SAMHAIN

Definition of Samhain: the first day of November, celebrated by the ancient Celts as a festival marking the beginning of winter.

Synonyms of Samhain: Halloween, all-saints day, etc.

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Love in fellowship.

Samhain marks the end of Samhradh – not with a mechanical or digital click, but as something intuited, known in the bones. The natural world prompts us to vary our pace, to shed, to take on, to rest – to grow in different ways. –Manresa

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Traditionally, Samhain is celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November, which is 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). | More…