Samhain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samhain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

This article is about the Celtic holiday. For other meanings, see Samhain (disambiguation)
Samhain
Also called     Samhuinn (Gàidhlig)
Sauin (Gaelg)
Oíche Shamhna (Gaeilge)
Observed by     Gaels
(Irish people, Scottish people)
Neopagans
(Celtic Reconstructionists, Wiccans)
Begins     Northern Hemisphere: Sunset on October 31
Southern Hemisphere: Sunset on April 30
Ends     Northern Hemisphere: Sunset on November 1
Southern Hemisphere: Sunset on May 1
Celebrations     Bonfires
Guising
Divination
Apple bobbing
Feasting
Related to     Halloween, Calan Gaeaf, Calan Gwaf, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day

Samhain (play /ˈsɑːwɪn/, /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/, or /ˈsaʊn/)[1] is a Gaelic festival held on October 31–November 1. The Irish name Samhain is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".[2] A harvest festival with ancient roots in Celtic polytheism, it was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and continued to be celebrated in late medieval times. Due to its date it became associated with the Christian festival All Saints' Day, and greatly influenced modern celebration of Halloween.