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Apotropaic magic (from Greek apotrepein "to ward off" from apo- "away" and trepein "to turn") is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye.

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A child dressed as an animated skeleton trick-or-treating in Redford, Michigan, on October 31, 1979

Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system.

The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. There are many accounts from 19th-century Scotland and Ireland of people going house to house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed. In North America, the earliest known occurrence of guising is from 1911, when children were recorded as having done this in the province of Ontario, Canada. The interjection "trick or treat!" was then first recorded in the same Canadian province of Ontario in 1917. While going house to house in costume has long been popular among the Scots and Irish, it is only in the 2000s that saying "trick or treat" has become common in Scotland and Ireland. Prior to this, children in Ireland would commonly say " help the Halloween party" at the doors of homeowners.

The activity is prevalent in the Anglospheric countries of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada. It also has extended into Mexico. In northwestern and central Mexico, the practice is called calaverita (Spanish diminutive for calavera, "skull" in English), and instead of "trick or treat", the children ask, " ¿Me da mi calaverita?" ("[Can you] give me my little skull?"), where a calaverita is a small skull made of sugar or chocolate.

Traditions similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house refused. This tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus.

Since the Middle Ages, a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday has existed in parts of Britain and Ireland. It involved going door-to-door in costume, performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick-or-treating on Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time and needed to be appeased.

"A soul-cake, a soul-cake, have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake." - a popular English souling rhyme[10]

It may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, , held on 31 October-1 November, to mark the beginning of winter, in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. In the 9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints' Day. Among Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the ), and the souls of the dead, came into our world and were appeased with offerings of food and drink. Similar beliefs and customs were found in other parts of Europe. It is suggested that trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the spirits, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. S. V. Peddle suggests they "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune". Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them.

Starting as far back as the 15th century, among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2). People would visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls. Later, people went "from parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this: 'Soul, souls, for a soul-cake; Pray you good mistress, a soul-cake!'" They typically asked for "mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake". It was known as 'Souling' and was recorded in parts of Britain, Flanders, southern Germany, and Austria. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas". In western England, mostly in the counties bordering Wales, souling was common. According to one 19th century English writer "parties of children, dressed up in fantastic costume [...] went round to the farm houses and cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as "soal-cakes"), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give them".

Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland. Halloween masks are called 'false faces' in Ireland and Scotland.

In Scotland and Ireland, "guising" - children going from door to door in disguise - is secular, and a gift in the form of food, coins or "apples or nuts for the Halloween party" (and in more recent times, chocolate) is given out to the children. The tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children. In the West Mid Scots dialect, guising is known as "galoshans". In Scotland, youths went house to house in white with masked, painted or blackened faces, reciting rhymes and often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.

Guising has been recorded in Scotland since the 16th century, often at New Year. The Kirk Session records of Elgin name men and women who danced at New Year 1623. Six men, described as guisers or "gwysseris" performed a sword dance wearing masks and visors covering their faces in the churchyard and in the courtyard of a house. They were each fined 40 shillings.

A record of guising at Halloween in Scotland in 1895 describes masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money. In Ireland, children in costumes would commonly say " Help the Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners.

Halloween masks are referred to as "false faces" in Ireland and Scotland. A writer using Scots language recorded guisers in Ayr, Scotland in 1890:

I had mind it was Halloween . . . the wee callans (boys) were at it already, rinning aboot wi' their fause-faces (false faces) on and their bits o' turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun (hand).

Guising also involved going to wealthy homes, and in the 1920s, boys went guising at Halloween up to the affluent Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire. An account of guising in the 1950s in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, records a child receiving 12 shillings and sixpence, having knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and performed. Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1960s, The Guardian journalist Michael Bradley recalls children asking, "Any nuts or apples?". In Scotland and Ireland, the children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform a party trick for the households they go to. This normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a joke or a funny poem which the child has memorised before setting out. While going from door to door in disguise has remained popular among Scots and Irish at Halloween, the North American saying "trick-or-treat" has become common in the 2000s.

Girl in a Halloween costume in 1928 in Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" is first recorded in North America

The earliest known occurrence of the practice of guising at Halloween in North America is from 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported on children going "guising" around the neighborhood.

American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America"; "The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now." Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town with 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish immigrants in 1920. In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Hallowe'en customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".

While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.

The interjection "Trick or treat!"

The interjection "Trick or treat!" - a request for sweets or candy, originally and sometimes still with the implication that anyone who is asked and who does not provide sweets or other treats will be subjected to a prank or practical joke - seems to have arisen in central Canada, before spreading into the northern and western United States in the 1930s and across the rest of the United States through the 1940s and early 1950s. Initially it was often found in variant forms, such as "tricks or treats," which was used in the earliest known case, a 1917 report in The Sault Daily Star in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario:

Almost everywhere you went last night, particularly in the early part of the evening, you would meet gangs of youngsters out to celebrate. Some of them would have adopted various forms of "camouflage" such as masks, or would appear in long trousers and big hats or with long skirts. But others again didn't. . . . "Tricks or treats" you could hear the gangs call out, and if the householder passed out the "coin" for the "treats" his establishment would be immune from attack until another gang came along that knew not of or had no part in the agreement.

Newspaper clipping of kids trick-or-treating in Beaumont in 1950

As shown by word sleuth Barry Popik, who also found the first use from 1917, variant forms continued, with "trick or a treat" found in Chatsworth, Ontario in 1921, "treat up or tricks" and "treat or tricks" found in Edmonton, Alberta in 1922, and "treat or trick" in Penhold, Alberta in 1924. The now canonical form of "trick or treat" was first seen in 1917 in Chatsworth, only one day after the Sault Ste. Marie use, but "tricks or treats" was still in use in the 1966 television special, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the start of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes, "There are cards which mention the custom [of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them".

Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.

Behavior similar to trick-or-treating was more commonly associated with Thanksgiving from 1870 (shortly after that holiday's formalization) until the 1930s. In New York City, a Thanksgiving ritual known as Ragamuffin Day involved children dressing up as beggars and asking for treats, which later evolved into dressing up in more diverse costumes. Increasing hostility toward the practice in the 1930s eventually led to the begging aspects being dropped, and by the 1950s, the tradition as a whole had ceased.

Almost all pre-1940 uses of the term "trick-or-treat" are from the United States and Canada. Trick-or-treating spread throughout the United States, stalled only by World War II sugar rationing that began in April, 1942 and lasted until June, 1947.

Magazine advertisement in 1962

Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October, 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's Activities, and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948. Trick-or-treating was depicted in the comic strip in 1951. The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat, and Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show. In 1953 UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.

Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from Mischief Night vandalism, there are very few records supporting this. Des Moines, Iowa is the only area known to have a record of trick-or-treating being used to deter crime. Elsewhere, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger. Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read " American Boys Don't Beg." The National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80 percent of adults in the United States planned to give out confectionery to trick-or-treaters, and that 93 percent of children, teenagers, and young adults planned to go trick-or-treating or participating in other Halloween activities.

Despite the concept of trick-or-treating originating in Britain and Ireland in the form of souling and guising, the use of the term "trick or treat" at the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s, with its popularisation in part through the release of the film Guising requires those going door-to-door to perform a song or poem without any jocular threat, and according to one BBC journalist, in the 1980s, "trick or treat" was still often viewed as an exotic and not particularly welcome import, with the BBC referring to it as "the Japanese knotweed of festivals" and "making demands with menaces". In Ireland before the phrase "trick or treat" became common in the 2000s, children would say " Help the Halloween Party". Very often, the phrase "trick or treat" is simply said and the revellers are given sweets, with the choice of a trick or a treat having been discarded.

Two children trick-or-treating on Halloween in Arkansas, United States

Trick-or-treating typically begins at dusk on October 31. Some municipalities choose other dates. Homeowners wishing to participate sometimes decorate their homes with artificial spider webs, plastic skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. Conversely, those who do not wish to participate may turn off outside lights for the evening or lock relevant gates and fences to keep people from coming onto their property.

In most areas where trick-or-treating is practiced, it is considered an activity for children. Some jurisdictions in the United States forbid the activity for anyone over the age of 12. Dressing up is common at all ages; adults will often dress up to accompany their children, and young adults may dress up to go out and ask for gifts for a charity.

