Samhain

This article is about the Gaelic holiday. For other uses, see Samhain (disambiguation).
Samhain
Also called Samhuinn/Samhainn (Scottish Gaelic)
Sauin (Manx Gaelic)
Observed by Historically: Gaels
Today: Irish people, Scottish people, Manx people, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans
Type Cultural,
Pagan (Celtic polytheism, Celtic neopaganism, Wicca)
Significance End of the harvest season, beginning of winter
Celebrations Bonfires, guising/mumming, divination, feasting
Date Sunset 31 October – sunset 1 November
(or ~1 May for Neopagans in the S. Hemisphere)
Frequency annual
Related to Halloween, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Kalan Gwav, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, Dziady

Samhain (pronounced /ˈsɑːwɪn/ SAH-win or /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/ SOW-in, Irish pronunciation: [sˠaunʲ]) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from the very beginning of one Celtic day to its end, or in the modern calendar, from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November, this places it about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Similar festivals are held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Brythonic Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall), and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany).

Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and there is evidence it has been an important date since ancient times. The Mound of the Hostages, a Neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara, is aligned with the Samhain sunrise.[1] It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them.[2] Like Beltane, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left outside for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination rituals and games were also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century, Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer suggested that it was the "Celtic New Year", and this view has been repeated by some other scholars.[3]

In the 9th century AD, Western Christianity shifted the date of All Saints' Day to 1 November, while 2 November later became All Souls' Day. Over time, Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' merged to create the modern Halloween.[4] Historians have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs up until the 19th century.[5]

Since the later 20th century, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.[6] Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere often celebrate Samhain at the other end of the year (about 1 May).

Etymology

In Modern Irish the name is Samhain [ˈsˠaunʲ], in Scottish Gaelic Samhainn/Samhuinn [ˈsaũ.iɲ], and in Manx Gaelic Sauin. These are also the names of November in each language, shortened from Mí na Samhna (Irish), Mì na Samhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Mee Houney (Manx). The night of 31 October (Halloween) is Oíche Shamhna (Irish), Oidhche Shamhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Oie Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain night". 1 November, or the whole festival, may be called Lá Samhna (Irish), Là Samhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Laa Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain day".

These names all come from the Old Irish samain, samuin or samfuin [ˈsaṽɨnʲ] all referring to 1 November (latha na samna: 'samhain day'), and the festival and royal assembly held on that date in medieval Ireland (oenaig na samna: 'samhain assembly'). Its meaning is glossed as 'summer's end', and the frequent spelling with f suggests analysis by popular etymology as sam ('summer') and fuin ('end'). The Old Irish sam is from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *semo-; cognates include Welsh haf, Breton hañv, English summer and Old Norse sumar, all meaning 'summer', and the Sanskrit sáma ('season').[7][8]

In 1907, Whitley Stokes suggested an etymology from Proto-Celtic *samani ('assembly'), cognate to Sanskrit sámana, and Gothic samana.[9] J. Vendryes concludes that samain is unrelated to *semo- ('summer'), remarking that the Celtic 'end of summer' was in July, not November, as evidenced by Welsh gorffennaf ('July').[10] We would therefore be dealing with an Insular Celtic word for 'assembly', *samani or *samoni, and a word for 'summer', saminos (from *samo-: 'summer') alongside samrad, *samo-roto-.

Samonios on the Coligny calendar

Coligny calendar

Further information: Celtic calendar

The Gaulish month name SAMON[IOS] on the Coligny calendar is likely related to the words Samhain and summer.[11] A festival of some kind may have been held during the 'three nights of Samonios' (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]). The Gaulish calendar seems to have split the year into two-halves: the first beginning with the month SAMON[IOS] and the second beginning with the month GIAMONIOS, which is related to the word for winter, PIE *g'hei-men- (Latin hiems, Latvian ziema, Lithuanian žiema, Slavic zima, Greek kheimon, Hittite gimmanza), cf. Old Irish gem-adaig ('winter's night'). The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by festivals .

History

Samain or Samuin was the name of the feis or festival marking the beginning of winter in Gaelic Ireland. It is attested in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, from the 10th century onward. It was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (~1 November), Imbolc (~1 February), Beltane (~1 May) and Lughnasadh (~1 August). Samhain and Beltane, at the witherward side of the year from each other, are thought to have been the most important. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion that 1 May and 1 November are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen. It is at the beginning of summer that cattle are driven to the upland summer pastures and the beginning of winter that they are led back. Thus, Frazer suggests that halving the year at 1 May and 1 November dates from a time when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent on their herds.[12] In medieval Ireland the festival marked the end of the season for trade and warfare and was an ideal date for tribal gatherings. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales.[13]

In Irish mythology

Cú Chulainn going into battle in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, which was said to have begun at Samhain.

Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks, who Christianized it to some extent. Nevertheless, these tales may shed some light on what Samhain meant and how it was marked in ancient Ireland.

Irish mythology tells us that Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the year. The 10th-century tale Tochmarc Emire ('The Wooing of Emer') lists Samhain as the first of these four "quarter days".[13] In the 12th century Serglige Con Culainn ('Cúchulainn's Sickbed'), it is said that the festival of the Ulaid at Samhain lasted a week: Samhain itself, and the three days before and after. They would gather on the Plain of Muirthemni where there would be meetings, games, and feasting.[13] The tales suggest that alcohol was part of the feast, and it is noteworthy that every tale that features drunkenness is said to take place at Samhain.[14]

According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Beltane) was a time when the 'doorways' to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to come into our world; but while Beltane was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead".[15] The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that the sídhe (fairy mounds or portals to the Otherworld) "were always open at Samhain".[16]

Some tales may suggest that offerings or sacrifices were made at Samhain. In the Lebor Gabála Érenn (or 'Book of Invasions'), each Samhain the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn and their milk to the monstrous Fomorians. The Fomorians seem to represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature; personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight and drought.[17][18] This tribute paid by Nemed's people may represent a "sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant".[19] According to the later Dindsenchas and the Annals of the Four Masters—which were written by Christian monks—Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with a god or idol called Crom Cruach. The texts claim that a first-born child would be sacrificed at the stone idol of Crom Cruach in Magh Slécht. They say that King Tigernmas, and three-fourths of his people, died while worshiping Crom Cruach one Samhain.[20] Other texts say that kings Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae both died a threefold death on Samhain, which may be linked to human sacrifice.[21]

Many tales and events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge ('Cattle Raid of Cooley') begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprised the Ulstermen.[22] The Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh also begins on Samhain.[23] The Morrígan and The Dagda meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann. In the Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, Aillen burns Tara each Samhain after lulling everyone to sleep. One Samhain, the young Fionn Mac Cumhaill is able to stay awake and slays Aillen, and is made leader of the fianna. In Aislinge Óengusa ('The Dream of Óengus') it is when he and his bride-to-be switch from bird to human form, and in Tochmarc Étaíne ('The Wooing of Étaín') it is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of Brú na Bóinne.[21]

In the Echtra Neraí ('The Adventure of Nera'),[24] King Ailill of Connacht sets his retinue a test of bravery on Samhain night. He offers a prize to whomever can make it to a gallows and tie a band around a hanged man's ankle. Each challenger is thwarted by demons or spirits and runs back to the king's hall in fear. However, when Nera succeeds, the dead man asks for a drink. Nera carries him on his back and they stop at three houses. They are turned away from the first two. When they enter the third, the dead man drinks dirty water and spits it on the householders, killing them. Nera returns him to the gallows and then follows a fairy host through a portal into the Otherworld, where he is trapped until the next Samhain. Taking etymology into consideration, it is interesting to note that the word for summer in the Echtra Nerai is samraid.

The 14th century tale Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig ('The Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig') tells how Mongfind tried to kill her brother Crimthann (the King of Munster) to make sure her son Brian succeeded to the throne. Mongfind offered Crimthann a poisoned drink at the Samhain feast, but he asked her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she died on Samhain eve, after which the festival came to be known as Mongfind's or Mongfhionn's Feast, "wherefore women and the rabble make petitions to her on samain-eve."[25]

Oweynagat ('cave of the cats'), one of the many 'gateways to the Otherword' from whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain.

Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. Each Samhain a host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from Oweynagat ("cave of the cats"), at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon.[26] The Hill of Ward (or Tlachta) in County Meath is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire;[14] the Iron Age ringfort is said to have been where the goddess or druid Tlachta gave birth to triplets and where she later died.

In The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996), Ronald Hutton writes: "No doubt there were [pagan] religious observances as well, but none of the tales ever portrays any". The only historic reference to religious rites is in the work of the "thoroughly unreliable" Geoffrey Keating (died 1644), who says that the druids of Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. However, his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that no religious rites are mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers were left with no record of what they had been which they could have consulted.[13]

Hutton suggests that Samhain may not have been particularly associated with the supernatural. He says that the gatherings of royalty and warriors on Samhain may simply have been an ideal setting for such tales, in the same way that many Arthurian tales are set at courtly gatherings at Christmas or Pentecost.[27]

Historic customs

Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the end of the harvest and beginning of winter.[14] Traditionally, Samhain was a time to take stock of the herds and food supplies. Cattle were brought down to the winter pastures after six months in the higher summer pastures.[14] It was also the time to choose which animals would need to be slaughtered for the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock[2][28] because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible. It is thought that some of the rituals associated with the slaughter have been transferred to other holidays. On St. Martin's Day (11 November) in Ireland, one of the animals was offered to Saint Martin, who may have taken the place of a god.[29] At New Year in the Hebrides, people would circle their district sunwise dressed in a cowhide. A bit of the hide would be burnt and the smoke inhaled by each person.[29] These customs were meant to keep away bad luck, and similar customs were found in other Celtic regions.[29] The slaughter would be followed by feasting.

Bonfires were a big part of the festival in many areas (pictured is a Beltane bonfire in Scotland)

As at Beltane, bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain and there were rituals involving them.[14] However, by the modern era, they only seem to have been common along Scotland's Highland Line, on the Isle of Man, in north and mid Wales, and in parts of Ulster heavily settled by Scots.[30] F. Marian McNeill says that a force-fire (or need-fire) was once the usual way of lighting them, but notes that this gradually fell out of use.[28] Likewise, only certain kinds of wood may once have been used, but later records show that many kinds of flammable material were burnt.[31] It is suggested that the fires were a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic – they mimicked the Sun, helping the "powers of growth" and holding back the decay and darkness of winter.[28][29][32] They may also have served to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences".[32] Accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest that the fires (as well as their smoke and ashes) were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.[33] In Moray, boys asked for bonfire fuel from each house in the village. When the fire was lit, "one after another of the youths laid himself down on the ground as near to the fire as possible so as not to be burned, and in such a position as to let the smoke roll over him. The others ran through the smoke and jumped over him". When the bonfire burnt down, they scattered the ashes, vying with each other who should scatter them most.[33] Sometimes, two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people – sometimes with their livestock – would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. The bones of slaughtered cattle were said to have been cast upon bonfires. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the main form of wealth and were the center of agricultural and pastoral life.

People also took flames from the bonfire back to their homes. In northeastern Scotland, they carried burning fir around their fields to protect them, and on South Uist they did likewise with burning turf.[30] In some places, people doused their hearth fires on Samhain night. Each family then solemnly re-lit its hearth from the communal bonfire, thus bonding the families of the village together.[2][28] In the 17th century, Geoffrey Keating wrote that the druids of ancient Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. From this, every bonfire in the land was lit, and from thence every home in the land relit their hearth, which had been doused that night. However, his source is unknown, and Ronald Hutton supposes that Keating had mistaken a Beltane custom for a Samhain one.[13] Dousing the old fire and bringing in the new may have been a way of banishing evil, which was done at New Year festivals in many countries.[29]

Snap-Apple Night (1833), painted by Daniel Maclise, shows people playing divination games on 31 October in Ireland

The bonfires were also used in divination rituals. In the late 18th century, in Ochtertyre, a ring of stones was laid round the fire to represent each person. Everyone then ran round it with a torch, "exulting". In the morning, the stones were examined and if any was mislaid it was said that the person for whom it was set would not live out the year. A similar custom was observed in north Wales[33] and in Brittany.[34] James Frazer says that this may come from "an older custom of actually burning them" (i.e. human sacrifice) or may have always been symbolic.[35] Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times,[14] and it has survived in some rural areas.[36] At household festivities throughout the Gaelic regions and Wales, there were many rituals intended to divine the future of those gathered, especially with regard to death and marriage.[14][37] Seasonal foods such as apples and nuts were often used in these rituals. Apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name.[38] Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their behaviour interpreted – if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Children would also chase crows and divine some of these things from the number of birds or the direction they flew.[2][28][31]

As noted earlier, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed.[39] This meant the aos sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into our world. Many scholars see the aos sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits.[40][41] At Samhain, it was believed that the aos sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. As such, offerings of food and drink would be left outside for the aos sí.[42][43] Portions of the crops might also be left in the ground for them.[44] One custom—described a "blatant example" of a "pagan rite surviving into the Christian epoch"—was observed in the Outer Hebrides until the early 19th century. On 31 October, the locals would go down to the shore. One man would wade into the water up to his waist, where he would pour out a cup of ale and ask 'Seonaidh' ('Shoney'), whom he called "god of the sea", to bestow blessings on them.[30] People also took special care not to offend the aos sí and sought to ward-off any who were out to cause mischief. They stayed near to home or, if forced to walk in the darkness, turned their clothing inside-out or carried iron or salt to keep them at bay.[14] The dead were also honored at Samhain. The beginning of winter may have been seen as the most fitting time to do so, as it was when the plants themselves were 'dying'.[45] The souls of the dead were thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.[2][46] The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures throughout the world.[47] James Frazer suggests "It was perhaps a natural thought that the approach of winter should drive the poor, shivering, hungry ghosts from the bare fields and the leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage".[48] However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a wronged person could return to wreak revenge.[49]

A Mari Lwyd, the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán

Mumming and guising was a part of Samhain from at least the 16th century and was recorded in parts of Ireland, Scotland, Mann and Wales.[50] It involved people going from house to house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting songs or verses in exchange for food.[50] It is suggested that it evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the aos sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf.[50] Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them.[51] S. V. Peddle suggests the guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".[52] McNeill suggests that the ancient festival included people in masks or costumes representing these spirits and that the modern custom came from this.[53] In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.[50]

In parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century, the guisers included a hobby horse known as the Láir Bhán (white mare). A man covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull (representing the Láir Bhán) would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from farm to farm. At each they recited verses, some of which "savoured strongly of paganism", and the farmer was expected to donate food. If the farmer donated food he could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.[54] This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at Midwinter. In Wales the white horse is often seen as an omen of death.[55] In some places, young people cross-dressed.[50] In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted or blackened faces,[31][56] often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[50] This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th.[57] It is suggested that the blackened faces comes from using the bonfire's ashes for protection.[53] Elsewhere in Europe, costumes, mumming and hobby horses were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".[50]

An Irish Seán Na Gealaí turnip lantern from the early 20th century at the Museum of Country Life

Hutton writes: "When imitating malignant spirits it was a very short step from guising to playing pranks". Playing pranks at Samhain is recorded in the Scottish Highlands as far back as 1736 and was also common in Ireland, which led to Samhain being nicknamed "Mischief Night" in some parts.[50] Wearing costumes at Halloween spread to England in the 20th century, as did the custom of playing pranks, though there had been mumming at other festivals.[50] At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, which popularised Halloween in North America, Halloween in Ireland and Scotland had a strong tradition of guising and pranks.[58] Trick-or-treating may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires and/or offerings for the aos sí. Alternatively, it may have come from the All Saints/All Souls custom of collecting soul cakes.

The "traditional illumination for guisers or pranksters abroad on the night in some places was provided by turnips or mangel wurzels, hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces".[50] They were also set on windowsills. By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings,[59] or were used to ward off evil spirits.[56][60][61] These were common in parts of Ireland and the Scotland into the 20th century.[50] They were also found in Somerset (see Punkie Night). In the 20th century they spread to other parts of England and became generally known as jack-o'-lanterns.[50]

Celtic Revival

During the late 19th and early 20th century Celtic Revival, there was an upswell of interest in Samhain and the other Celtic festivals. Sir John Rhys put forth that it had been the "Celtic New Year". He inferred it from contemporary folklore in Ireland and Wales, which he felt was "full of Hallowe'en customs associated with new beginnings". He visited Mann and found that the Manx sometimes called 31 October "New Year's Night" or Hog-unnaa. The Tochmarc Emire, written in the Middle Ages, reckoned the year around the four festivals at the beginning of the seasons, and put Samhain at the beginning of those. However, Hutton says that the evidence for it being the Celtic or Gaelic New Year's Day is flimsy.[62] Rhys's theory was popularised by Sir James George Frazer, though at times he did acknowledge that the evidence is inconclusive. Frazer also put forth that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic festival of the dead and that it had been Christianized as All Saints and All Souls.[62] Since then, Samhain has been popularly seen as the Celtic New Year and an ancient festival of the dead. The calendar of the Celtic League, for example, begins and ends at Samhain.[63]

Related festivals

Further information: Halloween

In the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, Samhain is known as the 'calends of winter'. The Brythonic lands of Wales, Cornwall and Brittany held festivals on 31 October similar to the Gaelic one. In Wales it is Calan Gaeaf, in Cornwall it is Allantide or Kalan Gwav and in Brittany it is Kalan Goañv.[21]

The Manx celebrate Hop-tu-Naa on 31 October, which is a celebration of the original New Year's Eve. The term is Manx Gaelic in origin, possibly from Shogh ta'n Oie, meaning "this is the night". Traditionally, children dress as scary beings, carry turnips rather than pumpkins and sing an Anglicized version of Jinnie the Witch and may go from house to house asking for sweets or money.

All Saints' Day

The Roman Catholic holy day of All Saints (or All Hallows) was introduced in the year 609, but was originally celebrated on 13 May.[64] In 835, Louis the Pious switched it to 1 November in the Carolingian Empire, at the behest of Pope Gregory IV.[64] However, from the testimony of Pseudo-Bede, it is known that churches in what are now England and Germany were already celebrating All Saints on 1 November at the beginning of the 8th century.[64][65][66] Thus, Louis merely made official the custom of celebrating it on 1 November. James Frazer suggests that 1 November was chosen because it was the date of the Celtic festival of the dead (Samhain) – the Celts had influenced their English neighbours, and English missionaries had influenced the Germans. However, Ronald Hutton points out that, according to Óengus of Tallaght (d. ca. 824), the 7th/8th century church in Ireland celebrated All Saints on 20 April. He suggests that the 1 November date was a Germanic rather than a Celtic idea.[64]

Over time, the night of 31 October came to be called All Hallows' Eve (or All Hallows' Even). Samhain influenced All Hallows' Eve and vice versa, and the two eventually morphed into the secular holiday known as Halloween.

Neopaganism

Samhain and Samhain-based festivals are held by some Neopagans. As there are many kinds of Neopaganism, their Samhain celebrations can be very different despite the shared name. Some try to emulate the historic festival as much as possible. Other Neopagans base their celebrations on sundry unrelated sources, Gaelic culture being only one of the sources.[6][67][68] Folklorist Jenny Butler[69] describes how Irish pagans pick some elements of historic Samhain celebrations and meld them with references to the Celtic past, making a new festival of Samhain that is inimitably part of neo-pagan culture.

Neopagans usually celebrate Samhain on 31 October – 1 November in the Northern Hemisphere and 30 April – 1 May in the Southern Hemisphere, beginning and ending at sundown.[70][71][72][73] Some Neopagans celebrate it at the astronomical midpoint between the autumn equinox and winter solstice (or the full moon nearest this point). In the Northern Hemisphere, this midpoint is when the ecliptic longitude of the Sun reaches 225 degrees.[74] In 2015, this is on 7 November, at 17:44 GMT.[75]

Celtic Reconstructionism

Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans emphasise historical accuracy. They base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore as well as research into the beliefs of the polytheistic Celts.[68][76]

Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans (or CRs) often celebrate Samhain on the date of first frost, or when the last of the harvest is in and the ground is dry enough to have a bonfire.[77] Some follow the old tradition of building two bonfires, which celebrants and livestock then walk or dance between as a ritual of purification.[2][28] For CRs, it is a time when the dead are especially honoured. Though CRs make offerings at all times of the year, Samhain is a time when more elaborate offerings are made to specific ancestors.[77] This may involve making a small shrine. Often there will be a meal, where a place for the dead is set at the table and they are invited to join. Traditional tales may be told and traditional songs, poems and dances performed. A western-facing door or window may be opened and a candle left burning on the windowsill to guide the dead home. Divination for the coming year is often done, whether in all solemnity or as games for the children. The more mystically inclined may also see this as a time for deeply communing with their deities, especially those seen as being particularly linked with this festival.[2][28][68][76][77]

Wicca

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Samhain as one of the yearly Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. It is deemed by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four "greater Sabbats". Samhain is seen by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the dead are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.[78]

