Witches Weekly.

This sounds like fun! So sorry for nicking your "idea", M x)

What does the Samhain/Celtic New Year/All Hallows Eve mean to you?
It's a part of the yearly cycle, and I can feel it everywhere I go. It grows darker outside, the days aren't as long as they were only a month or two ago, and the warmth has left the country. It's the darkest time of the year, because there is no snow to light up the surroundings. Samhain to me is the time to say goodbye to all the loveliness of the summer, but knowing that we will meet again next year. It's the time to meditate on what has passed the last year, and to remember the loved ones who aren't physically with us any longer. And, to enjoy all the bounty of the season :)

Do you do anything special to celebrate or commemorate this sabbat?
I invite good friends over and make them a real feast with everything nature has to offer (almost). To me the preparations for this meal, which has courses I never eat the rest of the year, is something special. I also fill the house with candles and the leaves that I pick a week or two in advance will be hung in my windows.

What does the coming Winter mean to you in terms of spirituality?
Norway has all the seasonal changes. Winter equals months of coldness and barren surroundings. Nature goes to sleep, so to speak, and the days are often only a few hours long. I don't live so far north that the sun disappears totally, but I don't see much of it from mid November till February. Yule is a big thing for me. It's a hope and light where there is none, and I feel equally relieved every year when the days start growing longer again. Even though it's only a matter of minutes the first weeks, I sense it and cherish it. There isn't much else for me to be happy about during winter. The cold, the colourless surroundings... everything seems so.. dead. But yule tells me it'll all turn around, there will be warmth and flowers and nummy fruits and... yes. So yule is important to me :)