Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Something to Talk About: Amazon Store
Something to Talk About: Amazon Store: Stop by the store and see what kind of wares we carry. http://www.amazon.com/shops/A2ZI824SAUKPOT
Something to Talk About: Facebook page
Something to Talk About: Facebook page: There is also a facebook page with lots of stuff going on. I love visitors!!! Please like my page. https://www.facebook.com/TheAmberCrys...
Samhain/Halloween
In the European traditions, Samhain is the night when the old God dies, and the Crone Goddess mourns him deeply for the next six weeks. The popular image of her as the old Halloween hag menacingly stirring her cauldron comes from the Celtic belief that all dead souls return to her cauldron of life, death, and rebirth to await reincarnation.
Halloween, plain and simple is our favorite time of year. A true time for witches, Witchcraft itself, and Wiccans alike who feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is it's least guarded and it's veil the thinnest. It is a time for dimensional openings and workings, it is a somber holiday, one of dark clothes and thoughts for the dead, it is said to be the time when those of necromantic talents can speak with the dead and it is certainly a time to remember ones own dead. Witches believe it is a time of endings of relationships and bad situations and it is the time when one can see the glimmer of hope in the future. There are as many concepts attached to this holiday as any other, truly a time of remembrance of our ancestors and all those who have gone before.
With the death of the God, the Wheel of the Year turns again,
bringing us to Yule and rebirth. In paganism, death has never
been seen as an end, but as a transition. We, like our God,
will be born anew as the Wheel of the Year turns on and on.
The mourning begins.... So be it!
by:http://www.witchway.net/halloween.html
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hurricane Sandy: Help those in need.
A link to the Red Cross sight is here and at the bottom.
http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/renderCanonical.jsp?pageCan=/hurricane-sandy
Hundreds of thousands of evacuees have already rushed to emergency shelters with their loved ones, and your support is desperately needed to help us keep as many people safe from the storm as possible. Please make your tax-deductible gift to the American Red Cross right now.
Hurricane Sandy has already wrought extensive damage in vulnerable communities along the coast, including severe flooding, power failures and wind damage. There’s no telling what kind of devastation communities will face in the storm’s aftermath, which means we must be ready for the worst.
How much help we can provide in the coming days will be determined in part by your generosity right now. As the storm’s effects become more widespread, more people will need our help. We’ve got to be there for every one of them.
With your help, the Red Cross has already:
Opened shelters in 7 states, deploying more than 1,000 Red Cross workers to support relief efforts
Mobilized nearly 170 Emergency Response Vehicles to move at a moment’s notice
Secured more than 230,000 shelf-stable meals
Readied thousands of supplies such as cots, comfort kits and clean up kits
Please donate today to help the Red Cross respond to those affected by the hurricane.
http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/renderCanonical.jsp?pageCan=/hurricane-sandy
http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/renderCanonical.jsp?pageCan=/hurricane-sandy
Hurricane Sandy has already wrought extensive damage in vulnerable communities along the coast, including severe flooding, power failures and wind damage. There’s no telling what kind of devastation communities will face in the storm’s aftermath, which means we must be ready for the worst.
How much help we can provide in the coming days will be determined in part by your generosity right now. As the storm’s effects become more widespread, more people will need our help. We’ve got to be there for every one of them.
With your help, the Red Cross has already:
Opened shelters in 7 states, deploying more than 1,000 Red Cross workers to support relief efforts
Mobilized nearly 170 Emergency Response Vehicles to move at a moment’s notice
Secured more than 230,000 shelf-stable meals
Readied thousands of supplies such as cots, comfort kits and clean up kits
Please donate today to help the Red Cross respond to those affected by the hurricane.
http://www.redcross.org/templates/render/renderCanonical.jsp?pageCan=/hurricane-sandy
Hurricane Sandy Update
If you don’t have power, don’t expect it back anytime soon. Also, how are you reading this?! ConEd — which says Sandy was the “worst storm in [its] history” — is working to restore power to the customers who lost it, and some people might get it back tomorrow, but Bloomberg says “you should not expect the vast bulk of people who do not have service today to get service before the weekend.”
Bus service is back on tonight, on a Sunday schedule. Buses will be free today and tomorrow, and tomorrow will “hopefully” be a full service schedule, according to Gov. Cuomo.
Subway service, on the other hand, won’t be back for a while. The Army Corps of Engineers is sending specialists to help the state drain the tunnels, but they don’t even know the extent of the damage yet, and it could be a while — one previous study, which modeled the effect of a “perfect storm” like the one we just experienced, said it could be “21 days to several months.” Which is still shorter than the time between G Trains! Boom! Tip your waiters!
There are also some 4,000 taxis out on the streets. They still won’t take you to Brooklyn.
J.F.K. Airport will be open tomorrow; LaGuardia will not. To be honest, if you’re flying in or out of LaGuardia, it’s your own fault.
The Stock Exchange will be open tomorrow and the Marathon is still planned for Sunday, so 90 percent of New York’s horrible overachievers will be satisfied.
The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade has been canceled, thank God.
