Editing Samhain (section)

==Historic customs==
Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the end of the [[harvest]] and the beginning of winter.<ref name=monaghan407/> Samhain customs are mentioned in several medieval texts. In ''[[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. It involved great gatherings where they held meetings, feasted, drank alcohol, and held contests.<ref name="Stations361"/> The ''Togail Bruidne Dá Derga'' notes that bonfires were lit at Samhain and stones cast into the fires.<ref name="da derga">[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/dddh/dddh.htm The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel – Translated by Whitley Stokes].</ref> It is mentioned in [[Geoffrey Keating]]'s ''[[Foras Feasa ar Éirinn]]'', which was written in the early 1600s but drew on earlier medieval sources, some of which are unknown. He claims that the ''[[feis]]'' of Tara was held for a week every third Samhain when the nobles and [[ollam]]s of Ireland met to lay down and renew [[early Irish law|the laws]], and to feast.<ref>[[Geoffrey Keating|Keating, Geoffrey]]. ''[[Foras Feasa ar Éirinn]]'', [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100054/text036.html Section 26]. [[Corpus of Electronic Texts]].</ref> He also claims that the [[druid]]s lit a sacred bonfire at Tlachtga and made sacrifices to the gods, sometimes by burning their sacrifices. He adds that all other fires were doused and re-lit from this bonfire.<ref>[[Geoffrey Keating|Keating, Geoffrey]]. ''[[Foras Feasa ar Éirinn]]'', [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100054/text049.html Section 39]. [[Corpus of Electronic Texts]].</ref>

===Ritual bonfires===
Like Bealtaine, bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain, and there were rituals involving them.<ref name=monaghan407/> By the early modern era, they were most common in parts of the [[Scottish Highlands]], on the Isle of Man, in north and mid-Wales, and in parts of [[Ulster]].<ref name="hutton369">Hutton, p. 369</ref> [[F. Marian McNeill]] says that they were formerly [[need-fire]]s, but that this custom died out.<ref name="McNeill"/> Likewise, only certain kinds of wood were traditionally used, but later records show that many kinds of flammable material were burnt.<ref name="Campbell">[[John Gregorson Campbell|Campbell, John Gregorson]] (1900, 1902, 2005) ''The Gaelic Otherworld''. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd. {{ISBN|1-84158-207-7}} pp. 559–62</ref> It is suggested that the fires were a kind of [[sympathetic magic|imitative or sympathetic magic]]; mimicking the Sun, helping the "powers of growth" and holding back the decay and darkness of winter.<ref name="McNeill"/><ref name=macculloch/><ref name="frazer63">Frazer, James George (1922). ''[[The Golden Bough|The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion]]''. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/gb06301.htm Chapter 63, Part 1: On the Fire-festivals in general].</ref> They may also have served to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences".<ref name=frazer63/> Accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest that the fires, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.<ref name="hutton365-368">Hutton, pp. 365–68</ref>

In 19th-century [[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, they scattered the ashes, vying for who should scatter them most.<ref name=hutton365-368/> In some areas, 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nicholls |first=Kenneth W. |title=A New History of Ireland, Volume II, Medieval Ireland 1169–1534 |chapter=Gaelic society and economy |editor-last=Cosgrove |editor-first=Art |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vSht2aNHR4C&pg=PA397 |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-953970-3 |pages=397–438 |orig-year=1987 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199539703.003.0015}}</ref>

People also took the flames from the bonfire back to their homes. During the 19th century, in parts of Scotland, torches of burning [[Scots pine|fir]] or turf were carried [[sunwise]] around homes and fields to protect them.<ref name=hutton369/> 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 community.<ref name="O"/><ref name="McNeill"/> The 17th-century writer Geoffrey Keating claimed that this was an ancient tradition instituted by the druids.<ref name="Stations361"/> Dousing the old fire and bringing in the new may have been a way of banishing evil, which was part of New Year festivals in many countries.<ref name=macculloch/>

