Samhain or Sauin is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year.
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What is Samhain and how is it celebrated?
Samhain is observed from sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st. It is the celebration that is the origin of Halloween. Samhain was first observed by Celtic Pagans. Samhain marked the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season.
Are Samhain and Halloween the same?
Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from Irish and Scottish immigrants. Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs until the 19th century. Since the later 20th century Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.
What does Samhain literally mean?
The word "Samhain" is derived from old Irish and means "summer's end." It is a time to bid farewell to the warmth and light of summer and prepare for the introspective and cold months ahead. Honoring the Ancestors.
What is the myth of Samhain?
At Samhain, held on November 1, the world of the gods was believed to be made visible to humankind, and the gods played many tricks on their mortal worshippers; it was a time fraught with danger, charged with fear, and full of supernatural episodes.
Samhain, in ancient Celtic religion, one of the most important and sinister calendar festivals of the year. At Samhain, held on November 1, the world of the ...
Aug 11, 2022 · Samhain (also: Samain) was a pastoral/harvest festival celebrated—under various names—across the Celtic world on the evening of October 31st and ...
Samhain
Festival
Date: Fri, Oct 31, 2025 – Sat, Nov 1, 2025
Apr 6, 2018 · In the Druid tradition, Samhain celebrates the dead with a festival on October 31 and usually features a bonfire and communion with the dead.
Oct 28, 2024 · Samhain is the third and final harvest festival, falling after Lughnasad in August and the autumn equinox in September.
In Celtic Ireland Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter)
Most importantly, Samhain was viewed as a borderline, or liminal, festival as the separation between “summer and winter, lightness and darkness” (Rogers 2002).
Samhain, meaning "summer's end," is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the coldest half of the year.
31st of October - 1st of November, is Samhain (pronounced sowin) - a fire festival to welcome the winter and darker half of the year. Samhain is seen by ...
Oct 31, 2024 · Halloween began as a the Festival of Samhain about 2,000 years ago. It was created as a way for the Celts to scare away ghosts and spirits. They ...
