Editing Samhain (section)

{{Short description|Gaelic festival marking the start of winter}}
{{about|the Gaelic holiday|other uses}}
{{for|the period of Korean history|Samhan}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Samhain
| type          = Pagan
| longtype      = {{cslist
|Cultural
|Pagan ({{hlist|class=inline|[[Celtic polytheism]]|[[Celtic neopaganism]]|[[Druidry (modern)|Druidry]]|[[Wicca]]|[[modern paganism|Neopaganism]]}})
}}
| image         =
| image_size    = 
| caption       = A [[modern paganism|Neopagan]] celebration of Samhain
| nickname      = 
| observedby    = Historically: [[Gaels]]<br />Today: {{cslist|Irish people|Scottish people|[[Manx people]]|[[Modern paganism|Modern Pagans]]}}
| significance  = Reverence of the dead, end of the harvest season
| date          = 31 October-1 November<br /><small>(or 1 May for Neopagans in the [[Southern Hemisphere]])</small>
| celebrations  = {{cslist
|[[Bonfire]]s
|[[Guising]] or [[Mummers' play|Mumming]]
|[[Divination]]
|[[Saining]]
|[[Veneration of the dead]]
|[[Banquet|Feasting]]
|[[Incantation|Spells]] (by [[Neopagan witchcraft|witches]])
}}
| relatedto     = {{cslist
|[[Allantide]]
|[[All Saints' Day]]
|[[All Souls' Day]]
|[[Calan Gaeaf]]
|[[Day of the Dead]]
|[[Dziady]]
|[[Halloween]]
|[[Hop-tu-Naa]]
|[[Kekri (festival)|Kekri]]
|[[Winter Nights]]
}}
| frequency     = Annual
| duration      = 1 day and night
| alt           = 
}}
'''Samhain''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɑː|w|ɪ|n}} {{respell|SAH|win}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aʊ|ɪ|n}} {{respell|SOW|in}}, {{IPA|ga|ˈsˠəunʲ|lang}}, {{IPA|gd|ˈs̪ãũ.ɪɲ|lang}}) or '''{{lang|gv|Sauin|i=no}}''' ({{IPA|gv|ˈsoːɪnʲ|lang}}) is a [[Gaels|Gaelic]] festival on 1 November marking the end of the [[harvest]] season and beginning of winter or the "[[Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars|darker half]]" of the year.<ref name="ohogain 402">[[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin|Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí]]. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year was into two parts, the summer half beginning at Bealtaine (May 1st) and the winter half at Samhain (November 1st) ... The festivals properly began at sunset on the day before the actual date, evincing the Celtic tendency to regard the night as preceding the day".</ref> It is also the Irish and [[Scottish Gaelic]] name for [[November]]. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the [[Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars|Celtic day]] began and ended at sunset.<ref name="ohogain 402"/> This is about halfway between the [[September equinox|autumnal equinox]] and [[winter solstice]]. It is one of [[Quarter days|the four]] Gaelic seasonal festivals along with [[Imbolc]], [[Bealtaine]], and [[Lughnasa]]. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the [[Isle of Man]]. Its [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] [[Celtic Britons|Celtic]] equivalent is called ''[[Calan Gaeaf]]'' in Wales.

Samhain is believed to have [[Ancient Celtic religion|Celtic pagan]] origins, and some [[prehistoric Ireland#Neolithic (4000–2500 BC)|Neolithic]] [[passage tomb]]s in Great Britain and Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meehan |first1=Pádraig |date=September 2012 |title=A Possible Astronomical Alignment marking Seasonal Transitions at Listoghil, Sligo, Ireland |url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue32/meehan_index.html |journal=Internet Archaeology |volume=32 |issue=32 |doi=10.11141/ia.32.3|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As a festival for communing with the ancestors, however, it may predate the Celtic era. A number of stone circles and dolmens, including for example, Avebury, exhibit a west-south-west alignment, the azimuth angle of the setting sun on 31 October.

Samhain is mentioned in the [[early Irish literature|earliest Irish literature]], from the 9th century, and is associated with many important events in [[Irish mythology]]. The early literature says Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]]. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices.

The festival was not recorded in detail until the [[early modern era]]. It was when cattle were brought down from the [[transhumance|summer pastures]] and livestock were slaughtered. Special [[bonfire]]s were lit, which were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.<ref name="O">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. 217–42: Danaher, Kevin "Irish Folk Tradition and the Celtic Calendar" (on specific customs and rituals)</ref> Like [[Bealtaine]], Samhain was a [[liminality|liminal]] or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld blurred, making contact with the ''[[aos sí]]'' (the 'spirits' or '[[fairy|fairies]]') more likely. Most scholars see them as remnants of pagan gods. At Samhain, they were [[propitiation|appeased]] with offerings of food and drink to ensure the people and livestock survived the winter. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a meal. [[Mummers' play|Mumming]] and [[guising]] were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume, reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating and disguising oneself from the ''aos sí''. [[Divination]] was also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century, [[John Rhys]] and [[James George Frazer|James Frazer]] suggested it had been the "Celtic New Year", but that is disputed.<ref name="Stations363">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.</ref>

In the 9th century, the [[Western Christianity|Western Church]] endorsed 1 November as the date of [[All Saints' Day]], possibly due to the influence of [[Alcuin]] or [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Irish missionaries]], and 2 November later became [[All Souls' Day]]. It is believed that Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls'  [[Religious syncretism|influenced each other]] and the modern [[Halloween]].<ref name="OED">{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=John |title=Oxford English Dictionary |last2=Weiner, Edmund |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-19-861186-2 |edition=second |location=London |oclc=17648714}}</ref> Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from [[Irish diaspora|Irish]] and [[Scottish diaspora|Scottish]] immigrants.<ref name="Brunvand p749">Brunvand, Jan (editor). ''American Folklore: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2006. p.749</ref> Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs until the 19th century.<ref name="hutton365-369">[[Ronald Hutton|Hutton, Ronald]]. ''The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain''. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 365–69</ref>

Since the later 20th century [[Celtic neopaganism|Celtic neopagans]] and [[Wicca]]ns have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.<ref name="Hutton">{{cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |title=The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy |url-access=limited |publisher=Oxford: Blackwell |isbn=0-631-18946-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/paganreligionsan00hutt/page/n351 327]–41 |author-link=Ronald Hutton |date=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/paganreligionsan00hutt}}</ref>