===Divination===
[[File:Snap-Apple Night globalphilosophy.PNG|thumb|left|''Snap-Apple Night'' (1833), painted by [[Daniel Maclise]], shows people playing divination games on 31 October in Ireland]]
The bonfires were used in [[divination]]. In 18th-century [[Ochtertyre]], a ring of stones—one for each person—was laid around the fire, perhaps on a layer of ash. Everyone then ran around it with a torch, "exulting". In the morning, the stones were examined, and if any were mislaid, it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year. A similar custom was observed in north Wales<ref name=hutton365-368/> and in [[Brittany]].<ref>Frazer, p. 647</ref> James Frazer suggests this may come from "an older custom of actually burning them" (i.e. [[human sacrifice]]) or it may have always been symbolic.<ref>Frazer, pp. 663–64</ref> Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times,<ref name=monaghan407/> and it has survived in some rural areas.<ref>Danaher (1972), pp. 218–27</ref>

At household festivities throughout the Gaelic regions and Wales, many rituals were intended to divine the future of those gathered, especially concerning death and marriage.<ref name=monaghan407/><ref>Hutton, p. 380</ref> Apples and hazelnuts were often used in these divination rituals and games. In [[Celtic mythology]], [[apple (symbolism)|apples]] were strongly associated with the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] and immortality, while [[hazel#Mythology and folklore|hazelnuts]] were associated with divine wisdom.<ref>MacLeod, Sharon. ''Celtic Myth and Religion''. McFarland, 2011. pp. 61, 107</ref> One of the most common games was [[apple bobbing]]. Another involved hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod was spun round, and everyone took turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.<ref>Danaher (1972), pp. 202–05</ref> Apples were peeled in one long strip, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape was said to form the first letter of the future spouse's name.<ref>Danaher (1972), p. 223</ref>

Two hazelnuts were roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desired. If the nuts jumped away from the heat, it was a bad sign, but if the nuts roasted quietly, it foretold an excellent match.<ref>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough Volume III'', pp. 33–34</ref><ref>Danaher (1972), p. 219</ref> Items were hidden in food—usually a cake, [[barmbrack]], [[cranachan]], [[champ (food)|champ]] or [[sowans]] – and portions of it served out at random. A person's future was foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage, and a coin meant wealth.<ref name=McNeill1961>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough Volume III'', p. 34</ref> A salty oatmeal bannock was baked; the person ate it in three bites and then went to bed in silence without anything to drink. This was said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.<ref name=McNeill1961/> Egg whites were dropped in water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Young people would also chase crows and divine some of these things from the number of birds or the direction they flew.<ref name="O"/><ref name=McNeill1961/><ref name="Campbell"/>

===Spirits and souls===
Samhain was seen as a liminal time when the boundary between this world and the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] could more easily be crossed.<ref>Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. 2006. p. 1557</ref> 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 pagan gods and nature spirits.<ref>Monaghan, p. 167</ref><ref>Santino, Jack. ''The Hallowed Eve: Dimensions of Culture in a Calendar Festival of Northern Ireland''. University Press of Kentucky, 1998. p. 105</ref> At Samhain, it was believed that the ''aos sí'' needed to be [[propitiation|propitiated]] to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink would be left outside for the ''aos sí'',<ref>[[Walter Evans-Wentz|Evans-Wentz, Walter]] (1911). ''The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries''. p. 44.</ref><ref>[[F. Marian McNeill|McNeill, F. Marian]] (1961). ''The Silver Bough, Volume 3''. p. 34.</ref> and portions of the crops might be left in the ground for them.<ref>Danaher (1972), p. 200</ref>

One custom—described as a "blatant example" of a "pagan rite surviving into the Christian epoch"—was recorded in the [[Outer Hebrides]] and [[Iona]] in the 17th century. On the night of 31 October, fishermen and their families 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 on them a good catch. The custom was ended in the 1670s after a campaign by [[Minister (Christianity)|ministers]], but the ceremony shifted to the springtime and survived until the early 19th century.<ref name=hutton369/>