That fucking dangling crane: there is, apparently, a “plan” for it, involving another crane being built, to dismantle the first crane. Our recommendation, after the storm as during and before, is to never go north of 14th Street in Manhattan.
For New Jerseyans:
President Obama’s coming! What could be more helpful to storm victims? He’ll arrive on Wednesday to “survey” the damage with Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, who praised the president heavily to a deeply confused Steve Doocy this morning. Obama will bring a friendship bracelet and a five-page letter about his feelings that he will ultimately decide not to give to Christie.
The Turnpike is open south of Exit 14, so you can get to Ikea or whatever.
NJ Transit has suffered “unprecedented damage,” and it’ll be a while before it’s at full capacity. Two tug boats hit a bridge along North Jersey Coast Line, and some tunnels have been flooded.
Millions are still without power. They will get it back, you know, eventually. Jersey City is establishing a curfew on businesses without power, apparently to prevent long lines? This seems counterintuitive, but what do I know about running Jersey City.
New Brunswick, Atlantic City, and Warren County are all under boil water advisories.
Seven inmates escaped a Newark halfway house during the storm. Keep an eye out for inmates.
For Connecticutians:
As elsewhere, you may be a while without power. It’s going to take two days to even figure out the extent of the damage, and then an unknown amount of time following that. The good news is, all substations are back in working order.
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Gawker.com: Everything You Need...Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath
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by:
http://updates.gawker.com/post/34665014720/everything-you-need-to-know-in-hurricane-sandys
Hurricane Sandy: Tanker in the Street NY
Thoughts and Prayers to all those effected by this storm.
Love and Light
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Zombie Cocktail Recipe
1/2 oz rum
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz apricot brandy
1 tsp sugar
2 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice
Blend all ingredients with ice except Bacardi 151 proof rum. Pour into a collins glass. 151 proof rum on top. Garnish with a fruit slice, sprig of mint and a cherry!!
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz apricot brandy
1 tsp sugar
2 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice
Blend all ingredients with ice except Bacardi 151 proof rum. Pour into a collins glass. 151 proof rum on top. Garnish with a fruit slice, sprig of mint and a cherry!!
For much of the world’s Northern Hemisphere, October 29, 2012 is the night of the full Hunter’s Moon. Watch it rise in the east as the sun goes down. Like any full moon, the Hunter’s Moon will shine all night long. It’ll soar highest in the sky around midnight on October 29 and will set in the west the following sunrise. Officially, the Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon, which is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. This year, the Harvest Moon came in late September. That’s why this moon in late October bears the name Hunter’s Moon. Generally speaking, we can say the moon stays full all through the night tonight. But to astronomers, the moon turns full at a well-defined instant, or when it’s most opposite the sun for the month. That happens today at 19:49 Universal Time (or 2:49 p.m. Central Daylight Time in North America)
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Diablo's Details
Party goers not noticing all the hard work put in to your decorating? Watch them explore the party details by creating questions that deal with your spooky surroundings.
Handout questions like "How many creepy critters are in the room?" and "How many items in the room have been used in Horror films?" Be imaginative!!!
Handout simple instructions and let them know to play at will. Bonus!!: The first person to correctly complete the game wins!!! Leave pad and pens out for those that want to participate.
Rules
1. You may play alone or partner up with someone.(sharing the prize of course)
2. Whenever you like inspect the selected spooky surrounding for ghouls and answers.
3. Hand in a completed sheet. Corrections are allowed as long as a perfect score sheet has not already been announced.
4. The ghoul or partnered ghouls with the most correct answers first wins!!!
Handout questions like "How many creepy critters are in the room?" and "How many items in the room have been used in Horror films?" Be imaginative!!!
Handout simple instructions and let them know to play at will. Bonus!!: The first person to correctly complete the game wins!!! Leave pad and pens out for those that want to participate.
Rules
1. You may play alone or partner up with someone.(sharing the prize of course)
2. Whenever you like inspect the selected spooky surrounding for ghouls and answers.
3. Hand in a completed sheet. Corrections are allowed as long as a perfect score sheet has not already been announced.
4. The ghoul or partnered ghouls with the most correct answers first wins!!!
Facebook page
There is also a facebook page with lots of stuff going on. I love visitors!!!
Please like my page.
https://www.facebook.com/TheAmberCrystalShop?ref=hl
Please like my page.
https://www.facebook.com/TheAmberCrystalShop?ref=hl
Samhain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the Celtic holiday. For other meanings, see Samhain (disambiguation)Samhain
Also called Samhuinn (Scottish Gaelic)
Sauin (Manx Gaelic)
Observed by Historically: Gaels
Today: Irish people, Scottish people, Manx people, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans
Type Cultural,
Pagan (Celtic polytheism, Celtic Neopaganism, Wicca)
Significance End of the harvest season, beginning of winter
Date Sunset 31 October – sunset 1 November (N. Hemisphere)
Sunset 30 April – sunset 1 May (S. Hemisphere)
Celebrations Bonfires, guising, divination, apple bobbing, feasting
Related to Halloween, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Kalan Gwav, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day
Samhain ( /ˈsɑːwɪn/, /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/, or /ˈsaʊn/),[1]—sometimes Anglicized as Sawin, Sowin, or similar—is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. Most commonly it is held on 31 October–1 November, or halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh it makes up the four Gaelic seasonal festivals. It was observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Kindred festivals were 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).
Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. In much of the Gaelic world, bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them, as at Beltane. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[2] Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings, to come into our world. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. It has thus been likened to a festival of the dead. People also took steps to protect themselves from harmful spirits, which is thought to have led to the custom of guising. Divination was also done at Samhain.
It was popularized as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer.[3] It has been linked with All Saints' Day (and later All Souls' Day) since the 9th century, when the date of that holiday was shifted to 1 November. Both have strongly influenced the secular customs of Halloween.[4]
Samhain is still celebrated as a cultural festival by some (though it has mostly been replaced by Halloween) and, since the 20th century, has been celebrated as a religious festival by Celtic neopagans and Wiccans.[5] Neopagans in the southern hemisphere often celebrate Samhain at the other end of the year (~31 April–1 May).Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
1.1 Coligny calendar
2 History
2.1 In Irish mythology
2.2 Historic Samhain customs
2.3 Celtic Revival
3 Related festivals
3.1 All Saints' Day
4 Neopaganism
4.1 Celtic Reconstructionism
4.2 Wicca
5 See also
6 References
7 Secondary sources
8 Further reading
9 External links
[edit]
Etymology
In Modern Irish the name is Samhain [ˈsˠaunʲ], in Scottish Gaelic Samhainn/Samhuinn [ˈsaũ.iɲ], and in Manx Gaelic Sauin. These are also the names of November in each language, shortened from Mí na Samhna (Irish), Mì na Samhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Mee Houney (Manx). The night of 31 October (Halloween) is Oíche Shamhna (Irish), Oidhche Shamhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Oie Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain night". 1 November, or the whole festival, may be called Lá Shamhna (Irish), Là Shamhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Laa Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain day".
These names all come from the Old Irish samain, samuin or samfuin [ˈsaṽɨnʲ] all referring to 1 November (latha na samna: 'samhain day'), and the festival and royal assembly held on that date in medieval Ireland (oenaig na samna: 'samhain assembly'). Its meaning is glossed as 'summer's end', and the frequent spelling with f suggests analysis by popular etymology as sam ('summer') and fuin ('end'). The Old Irish sam is from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *semo-; cognates include Welsh haf, Breton hañv, English summer and Old Norse sumar, all meaning 'summer', and the Sanskrit sáma ('season').[6][7]
In 1907, Whitley Stokes suggested an etymology from Proto-Celtic *samani ('assembly'), cognate to Sanskrit sámana, and Gothic samana.[8] J. Vendryes concludes that samain is unrelated to *semo- ('summer'), remarking that the Celtic 'end of summer' was in July, not November, as evidenced by Welsh gorffennaf ('July').[9] We would therefore be dealing with an Insular Celtic word for 'assembly', *samani or *samoni, and a word for 'summer', saminos (from *samo-: 'summer') alongside samrad, *samo-roto-.
Samonios on the Coligny calendar
[edit]
Coligny calendar
Further information: Celtic calendar
The Gaulish month name SAMON[IOS] on the Coligny calendar is likely related to the words Samhain and summer.[10] A festival of some kind may have been held during the 'three nights of Samonios' (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]). The Gaulish calendar seems to have split the year into two halves: the first beginning with the month SAMON[IOS] and the second beginning with the month GIAMONIOS, which is related to the word for winter, PIE *g'hei-men- (Latin hiems, Latvian ziema, Lithuanian žiema, Slavic zima, Greek kheimon, Hittite gimmanza), cf. Old Irish gem-adaig ('winter's night'). The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by festivals .
[edit]
History
Samain or Samuin was the name of the feis or festival marking the beginning of winter in Gaelic Ireland. It is attested in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, from the 10th century onward. It was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (~1 November), Imbolc (~1 February), Beltane (~1 May) and Lughnasadh (~1 August). Samhain and Beltane, at the witherward side of the year from each other, are thought to have been the most important. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion that 1 May and 1 November are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen. It is at the beginning of summer that cattle is driven to the upland summer pastures and the beginning of winter that they are led back. Thus, Frazer suggests that halving the year at 1 May and 1 November dates from a time when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent on their herds.[11] In medieval Ireland the festival marked the end of the season for trade and warfare and was an ideal date for tribal gatherings. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales.[12]
[edit]
In Irish mythology
Cú Chulainn going into battle in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, which was said to have begun at Samhain
Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but the tales were eventually written down by Christian monks in the Middle Ages, who are thought to have Christianized many of them. According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Beltane) was a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for fairies and the dead to communicate with us; but while Beltane was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead".[13] The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that the sídhe (fairy mounds or portals to the fairy world) "were always open at Samhain".[14] Like Beltane, Lughnasadh and Imbolc, Samhain also involved great feasts.[15] Mythology suggests that drinking alcohol was part of the feast, and it is noteworthy that every tale that features drunkenness is said to take place at Samhain.[16]
Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprized the Ulstermen.[17] The Second Battle of Maighe Tuireadh also begins on Samhain.[18] The Morrígan (Morríghan) and The Dagda (Daghdha) meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann.
According to the Dindsenchas and Annals of the Four Masters, Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with the god Crom Cruach. King Tigernmas (Tighearnmhas) was said to have made offerings to Crom Cruach each Samhain, sacrificing a first-born child by smashing their head against a stone idol of the god.[19] The Four Masters says that Tigernmas, with "three fourths of the men of Ireland about him" died while worshiping Crom Cruach at Magh Slécht on Samhain.[20] Irish kings Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae both die a threefold death on Samhain, which may be linked to human sacrifice.[21]
The Ulster Cycle contains many references to Samhain. In the 10th-century Tochmarc Emire (the Wooing of Emer), Samhain is the first of the four "quarter days" of the year mentioned by the heroine Emer.[12] The 12th century tales Mesca Ulad and Serglige Con Culainn begin at Samhain. In Serglige Con Culainn, it is said that the festival of the Ulaidh at Samhain lasted a week: Samhain itself, and the three days before and after. They would gather on the Plain of Muirthemni where there would be meetings, games, and feasting.[12] In Aislinge Óengusa (the Dream of Óengus) it is when he and his bride-to-be switch from bird to human form, and in Tochmarc Étaíne (the Wooing of Étaín) is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of Brú na Bóinne.[21] In Echtra Neraí (the Adventure of Nera),[22] one Nera from Connacht undergoes a test of bravery on Samhain put forth by King Ailill. The prize is the king's own gold-hilted sword. To win it, a man must leave the warmth and safety of Ailill’s hall and make their way through the night to a gallows where two prisoners had been hanged the day before, tie a twig around one man's ankle, and return. Others had been thwarted by the demons and spirits that harried them as they attempted the task, quickly coming back to Ailill's hall in shame. However, Nera fulfills the task and infiltrates the fairy mound where he remains trapped until next Samhain. Taking etymology into consideration, it is interesting to note that the word for summer in the Echtra Nerai is samraid.
The other cycles feature Samhain as well. The 14th century Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig (the Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig) tells how Mongfind (Mongfhionn) tried to kill her own brother Crimthann (the King of Munster) to make sure her son Brian succeeded to the throne. Mongfind offered Crimthann a poisoned drink at the Samhain feast, but he dared her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she died on the eve of Samhain, after which the festival came to be known as Mongfind's or Mongfhionn's Feast, "wherefore women and the rabble make petitions to her on samain-eve."[23]
In the aforesaid Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, the young Fionn Mac Cumhaill visits Tara where Aillen the Burner, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, puts everyone to sleep at Samhain and burns the place. However, Fionn is able to stay awake and slays Aillen, and is made the head of the fianna.
Oweynagat ('cave of the cats'), one of the many 'gateways to the Otherword' from whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain
Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. A host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from Oweynagat ("cave of the cats"), near Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, each Samhain.[24] The Hill of Ward (or Tlachta) in County Meath is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire;[16] the Iron Age ringfort is said to have been where the goddess or druid Tlachta died, giving birth to triplets that resulted from rape.
In The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996), Ronald Hutton writes: "No doubt there were [pagan] religious observances as well, but none of the tales ever portrays any". The only historic reference to religious rites is in the work of the "thoroughly unreliable" Geoffrey Keating (died 1644), who says that the druids of Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. However, his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that religious rites aren't mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers didn't know what they had been.[12]
The idea that, in Old Irish literature, Samhain is particularly associated with the supernatural is due to Jeffrey Gantz and others. Hutton criticizes this as unfounded; he argues that the gatherings of royalty and warriors on Samhain are simply an ideal setting for such tales in the same way that many Arthurian tales of are set at courtly gatherings at Christmas or Pentecost.[25]
[edit]
Historic Samhain customs
Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the last harvest and beginning of winter.[16] 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.[16] It was also the time to choose which animals would need to be slaughtered for the people to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock[2][26] because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible.
Bonfires were a big part of the festival in many areas (pictured is a Beltane bonfire in Scotland)
As with the other three Gaelic seasonal festivals, there is evidence that bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain.[16] However, Ronald Hutton says that this only seems to have been common along Scotland's Highland Line, on the Isle of Man, in north and mid Wales, and in parts of Ulster heavily settled by Scots.[27] In Scotland, these bonfires were called samhnagan, and they were usually made from flammable materials like ferns, tar-barrels, and anything else that would burn.[28] In the late 18th century, John Ramsay of Ochtertyre wrote that, in that part of Scotland, a ring of stones was laid round the fire to represent each person. Everyone then ran round it with a torch, "exulting". In the morning, the stones were examined and if any was mislaid it was said that the person for whom it was set would not live out the year. A similar practise was observed in north Wales[29] and in Brittany.[30] James Frazer says that this may come from "an older custom of actually burning them" (i.e. human sacrifice).[31] In 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". It is likely that the smoke was thought to have protective powers.[29] In 19th century northeast Scotland, people carried a torch of fir wood around their fields to protect them. On South Uist, people did likewise with burning turf.[27] Sometimes, two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people—sometimes with their livestock—would walk between them as a ritual of purification. The bones of slaughtered cattle were said to have been cast upon bonfires. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the main unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. In some parts, people doused their hearth fires on Samhain night. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the communal bonfire, thus bonding the families of the village together.[2][26] In the 17th century, Geoffrey Keating wrote that the druids of ancient Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. From this, every bonfire in the land was lit, and from thence every home in the land relit their hearth, which had been doused that night. However, his source is unknown, and Ronald Hutton supposes that Keating had mistaken a Beltane custom for a Samhain one.[12]
An Irish turnip lantern from the early 20th century at the Museum of Country Life
As noted earlier, beings and souls from the Otherworld were said to come into our world at Samhain. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place at the Samhain feast for the souls of dead kinfolk and to tell tales of one's forebears.[2][26] However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a murdered person could return to wreak revenge.[32] Fairies were thought to steal humans on Samhain and fairy mounds were to be avoided. People took steps to allay or ward-off these harmful spirits and fairies. 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 the fairies at bay.[16] Offerings of food were left at the door for the fairies to ensure their favor in the coming year.[33] Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved into them, were common at Samhain in the 19th century in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.[34] The purpose of these lanterns may have been threefold. They may have been used to light one's way while outside on Samhain night; to represent the spirits and otherworldly beings; and/or to protect oneself and one's home from them.[35] Bettina Arnold writes that they were sometimes set on windowsills to keep them out of one's home.[36] However, others suggest that they originated with All Saints/All Souls and that they represented Christian souls in purgatory.[37]
Wearing costumes and masks (or 'guising') may have been another way to befuddle, ward-off or represent the harmful spirits and fairies. Guising or mumming was common at winter festivals in general, but was "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad".[38] Before the 20th century, guising at Samhain was done in parts of Ireland, Mann, the Scottish Highlands and islands, and Wales.[38] In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.[38] On Samhain in parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century there was a Láir Bhán (white mare) procession. Someone covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull (representing the Láir Bhán) would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from house to house. At each, they recited verses and those inside were expected to donate food and other gifts. The greater the donation, the greater the blessings that would be bestowed on them by the 'Muck Olla'. This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales. Some have linked this custom with pagan goddesses of sovereignty, who were often associated with white horses.[39] In Scotland, young men would dress in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.[28][36] This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th.[40] 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.[38] Guising and pranks at All Saints isn't thought to have reached England until the 20th century, though mumming had been done at other festivals.[38] At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, which popularized Halloween in North America, Halloween in Ireland and Scotland had a strong tradition of guising and pranks.[41] Trick-or-treating may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires and/or offerings for the spirits and fairies. Alternatively, it may have come from the English All Saints/All Souls custom of collecting soul cakes.
Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times,[16] and it has survived in some rural areas.[42] The most common uses were to find out the identity of one's future spouse, the location of one's future home, and how many children one might have. Seasonal foods such as apples and nuts were often eaten in these rituals. Apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name.[43] Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their behavior interpreted - if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Children would also chase crows and divine some of these things from the number of birds or the direction they flew.[2][26][28]
A Samhain custom thought to be a survival of a pagan ritual was observed on Iona until the late 18th century and on Lewis until the early 19th. On 31 October, the locals 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' (anglicized as 'Shoney')—likely an old pagan god—to bestow blessings on them.[27]
[edit]
Celtic Revival
During the late 19th and early 20th century Celtic Revival, there was an upswell of interest in Samhain and the other Celtic festivals. Sir John Rhys put forth that it had been the "Celtic New Year". He inferred it from contemporary folklore in Ireland and Wales, which he felt was "full of Hallowe'en customs associated with new beginnings". He visited Mann and found that the Manx sometimes called 31 October "New Year's Night" or Hog-unnaa. The Tochmarc Emire, written in the Middle Ages, reckoned the year around the four festivals at the beginning of the seasons, and put Samhain at the beginning of those. However, Hutton says that the evidence for it being the Celtic or Gaelic New Year's Day is flimsy.[44] Rhys's theory was popularized by Sir James George Frazer, though at times he did acknowledge that the evidence is inconclusive. Frazer also put forth that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic festival of the dead and that it had been Christianized as All Saints and All Souls.[44] Since then, Samhain has been popularly seen as the Celtic New Year and an ancient festival of the dead. The calendar of the Celtic League, for example, begins and ends at Samhain.[45]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
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This article is about the Celtic holiday. For other meanings, see Samhain (disambiguation)Samhain
Also called Samhuinn (Scottish Gaelic)
Sauin (Manx Gaelic)
Observed by Historically: Gaels
Today: Irish people, Scottish people, Manx people, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans
Type Cultural,
Pagan (Celtic polytheism, Celtic Neopaganism, Wicca)
Significance End of the harvest season, beginning of winter
Date Sunset 31 October – sunset 1 November (N. Hemisphere)
Sunset 30 April – sunset 1 May (S. Hemisphere)
Celebrations Bonfires, guising, divination, apple bobbing, feasting
Related to Halloween, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Kalan Gwav, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day
Samhain ( /ˈsɑːwɪn/, /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/, or /ˈsaʊn/),[1]—sometimes Anglicized as Sawin, Sowin, or similar—is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. Most commonly it is held on 31 October–1 November, or halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh it makes up the four Gaelic seasonal festivals. It was observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Kindred festivals were 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).
Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. In much of the Gaelic world, bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them, as at Beltane. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[2] Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings, to come into our world. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. It has thus been likened to a festival of the dead. People also took steps to protect themselves from harmful spirits, which is thought to have led to the custom of guising. Divination was also done at Samhain.
It was popularized as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer.[3] It has been linked with All Saints' Day (and later All Souls' Day) since the 9th century, when the date of that holiday was shifted to 1 November. Both have strongly influenced the secular customs of Halloween.[4]
Samhain is still celebrated as a cultural festival by some (though it has mostly been replaced by Halloween) and, since the 20th century, has been celebrated as a religious festival by Celtic neopagans and Wiccans.[5] Neopagans in the southern hemisphere often celebrate Samhain at the other end of the year (~31 April–1 May).Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
1.1 Coligny calendar
2 History
2.1 In Irish mythology
2.2 Historic Samhain customs
2.3 Celtic Revival
3 Related festivals
3.1 All Saints' Day
4 Neopaganism
4.1 Celtic Reconstructionism
4.2 Wicca
5 See also
6 References
7 Secondary sources
8 Further reading
9 External links
[edit]
Etymology
In Modern Irish the name is Samhain [ˈsˠaunʲ], in Scottish Gaelic Samhainn/Samhuinn [ˈsaũ.iɲ], and in Manx Gaelic Sauin. These are also the names of November in each language, shortened from Mí na Samhna (Irish), Mì na Samhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Mee Houney (Manx). The night of 31 October (Halloween) is Oíche Shamhna (Irish), Oidhche Shamhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Oie Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain night". 1 November, or the whole festival, may be called Lá Shamhna (Irish), Là Shamhna (Scottish Gaelic) and Laa Houney (Manx), all meaning "Samhain day".
These names all come from the Old Irish samain, samuin or samfuin [ˈsaṽɨnʲ] all referring to 1 November (latha na samna: 'samhain day'), and the festival and royal assembly held on that date in medieval Ireland (oenaig na samna: 'samhain assembly'). Its meaning is glossed as 'summer's end', and the frequent spelling with f suggests analysis by popular etymology as sam ('summer') and fuin ('end'). The Old Irish sam is from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *semo-; cognates include Welsh haf, Breton hañv, English summer and Old Norse sumar, all meaning 'summer', and the Sanskrit sáma ('season').[6][7]
In 1907, Whitley Stokes suggested an etymology from Proto-Celtic *samani ('assembly'), cognate to Sanskrit sámana, and Gothic samana.[8] J. Vendryes concludes that samain is unrelated to *semo- ('summer'), remarking that the Celtic 'end of summer' was in July, not November, as evidenced by Welsh gorffennaf ('July').[9] We would therefore be dealing with an Insular Celtic word for 'assembly', *samani or *samoni, and a word for 'summer', saminos (from *samo-: 'summer') alongside samrad, *samo-roto-.
Samonios on the Coligny calendar
[edit]
Coligny calendar
Further information: Celtic calendar
The Gaulish month name SAMON[IOS] on the Coligny calendar is likely related to the words Samhain and summer.[10] A festival of some kind may have been held during the 'three nights of Samonios' (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]). The Gaulish calendar seems to have split the year into two halves: the first beginning with the month SAMON[IOS] and the second beginning with the month GIAMONIOS, which is related to the word for winter, PIE *g'hei-men- (Latin hiems, Latvian ziema, Lithuanian žiema, Slavic zima, Greek kheimon, Hittite gimmanza), cf. Old Irish gem-adaig ('winter's night'). The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by festivals .
[edit]
History
Samain or Samuin was the name of the feis or festival marking the beginning of winter in Gaelic Ireland. It is attested in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, from the 10th century onward. It was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (~1 November), Imbolc (~1 February), Beltane (~1 May) and Lughnasadh (~1 August). Samhain and Beltane, at the witherward side of the year from each other, are thought to have been the most important. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion that 1 May and 1 November are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen. It is at the beginning of summer that cattle is driven to the upland summer pastures and the beginning of winter that they are led back. Thus, Frazer suggests that halving the year at 1 May and 1 November dates from a time when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent on their herds.[11] In medieval Ireland the festival marked the end of the season for trade and warfare and was an ideal date for tribal gatherings. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales.[12]
[edit]
In Irish mythology
Cú Chulainn going into battle in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, which was said to have begun at Samhain
Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but the tales were eventually written down by Christian monks in the Middle Ages, who are thought to have Christianized many of them. According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Beltane) was a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for fairies and the dead to communicate with us; but while Beltane was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead".[13] The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that the sídhe (fairy mounds or portals to the fairy world) "were always open at Samhain".[14] Like Beltane, Lughnasadh and Imbolc, Samhain also involved great feasts.[15] Mythology suggests that drinking alcohol was part of the feast, and it is noteworthy that every tale that features drunkenness is said to take place at Samhain.[16]
Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprized the Ulstermen.[17] The Second Battle of Maighe Tuireadh also begins on Samhain.[18] The Morrígan (Morríghan) and The Dagda (Daghdha) meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann.