Wiccans believe that at Samhain the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.[79]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Knowth.com photo of Samhain sunrise at the Mound of Hostages "The Stone Age Mound of the Hostages is also aligned with the Samhain sun rise." The sun rises from the same angle on Imbolc.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 O'Driscoll, Robert (ed.) (1981) The Celtic Consciousness New York, Braziller ISBN 0-8076-1136-0 pp.197–216: Ross, Anne "Material Culture, Myth and Folk Memory" (on modern survivals); pp.217–242: Danaher, Kevin "Irish Folk Tradition and the Celtic Calendar" (on specific customs and rituals)
  3. ↑ Hutton, Ronald (1996) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-288045-4, p. 363.
  4. ↑ Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund (1989). Oxford English Dictionary (second ed.). London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2. OCLC 17648714.
  5. ↑ Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp.365–369
  6. 1 2 Hutton, Ronald. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Oxford, Blackwell. pp. 327–341. ISBN 0-631-18946-7.
  7. ↑ Pokorny, Julius. IEW (1959), s.v. "sem-3", p. 905.
  8. ↑ Rogers, Nicholas (2002). "Samhain and the Celtic Origins of Halloween". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, pp.11–21. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8.
  9. ↑ Stokes (1907). "Irish etyma". Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung 40: 245.
  10. ↑ Vendryes, Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien (1959).
  11. ↑ Stüber, Karin , The historical morphology of n-stems in Celtic, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 1998, p. 111.
  12. ↑ Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Forgotten Books, 2008. p.644
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Hutton, Ronald (1996) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-288045-4, p. 361.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Monaghan, p.407
  15. ↑ Monaghan, Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.41
  16. ↑ Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p.388
  17. ↑ MacCulloch, John Arnott. The Religion of the Ancient Celts. The Floating Press, 2009. pp.80, 89, 91
  18. ↑ Smyth, Daragh. A Guide to Irish Mythology. Irish Academic Press, 1996. p.74
  19. ↑ MacCulloch (2009), p.80
  20. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters: Part 6 at Corpus of Electronic Texts.
  21. 1 2 3 Koch, John T. The Celts: History, Life, and Culture. 2012. p.690
  22. ↑ Monaghan, p.438
  23. ↑ Monaghan, p.345
  24. ↑ Monaghan, p.107
  25. ↑ Stokes, Whitley (1903). "Revue Celtique". Revue Celtique 24: 179.
  26. ↑ O'Halpin, Andy. Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press, 2006. p.236
  27. ↑ Hutton, Ronald (1996) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-288045-4, p. 362.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McNeill, F. Marian (1961, 1990) The Silver Bough, Vol. 3. William MacLellan, Glasgow ISBN 0-948474-04-1 pp.11–46
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 MacCulloch, John Arnott (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Chapter 18: Festivals.
  30. 1 2 3 Hutton, p.369
  31. 1 2 3 Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-207-7 pp.559–62
  32. 1 2 Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 63, Part 1: On the Fire-festivals in general.
  33. 1 2 3 Hutton, pp.365–368
  34. ↑ Frazer, p.647
  35. ↑ Frazer, pp.663–664
  36. ↑ Danaher (1972), pp.218–227
  37. ↑ Hutton, p.380
  38. ↑ Danaher (1972), p.223
  39. ↑ Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p.1557
  40. ↑ Monaghan, p.167
  41. ↑ Santino, Jack. The Hallowed Eve: Dimensions of Culture in a Calendar Festival of Northern Ireland. University Press of Kentucky, 1998. p.105
  42. ↑ Evans-Wentz, Walter (1911). The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. p.44.
  43. ↑ McNeill, F. Marian (1961). The Silver Bough, Volume 3. p.34.
  44. ↑ Danaher (1972), p.200
  45. ↑ MacCulloch, John Arnott (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Chapter 10: The Cult of the Dead.
  46. ↑ McNeill, The Silver Bough, Volume 3, pp.11–46
  47. ↑ Miles, Clement A. (1912). Christmas in Ritual and Tradition. Chapter 7: All Hallow Tide to Martinmas.
  48. ↑ Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 62, Part 6: The Hallowe'en Fires.
  49. ↑ Monaghan, p.120
  50. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hutton, pp.380–382
  51. ↑ Hole, Christina. British Folk Customs. Hutchinson, 1976. p.91
  52. ↑ Peddle, S. V. (2007). Pagan Channel Islands: Europe's Hidden Heritage. p.54
  53. 1 2 McNeill, F. Marian. Hallowe'en: its origin, rites and ceremonies in the Scottish tradition. Albyn Press, 1970. pp.29–31
  54. ↑ Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 2. 1855. pp.308–309
  55. ↑ Montserrat Prat, 'Metamorphosis of a Folk Tradition' in Simon Callow, Andrew Green, Rex Harley, Clive Hicks-Jenkins, Kathe Koja, Anita Mills, Montserrat Prat, Jacqueline Thalmann, Damian Walford Davies and Marly Youmand, Clive Hicks-Jenkins (Lund Humprhies, 2011), pp63-79
  56. 1 2 Arnold, Bettina (31 October 2001). "Bettina Arnold – Halloween Lecture: Halloween Customs in the Celtic World". Halloween Inaugural Celebration. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee: Center for Celtic Studies. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  57. ↑ Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt (1998) Forerunners to Halloween Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56554-346-7 p.44
  58. ↑ Rogers, Nicholas. (2002) "Festive Rights:Halloween in the British Isles". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. pp.43, p.48. Oxford University Press.
  59. ↑ Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp.382-383
  60. ↑ Palmer, Kingsley. Oral folk-tales of Wessex. David & Charles, 1973. pp.87-88
  61. ↑ Wilson, David Scofield. Rooted in America: Foodlore of Popular Fruits and Vegetables. Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1999. p.154
  62. 1 2 Hutton, p.363
  63. ↑ "The Celtic League Calendar". Celticleague.org. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  64. 1 2 3 4 Hutton, p.364
  65. ↑ Pseudo-Bede, Homiliae subdititiae; John Hennig, 'The Meaning of All the Saints', Mediaeval Studies 10 (1948), 147–161.
  66. ↑ "All Saints Day," The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, ed. E. A. Livingstone (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 41–42; The New Catholic Encyclopedia, eo.loc.
  67. ↑ Adler, Margot (1979, revised edition 2006) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston, Beacon Press ISBN 0-8070-3237-9. pp.3, 243–299
  68. 1 2 3 McColman, Carl (2003) Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom. Alpha Press ISBN 0-02-864417-4. pp.12, 51
  69. ↑ Butler, Jenny (2009), "Neo-Pagan Celebrations of Samhain" 67–82 in Foley, M. and O'Donnell, H., ed. Treat or Trick? Halloween in a Globalising World, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 1-4438-0153-4
  70. ↑ Nevill Drury (2009). "The Modern Magical Revival: Esbats and Sabbats". In Pizza, Murphy; Lewis, James R. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers. pp. 63–67. ISBN 9789004163737.
  71. ↑ Hume, Lynne (1997). Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522847826.
  72. ↑ Vos, Donna (2002). Dancing Under an African Moon: Paganism and Wicca in South Africa. Cape Town: Zebra Press. pp. 79–86. ISBN 9781868726530.
  73. ↑ Bodsworth, Roxanne T (2003). Sunwyse: Celebrating the Sacred Wheel of the Year in Australia. Victoria, Australia: Hihorse Publishing. ISBN 9780909223038.
  74. ↑ "Equinoxes, Solstice, Cross Quarters shown as seasonal cusps, worshipped by pagans and later religious holidays". Archaeoastronomy.com. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  75. ↑ "Chart of 2015 equinox, solstice and cross quarter dates and times, worldwide from". archaeoastronomy.com. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  76. 1 2 Bonewits, Isaac (2006) Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism. New York, Kensington Publishing Group ISBN 0-8065-2710-2. pp.179, 183–4, 128–140
  77. 1 2 3 Kathryn NicDhana et al. The CR FAQ: An Introduction to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. 2007. pp.97–98
  78. ↑ Starhawk (1979, 1989) The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York, Harper and Row ISBN 0-06-250814-8 pp.193–6 (revised edition)
  79. ↑ Nevill Drury (2009). "The Modern Magical Revival". In Pizza, Murphy; Lewis, James R. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism. Leiden: BRILL. p. 65. ISBN 9789004163737.