People also took special care not to offend the ''aos sí'' and sought to ward off anyone 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.<ref name="monaghan407"/> In southern Ireland, it was customary on Samhain to weave a small cross of sticks and straw called a 'parshell' or 'parshall', which was similar to the [[Brigid's cross]] and [[God's eye]]. It was fixed over the doorway to [[Apotropaic magic|ward-off]] bad luck, sickness, and [[witchcraft]] and would be replaced each Samhain.<ref>Danaher, Kevin. ''The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs''. Mercier Press, 1972. pp.&nbsp;207–208</ref>

The dead were also honoured at Samhain. The beginning of winter may have been seen as the most fitting time to do so, as it was a time of 'dying' in nature.<ref name="macculloch10">MacCulloch, John Arnott (1911). ''The Religion of the Ancient Celts''. [http://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/rac/rac13.htm Chapter 10: The Cult of the Dead].</ref> 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.<ref name="O"/><ref name="mcneill1">McNeill, ''The Silver Bough, Volume 3'', pp. 11–46</ref> The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures throughout the world.<ref name="miles">Miles, Clement A. (1912). ''Christmas in Ritual and Tradition''. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/crt/crt11.htm Chapter 7: All Hallow Tide to Martinmas].</ref> 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".<ref name="frazer62">Frazer, James George (1922). ''[[The Golden Bough|The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion]]''. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/gb06206.htm Chapter 62, Part 6: The Hallowe'en Fires].</ref> However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a wronged person could [[vengeful ghost|return to wreak revenge]].<ref>Monaghan, p. 120</ref>

===Mumming and guising===
[[File:Mari Lwyd (wiki).jpg|thumb|A [[Mari Lwyd]], the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán]]
In some areas, [[Mummers' play|mumming]] and [[guising]] were part of Samhain. It was first recorded in 16th century Scotland<ref>[[F. Marian McNeill|McNeill, F. Marian]]. ''Hallowe'en: its origin, rites and ceremonies in the Scottish tradition''. Albyn Press, 1970. pp. 29–31</ref> and later in parts of Ireland, Mann, and Wales.<ref name="hutton380-382">Hutton, pp. 380–82</ref> People went from house to house in costume or disguise, usually reciting songs or verses in exchange for food.<ref name=hutton380-382/> It may have evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the ''aos sí'', or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf.<ref name=hutton380-382/> Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them.<ref>Hole, Christina. ''British Folk Customs''. Hutchinson, 1976. p. 91</ref> S. V. Peddle suggests the guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".<ref>Peddle, S.V. (2007). ''Pagan Channel Islands: Europe's Hidden Heritage''. p. 54</ref> McNeill suggests that the ancient festival included people in masks or costumes representing these spirits and that the modern custom came from this.<ref name="mcneill2">McNeill, F. Marian. ''Hallowe'en: its origin, rites and ceremonies in the Scottish tradition''. Albyn Press, 1970. pp. 29–31</ref> In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.<ref name=hutton380-382/>

In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted, or blackened faces,<ref name="Campbell"/><ref name=arnoldb/> often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.<ref name=hutton380-382/> This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th.<ref name="bannatyne">Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt (1998) [https://books.google.com/books?id=rNAXt9jLXWwC&dq=guising+SAMHAIN&pg=PA44 Forerunners to Halloween] Pelican Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-56554-346-7}} p. 44</ref> It is suggested that the blackened faces come from using the bonfire's ashes for protection.<ref name=mcneill2/> In Ireland in the late 18th century, peasants carrying sticks went house-to-house on Samhain collecting food for the feast. [[Charles Vallancey]] wrote that they demanded this in the name of St [[Colm Cille]], asking people to "lay aside the [[fatted calf]], and to bring forth the [[black sheep]]".<ref>[[James George Frazer|Frazer, Sir James George]] (1913). ''[[The Golden Bough]]: Third Edition''. Cambridge University Press, 2012. p.241</ref> 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 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. By doing so, he could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.<ref>''Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 2''. 1855. pp. 308–09</ref> This is akin to the ''[[Mari Lwyd]]'' (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at [[Midwinter]]. In Wales, the [[white horses in mythology|white horse]] is often seen as an omen of death.<ref>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 Youmans, ''Clive Hicks-Jenkins'' (Lund Humphries, 2011), pp. 63–79</ref> 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".<ref name=hutton380-382/>

