Okie:
I did not say my essay agreed with everything Hutton has to say, did I? Nor did I say I was in any way attempting to unravel where the idea that Samhain is the Celtic New Year comes from...I am not a historian. I don't think Hutton himself deems that question worthy of trying to answer in a legitimate way. For better or worse, modern neo-pagan witches follow the eight festival calendar and for the most part accept the generalized explanations for the dates occurring when they do, despite occasionally having conflicting origins or sources...we _do_ know the date of Christmas was chosen to coincide with winter solstice celebrations, that Easter's timing is based upon ancient spring fertility festivals, and that All Souls' Day (November 1) clearly corresonds to Samhain. Though I think Hutton is one of the best sources on these topics, I think few know he himself is a practicing pagan--and I wish all of us were as well-read and well-versed in history and folklore as he is! But there are a great amny myths and platitudes spouted by modern witches that are simply inaccurate, but such things die hard in the absence of the willingness to do actual reading or in-depth study...

peg