According to the Dindsenchas and Annals of the Four Masters, Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with the god Crom Cruach. King Tigernmas (Tighearnmhas) was said to have made offerings to Crom Cruach each Samhain, sacrificing a first-born child by smashing their head against a stone idol of the god.[19] The Four Masters says that Tigernmas, with "three fourths of the men of Ireland about him" died while worshiping Crom Cruach at Magh Slécht on Samhain.[20] Irish kings Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae both die a threefold death on Samhain, which may be linked to human sacrifice.[21]
The Ulster Cycle contains many references to Samhain. In the 10th-century Tochmarc Emire (the Wooing of Emer), Samhain is the first of the four "quarter days" of the year mentioned by the heroine Emer.[12] The 12th century tales Mesca Ulad and Serglige Con Culainn begin at Samhain. In Serglige Con Culainn, it is said that the festival of the Ulaidh at Samhain lasted a week: Samhain itself, and the three days before and after. They would gather on the Plain of Muirthemni where there would be meetings, games, and feasting.[12] In Aislinge Óengusa (the Dream of Óengus) it is when he and his bride-to-be switch from bird to human form, and in Tochmarc Étaíne (the Wooing of Étaín) is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of Brú na Bóinne.[21] In Echtra Neraí (the Adventure of Nera),[22] one Nera from Connacht undergoes a test of bravery on Samhain put forth by King Ailill. The prize is the king's own gold-hilted sword. To win it, a man must leave the warmth and safety of Ailill’s hall and make their way through the night to a gallows where two prisoners had been hanged the day before, tie a twig around one man's ankle, and return. Others had been thwarted by the demons and spirits that harried them as they attempted the task, quickly coming back to Ailill's hall in shame. However, Nera fulfills the task and infiltrates the fairy mound where he remains trapped until next Samhain. Taking etymology into consideration, it is interesting to note that the word for summer in the Echtra Nerai is samraid.
The other cycles feature Samhain as well. The 14th century Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig (the Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig) tells how Mongfind (Mongfhionn) tried to kill her own brother Crimthann (the King of Munster) to make sure her son Brian succeeded to the throne. Mongfind offered Crimthann a poisoned drink at the Samhain feast, but he dared her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she died on the eve of Samhain, after which the festival came to be known as Mongfind's or Mongfhionn's Feast, "wherefore women and the rabble make petitions to her on samain-eve."[23]
In the aforesaid Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, the young Fionn Mac Cumhaill visits Tara where Aillen the Burner, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, puts everyone to sleep at Samhain and burns the place. However, Fionn is able to stay awake and slays Aillen, and is made the head of the fianna.
Oweynagat ('cave of the cats'), one of the many 'gateways to the Otherword' from whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain
Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. A host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from Oweynagat ("cave of the cats"), near Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, each Samhain.[24] The Hill of Ward (or Tlachta) in County Meath is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire;[16] the Iron Age ringfort is said to have been where the goddess or druid Tlachta died, giving birth to triplets that resulted from rape.
In The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996), Ronald Hutton writes: "No doubt there were [pagan] religious observances as well, but none of the tales ever portrays any". The only historic reference to religious rites is in the work of the "thoroughly unreliable" Geoffrey Keating (died 1644), who says that the druids of Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. However, his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that religious rites aren't mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers didn't know what they had been.[12]
The idea that, in Old Irish literature, Samhain is particularly associated with the supernatural is due to Jeffrey Gantz and others. Hutton criticizes this as unfounded; he argues that the gatherings of royalty and warriors on Samhain are simply an ideal setting for such tales in the same way that many Arthurian tales of are set at courtly gatherings at Christmas or Pentecost.[25]
[edit]
Historic Samhain customs
Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the last harvest and beginning of winter.[16] 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.[16] It was also the time to choose which animals would need to be slaughtered for the people to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock[2][26] because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible.
