe for gingerbread skeletons from last year and put some icing on them, but I also added some chocolate like I did with the bats I made in 2013.

I had a pumpkin and also put tealights in the pumpkin jar like last year. Here's a pic:

Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas

It's Hallowe'en/Samhain tomorrow, so I thought I'd do a quick post on ideas for celebrating it. I used to like Hallowe'en when I was younger and when I started celebrating the sabbats in 2010, Samhain became my favourite. :)

I did a post yesterday on my other blog Star Sparkle Blog about Hallowe'en, which includes some of my fave Hallowe'en/and or horror themed books, films and TV shows (plus a couple of songs). You can check it out here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-faves-round-up.html

Michaela at Penniless Pagan has some good tips for celebrating Samhain without spending anything: http://www.pennilesspagan.com/2016/10/5-ways-to-celebrate-samhain-without.html

I also like her post on honouring loved ones who have passed away (Samhain is a good festival to do this since it's a time when the veils between the worlds are thinner and the dead are thought to come back to visit their family/people who were important to them in life): http://www.pennilesspagan.com/2016/10/honor-your-transcended-loved-ones.html

I found it was nice to think about my grandparents, what they taught me and things I used to do with them. :)

Also Althea at Modern Witch's Guide to Life has some history on Hallowe'en and ideas for celebrating:  http://modern-witch.es/enchanted-living/13-witchy-ideas-to-celebrate-halloween

And finally here's a Samhain post on Tess Whitehurst's site: https://tesswhitehurst.com/10-ways-to-celebrate-the-ancient-holiday-of-samhain-aka-halloween/ (redirects to an updated post)



Hope you enjoy the links and have a great Hallowe'en and/or Samhain (depending on how you celebrate. :) I just did my pumpkin a bit earlier and tomorrow I'm going to make the Demon's Blood drink I usually make and have some food. I'll probably make some gingerbread skeletons or bats as well. I made gingerbread bats with chocolate on in 2013 and skeletons with icing last year, so I might combine the recipes this year and put chocolate on the skeletons, lol. I'll do a post about it soon.

Happy Hallowe'en/Samhain! :) How do you celebrate?


Photo: Tesco Holmbush's Hallowe'en display. Copyright Moonsparkle 2016.

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2015

For Hallowe'en/Samhain last weekend (Saturday 31st October) I made my usual fave drink Demon's Blood. I also made some potato salad using a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. The recipe was for rosemary and garlic but rosemary has a strong taste, so I decided to make chives and garlic instead. It came out nice. I had it with some buffet type food, crisps and dip, onion rings and chicken satays etc.

In my Madron post I wrote that I wasn't sure whether to make gingerbread or not. In the end I made gingerbread skeletons using a recipe from Closer magazine. You just make gingerbread men and then use icing to draw on them. I didn't have writing icing so mine weren't as neat, lol. I made 3 gingerbread skeletons and 4 round gingerbread biscuits. They were quite nice as well. I usually use the recipe from the Tesco Light Brown Soft Sugar packet when I make gingerbread for Madron or Lammas  but it made a change to use a different recipe.

Here are a couple of pictures of the food:

Potato salad

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2014

Last Friday was Hallowe'en, which is one of my favourite festivals. 31st October is also the Wiccan/Pagan sabbat Samhain and Hallowe'en originated from that.

Samhain (pronunciations include "Sow-in" or "Sow-ain") is the witches' New Year and is the most important of the Major Sabbats. It is the last of the harvest festivals. There are 3 altogether, the others are Lammas and Madron. Samhain means "Summer's End" and it marks the proper onset of winter. While the days have been getting steadily shorter since Madron/the Autumn Equinox in September, we're now really entering into the darkest half of the year. The days will continue to get shorter and the nights longer until Yule (Midwinter/the Winter Solstice) in December. The Sun God "dies" during this time of year but will be reborn at Yule. Samhain is also the time when the veil between this world and the next are at their thinnest (similar to Beltane) and the dead are thought to come back to visit their loved ones.

31st October is New Year's Eve and 1st November is New Year's Day, so the festival is often celebrated on both days. The old traditions have evolved into modern day Hallowe'en. The practice of lighting a pumpkin is thought to have originated from the pagan ritual of lighting a candle to honour and welcome your ancestors, and keep unwanted spirits away.

The colours of Samhain are dark red, purple, black, green and orange. Popular activities include divination and honouring your ancestors by lighting a white candle and setting a place for them at the table. Hallowe'en is very commercial nowadays (more so than when I was child in the 90s even), which is good because it means there are lots of things available in the shops and ideas of things to do. If you are a Wiccan or a pagan (or interested in both those beliefs), you can combine Wiccan/pagan and mainstream traditions but of course you don't have to be one to enjoy Hallowe'en because it's celebrated by lots of different people. :) Trick or treating is a popular activity that many non pagans take part in and people often have parties. I never went trick or treating when I was young because my mum didn't believe in it. (She didn't agree with the idea of knocking on strangers' doors!). If I have children in the future I would like to take them trick or treating.

This year I had some food (buffet type stuff) and drink to celebrate. I like to make a drink called Demon's Blood (I got the recipe from the book The Real Witches' Kitchen by Kate West). You can read more about Demon's Blood in this post: Hallowe'en drinks.

Last year I wasn't able to use green food colouring, so I used red instead. Visit last year's Hallowe'en post to see what it looked like: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2013/11/halloweensamhain.html

I bought some new green food colouring in plenty of time this year. I think it looks much better green, lol. Here's a picture of it along with the pumpkin giant cupcake I bought from Asda: