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23 hours ago · Samhain is celebrated on October 31 and November 1 with festivals, bonfires, and traveling feasts (going from house to house). Samhain is the start of the Celtic (kel-tick) New Year, and is considered a festival of the dead, as spirits of the deceased return to mingle with the living. Celtic Paganism, Mythology, and Practices
- Ancient Samhain
- Samhain Monsters
- Myths of Samhain
- Samhain in The Middle Ages
- Dumb Supper
- Christian Samhain
- Samhain Merges with Halloween
- Wicca and Samhain
- Celtic Reconstructionists
- Sources
Ancient Celtsmarked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered. After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priest...
Because the Celts believed that the barrier between worlds was breachable during Samhain, they prepared offerings that were left outside villages and fields for fairies, or Sidhs. It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them. S...
One of the most popular Samhain stories told during the festival was of “The Second Battle of Mag Tuired,” which portrays the final conflict between the Celtic pantheon known as the Tuatha de Danann and evil oppressors known as the Fomor. The myths state that the battle unfolded over the period of Samhain. One of the most famous Samhain-related sto...
As the Middle Agesprogressed, so did the celebrations of the fire festivals. Bonfires known as Samghnagans, which were more personal Samhain fires nearer the farms, became a tradition, purportedly to protect families from fairies and witches. Carved turnips called Jack-o-lanternsbegan to appear, attached by strings to sticks and embedded with coal....
The tradition of “dumb supper” began during this time, in which food was consumed by celebrants but only after inviting ancestors to join in, giving the families a chance to interact with the spirits until they left following dinner. Children would play games to entertain the dead, while adults would update the dead on the past year’s news. That ni...
As Christianitygained a foothold in pagan communities, church leaders attempted to reframe Samhain as a Christian celebration. The first attempt was by Pope Boniface in the 5th century. He moved the celebration to May 13 and specified it as a day celebrating saints and martyrs. The fire festivals of October and November, however, did not end with t...
Neither new holiday did away with the pagan aspects of the celebration. October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, and contained much of the traditional pagan practices before being adopted in 19th-century America through Irish immigrants bringing their traditions across the ocean. Trick-or-treating is said to have been derived from ...
A broad revival of Samhain resembling its traditional pagan form began in the 1980s with the growing popularity of Wicca. Wicca celebration of Samhain takes on many forms, from the traditional fire ceremonies to celebrations that embrace many aspects of modern Halloween, as well as activities related to honoring nature or ancestors. Wiccans look at...
Pagans who embrace Celtic traditions with the intent of reintroducing them faithfully into modern paganism are called Celtic Reconstructionists. In this tradition, Samhain is called Oiche Shamnhna and celebrates the mating between Tuatha de Danaan gods Dagda and River Unis. Celtic Reconstructionists celebrate by placing juniper decorations around t...
Samhain. BBC. Samhain: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Halloween. Diana Rajchel. The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween. Jean Markale. Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween. Lisa Morton. Celtic Gods and Heroes. Marie-Louise Sjoestedt.
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Oct 15, 2024 · Each year, Spirit Haven hosts a Beltane and Samhain festival at Spirit Haven Ranch, a 100+ acre property in Flatonia, Texas. These festivals include four days and three nights of Pagan-based spirituality, community, and celebration. You’ll find ample open camping, dedicated Sacred Spaces to explore, a welcoming, inclusive community, and a ...
Oct 28, 2011 · They came to celebrate the night leading into winter as Samhain (meaning “summer’s end”), the festival widely considered to be the precursor of Halloween. On Samhain night, the Celts ...
Oct 19, 2024 · Celebrated between October 31 and November 1, Samhain is a pagan harvest festival during which the spirits of the dead are said to walk among the living — and it inspired many of the Halloween traditions we practice today. Samhain Festival/Facebook Attendees at a Samhain festival in Ireland. Samhain, a word meaning “Summer’s End,” is a ...
Samhain (/ ˈsɑːwɪn / SAH-win, / ˈsaʊɪn / SOW-in, Irish: [ˈsˠəunʲ], Scottish Gaelic: [ˈs̪ãũ.ɪɲ]) or Sauin (Manx: [ˈsoːɪnʲ]) is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker half" of the year. [1] It is also the Irish language name for November. Celebrations begin on ...
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Nov 1, 2022 · Contemporary British culture offers both Halloween on 31 October and Bonfire Night on the 5 November; the latter is a celebration of the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, but the urge to make merry in the face of winter is much older. In Ireland and Gaelic Scotland, it generated the festival of Samhain.