Bonfires were a big part of the festival in many areas (pictured is a Beltane bonfire in Scotland)
As with the other three Gaelic seasonal festivals, there is evidence that bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain.[16] However, Ronald Hutton says that this only seems to have been common along Scotland's Highland Line, on the Isle of Man, in north and mid Wales, and in parts of Ulster heavily settled by Scots.[27] In Scotland, these bonfires were called samhnagan, and they were usually made from flammable materials like ferns, tar-barrels, and anything else that would burn.[28] In the late 18th century, John Ramsay of Ochtertyre wrote that, in that part of Scotland, a ring of stones was laid round the fire to represent each person. Everyone then ran round it with a torch, "exulting". In the morning, the stones were examined and if any was mislaid it was said that the person for whom it was set would not live out the year. A similar practise was observed in north Wales[29] and in Brittany.[30] James Frazer says that this may come from "an older custom of actually burning them" (i.e. human sacrifice).[31] In 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". It is likely that the smoke was thought to have protective powers.[29] In 19th century northeast Scotland, people carried a torch of fir wood around their fields to protect them. On South Uist, people did likewise with burning turf.[27] Sometimes, two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people—sometimes with their livestock—would walk between them as a ritual of purification. The bones of slaughtered cattle were said to have been cast upon bonfires. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the main unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. In some parts, people doused their hearth fires on Samhain night. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the communal bonfire, thus bonding the families of the village together.[2][26] In the 17th century, Geoffrey Keating wrote that the druids of ancient Ireland would gather on Tlachta on Samhain night to kindle a sacred fire. From this, every bonfire in the land was lit, and from thence every home in the land relit their hearth, which had been doused that night. However, his source is unknown, and Ronald Hutton supposes that Keating had mistaken a Beltane custom for a Samhain one.[12]
An Irish turnip lantern from the early 20th century at the Museum of Country Life
As noted earlier, beings and souls from the Otherworld were said to come into our world at Samhain. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place at the Samhain feast for the souls of dead kinfolk and to tell tales of one's forebears.[2][26] However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a murdered person could return to wreak revenge.[32] Fairies were thought to steal humans on Samhain and fairy mounds were to be avoided. People took steps to allay or ward-off these harmful spirits and fairies. 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 the fairies at bay.[16] Offerings of food were left at the door for the fairies to ensure their favor in the coming year.[33] Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved into them, were common at Samhain in the 19th century in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.[34] The purpose of these lanterns may have been threefold. They may have been used to light one's way while outside on Samhain night; to represent the spirits and otherworldly beings; and/or to protect oneself and one's home from them.[35] Bettina Arnold writes that they were sometimes set on windowsills to keep them out of one's home.[36] However, others suggest that they originated with All Saints/All Souls and that they represented Christian souls in purgatory.[37]
Wearing costumes and masks (or 'guising') may have been another way to befuddle, ward-off or represent the harmful spirits and fairies. Guising or mumming was common at winter festivals in general, but was "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad".[38] Before the 20th century, guising at Samhain was done in parts of Ireland, Mann, the Scottish Highlands and islands, and Wales.[38] In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.[38] On Samhain in parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century there was a Láir Bhán (white mare) procession. Someone covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull (representing the Láir Bhán) would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from house to house. At each, they recited verses and those inside were expected to donate food and other gifts. The greater the donation, the greater the blessings that would be bestowed on them by the 'Muck Olla'. This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales. Some have linked this custom with pagan goddesses of sovereignty, who were often associated with white horses.[39] In Scotland, young men would dress in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.[28][36] This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th.[40] 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.[38] Guising and pranks at All Saints isn't thought to have reached England until the 20th century, though mumming had been done at other festivals.[38] At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, which popularized Halloween in North America, Halloween in Ireland and Scotland had a strong tradition of guising and pranks.[41] Trick-or-treating may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires and/or offerings for the spirits and fairies. Alternatively, it may have come from the English All Saints/All Souls custom of collecting soul cakes.
Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times,[16] and it has survived in some rural areas.[42] The most common uses were to find out the identity of one's future spouse, the location of one's future home, and how many children one might have. Seasonal foods such as apples and nuts were often eaten in these rituals. Apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name.[43] Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their behavior interpreted - if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Children would also chase crows and divine some of these things from the number of birds or the direction they flew.[2][26][28]
A Samhain custom thought to be a survival of a pagan ritual was observed on Iona until the late 18th century and on Lewis until the early 19th. On 31 October, the locals 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' (anglicized as 'Shoney')—likely an old pagan god—to bestow blessings on them.[27]
[edit]
Celtic Revival
During the late 19th and early 20th century Celtic Revival, there was an upswell of interest in Samhain and the other Celtic festivals. Sir John Rhys put forth that it had been the "Celtic New Year". He inferred it from contemporary folklore in Ireland and Wales, which he felt was "full of Hallowe'en customs associated with new beginnings". He visited Mann and found that the Manx sometimes called 31 October "New Year's Night" or Hog-unnaa. The Tochmarc Emire, written in the Middle Ages, reckoned the year around the four festivals at the beginning of the seasons, and put Samhain at the beginning of those. However, Hutton says that the evidence for it being the Celtic or Gaelic New Year's Day is flimsy.[44] Rhys's theory was popularized by Sir James George Frazer, though at times he did acknowledge that the evidence is inconclusive. Frazer also put forth that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic festival of the dead and that it had been Christianized as All Saints and All Souls.[44] Since then, Samhain has been popularly seen as the Celtic New Year and an ancient festival of the dead. The calendar of the Celtic League, for example, begins and ends at Samhain.[45]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
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