Wheel of the Year: Samhain Traditions and Recipes

Today I thought I would post a few of my favorite Samhain recipes and talk a little about our family traditions, which for us centers a lot around our meals.

Ever since my ex-husband and I spent our first Samhain together, which was while I was pregnant with our oldest daughter Annie, we knew that it would be the one celebration a year that would be a big deal for our family, since it's mutually our favorite Sabbat and time of the year. We always partook in our local town trick-or-treat in the city-center, and trunk-or-treating put on by the PTA at the girls' school. Usually the schools my children attend have some sort of Fall holiday party on Samhain, to give respect to all types of families' belief systems. Costumes and participation are optional, and even the children who's families prefer they don't participate are still given the same treats as their classmates who do.  Our girls always spend the day of the parties dressed up in costume (I'm always looking for warm costumes that aren't easily ruined) and immediately following school they make their way home to be painted up. We encourage the girls to pick their own costumes, within a certain price range, and alternate between cute costumes and scary costumes every year. After getting painted and finishing the preparations for their attire, they take off with a designated chaperone, usually their father but this year it will be their step-sister, who parades the girls to all of the houses in our neighborhood for door-to-door treat-gathering. They're only allowed to be out until the sun sets, which is usually around 6:30 p.m.
Upon coming home with bags full of candy, we serve our dumb supper, consisting of green salad and dressing, hot chili, and garlic bread. I have provided the recipe for my chili below:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Venison Chili 

You Will Need:
8 qt slow-cooker
2 lbs of ground venison, or venison stew chunks, or make your own stew meat using 2 lbs of backstrap meat, cubed.
1 sm can of kidney beans
1 sm can of black beans
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp dried onion
1 large can diced  tomatos
1 large can of tomato juice
2 tbsp Chugwater Chili seasoning
salt
pepper
Preparation:
Brown the venison in a 10 inch skillet. Do not drain. Pour meat and juices into slow-cooker.  Drain beans and tomatos and then pour into slow-cooker. Pour in green and dried onion and tomato juice.
Heat on high for 2 hours or until boiling. Put in Chili seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste. Fluid should be a little spicy but not overpowering. Turn heat down to low heat and let the chili simmer for another three hours.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We always enjoy our dumb supper in silence, as is traditional, making one plate for our deceased ancestors. After supper we sit around the table telling spooky stories and partaking in Samhain cakes and hot cider.   The recipe for these cakes isn't mine, but I use a similar recipe:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Samhain Cakes

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8554789/wiccan-recipes

Makes about 3 dozen, dough must be chilled several hours to overnight.
1/2 c veg. oil
4 sq unsweetened chocolate (4 oz) melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups pastry flour (not hard, sifted or cake flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup confectioner's sugar
Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar. Blend in one egg at a time until well
mixed. Add vanilla. Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Stir flour,
baking powder, and salt into oil mixture. Chill several hours to overnight.
Heat oven to 350 deg F [175 deg C]. Roll about a tablespoon of dough into a
ball (yes, it's messy). Drop balls into confectioner's sugar & roll around until
coated. Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 min.
They will be a little soft but should not be mushy. Edges should be firm. Don't
overbake---these burn easily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After our dessert, we like to have a small movie-marathon with kid-friendly "scary" movies, typically the Goosebumps movies, episodes of Eerie Indiana, and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  Following these it's bedtime for the girls, and this is when I told a small ritual for the dead, giving thanks to our ancestors for their blessings throughout the year.
I find a quiet area of the house and sprinkle salt-water around myself in a circle, starting in the East. With a stick of white sage incense I repeat the same action. I stand in the center of the circle and face East, thanking our ancestors and the Lord and Lady for a blessed year and asking them to bless us in the coming year. I ask for protection for us and those we love in the coming year, and light a white candle and then a black candle.  I then ask if any spirits would like to communicate with me and that, as long as they come in peace and without negative intention, they may do so. After this I meditate, allowing myself to be open to any spirit of positive intention to communicate with me. When I am done, I close the circle repeating the same process as before but in reverse, first blowing out the candles, then using the sage incense in the opposite direction, and then the salt water. After the circle has closed, I walk through the rooms of the house holding the incense making the sign of the pentacle at every door and window to the outside to protect our home in the coming year from negative energy. I have found this to be the perfect day to perform this sort of household cleansing, as the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds is the thinnest on this day.
After the Samhain ritual, I enjoy sitting down with my significant other and enjoying a late night watching our favorite horror films. After all, it IS the perfect night to enjoy a little thrill!

Need a little inspiration for your costume this year? I picked three types of costume for women that can be easily created with a long, dark wig. Click here, and enjoy.