Secondary sources

  • Arnold, Bettina (31 October 2001). "Bettina Arnold – Halloween Lecture: Halloween Customs in the Celtic World". Halloween Inaugural Celebration. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee: Center for Celtic Studies. Retrieved 16 October 2007. 
  • Campbell, John Gregorson. The Gaelic Otherworld, edited by Ronald Black. (1900, 1902, 2005). Birlinn Ltd. pp. 559–62. ISBN 1-84158-207-7
  • Danaher, Kevin. "Irish Folk Tradition and the Celtic Calendar." In The Celtic Consciousness, ed. Robert O'Driscoll. New York: Braziller, 1981. pp. 217–42. ISBN 0-8076-1136-0. On specific customs and rituals.
  • Ross, Anne "Material Culture, Myth and Folk Memory". In The Celtic Consciousness, ed. Robert O'Driscoll. New York: Braziller, 1981. 197–216. ISBN 0-8076-1136-0.
  • Stokes, Whitley (1907). "Irish etyma". Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung 40: 243–9. 
  • Vendryes, J. Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien. 1959.

Further reading

  • Carmichael, Alexander (1992). Carmina Gadelica. Lindisfarne Press ISBN 0-940262-50-9
  • Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland. Dublin, Mercier ISBN 1-85635-093-2
  • Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. New York, Citadel ISBN 0-8065-1160-5
  • MacKillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-280120-1
  • McCone, Kim R. (1980). "Firinne agus torthúlacht". Léachtaí Cholm Cille 11: 136–173. 
  • McNeill, F. Marian (1959) The Silver Bough, Vol. 1–4. William MacLellan, Glasgow.

External links

Look up samhain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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