[[File:Traditional Irish halloween Jack-o'-lantern.jpg|thumb|upright|A plaster cast of an Irish ''Seán na Gealaí'' [[Jack-o'-lantern|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.<ref name=hutton380-382/> 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.<ref name=hutton380-382/> 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.<ref>Rogers, Nicholas. (2002) "Festive Rights: Halloween in the British Isles". Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. pp. 43, 48. Oxford University Press.</ref> [[Trick-or-treating]] may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires or offerings for the ''aos sí''. Alternatively, it may have come from the Allhallowtide custom of collecting [[soul cake]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The "traditional illumination for guisers or pranksters abroad on the night in some places was provided by [[turnip]]s or [[mangelwurzel|mangel wurzels]], hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces".<ref name=hutton380-382/> They were also set on windowsills. By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings,<ref name="hutton382-383">[[Ronald Hutton|Hutton, Ronald]]. ''The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain''. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 382–83</ref> or were [[Apotropaic magic|used to ward off]] evil spirits.<ref name="arnoldb">{{cite web |title=Bettina Arnold&nbsp;– Halloween Lecture: Halloween Customs in the Celtic World |last=Arnold |first=Bettina |publisher=Center for Celtic Studies |location=[[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]] |date=31 October 2001 |website=Halloween [[Inaugural]] Celebration |url=http://www.uwm.edu/~barnold/lectures/holloween.html |access-date=16 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="palmer87">Palmer, Kingsley. ''Oral folk-tales of Wessex''. David & Charles, 1973. pp. 87–88</ref><ref>Wilson, David Scofield. ''Rooted in America: Foodlore of Popular Fruits and Vegetables''. Univ. of Tennessee Press, 1999. p. 154</ref> These were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century.<ref name=hutton380-382/> They were also found in [[Somerset]] (see [[Punkie Night]]). In the 20th century, they spread to other parts of Britain and became generally known as [[jack-o'-lantern]]s.<ref name=hutton380-382/>

===Livestock===
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 (see [[transhumance]]).<ref name=monaghan407/> It was also the time to choose which animals would be slaughtered. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock.<ref name="O"/><ref name="McNeill">McNeill, F. Marian (1961, 1990) ''The Silver Bough'', Vol. 3. William MacLellan, Glasgow {{ISBN|0-948474-04-1}} pp. 11–46</ref> It is thought that some of the rituals associated with the slaughter have been transferred to other winter holidays. On [[St. Martin's Day]] (11 November) in Ireland, an animal—usually a [[rooster]], [[domestic goose|goose]], or sheep—would be slaughtered and some of its blood sprinkled on the [[threshold (architecture)|threshold]] of the house. It was offered to [[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin]], who may have taken the place of a god or gods,<ref name="macculloch">MacCulloch, John Arnott (1911). ''The Religion of the Ancient Celts''. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/rac/rac21.htm Chapter 18: Festivals].</ref> and it was then eaten as part of a feast. This custom was common in parts of Ireland until the 19th century,<ref>Hutton, ''The Stations of the Sun'', p. 386</ref> and was found in other parts of Europe. At New Year in the [[Hebrides]], a man dressed in a cowhide would circle the township [[sunwise]]. A bit of the hide would be burnt, and everyone would breathe in the smoke.<ref name=macculloch/> These customs were meant to keep away bad luck, and similar customs were found in other Celtic regions.<ref name=macculloch/>