Children of the St. Louis, Missouri, area are expected to perform a joke, usually a simple Halloween-themed pun or riddle, before receiving any candy; this "trick" earns the "treat". Children in Des Moines, Iowa also tell jokes or otherwise perform before receiving their treat.

In some parts of Canada, children sometimes say "Halloween apples" instead of "trick or treat". This probably originated when the toffee apple was a popular type of candy. Apple-giving in much of Canada, however, has been taboo since the 1960s when stories (of almost certainly questionable authenticity) appeared of razors hidden inside Halloween apples; parents began to check over their children's fruit for safety before allowing them to eat it. In Quebec, children also go door to door on Halloween. However, in French-speaking neighbourhoods, instead of "Trick or treat", they will simply say "Halloween", though it traditionally used to be " La charité, s'il-vous-plaît" ("Charity, please").

Trunk-or-treat

Trunk-or-treating event held at St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois

Some organizations around the United States and Canada sponsor a " trunk-or-treat" on Halloween night (or, on occasion, a day immediately preceding Halloween, or a few days from it, on a weekend, depending on what is convenient). Trunk-or-treating is done from parked car to parked car in a local parking lot, often at a school or church. The activity makes use of the open trunks of the cars, which display candy, and often games and decorations. Some parents regard trunk-or-treating as a safer alternative to trick-or-treating, while other parents see it as an easier alternative to walking the neighborhood with their children.

This annual event began in the mid-1990s as a "fall festival" for an alternative to trick-or-treating, but became "trunk-or-treat" two decades later. Some have called for more city or community group-sponsored trunk-or-treats, so they can be more inclusive. By 2006 these had become increasingly popular.

In Portugal, children go from house to house on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, carrying pumpkin carved lanterns called coca, asking everyone they see for Pão-por-Deus singing rhymes where they remind people why they are begging, saying "...It is for me and for you, and to give to the deceased who are dead and buried" or "It is to share with your deceased" In the Azores the bread given to the children takes the shape of the top of a skull. The tradition of pão-por-Deus was already recorded in the 15th century. In Galicia, particularly in the island of A Illa de Arousa, a similar tradition exists where children ask for alms (usually bread, sweets, fruits, chestnuts, money or small toys) with the phrase "unha esmoliña polos defuntiños que van alá" ("a little charity for the little deceased who are there").

In Sweden, children dress up as witches and monsters when they go trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) while Danish and Faroese children dress up in various attires and go trick-or-treating on Fastelavn (or the next day, Shrove Monday). In Norway, the practice is quite common among children, who come dressed up to people's doors asking for, mainly, candy. The Easter witch tradition is done on Palm Sunday in Finland ( virvonta).

In parts of Flanders, some parts of the Netherlands, and most areas of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, children go to houses with home-made beet lanterns or with paper lanterns (which can hold a candle or electronic light), singing songs about St. Martin on St. Martin's Day (the 11th of November), in return for treats. Over the last decade, Halloween trick-or-treating has experienced a notable surge in popularity, particularly among children and teenagers in Germany. Austria and the Netherlands have also witnessed a similar trend. The equivalent of 'trick-or-treat' in the German language is 'Süßes oder Saures,' which translates to asking for sweets or threatening something less pleasant, with the direct translation being "sweet or sour".

In Northern Germany and Southern Denmark, children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year's Eve in a tradition called " Rummelpott". Rummelpott has experienced a massive decrease in popularity over recent decades, although some towns and communities are trying to revive it.

UNICEF started a program in 1950 called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in which trick-or-treaters ask people to give money for the organization, usually instead of collecting candy. Participating trick-or-treaters say when they knock at doors "Trick-or-treat for UNICEF!" This program started as an alternative to candy. The organization has long produced disposable collection boxes that state on the back what the money can be used for in developing countries.

In Canada, students from the local high schools, colleges, and universities dress up to collect food donations for the local Food Banks as a form of trick-or-treating. This is sometimes called "Trick-or-Eat".

Borrelli, Christopher. "The rise and fall of trick-or-treating - North Shore". Chicago Tribune.

Kawash, Samira (9 October 2009). "The First Candy Day, 14 October 1916". Candy Professor.

Sweetest Day

"Nation Wide Candy Day," Candy and Ice Cream July 1916, p. 34

"Candy Day," International Confectioner June 1916, p. 39

International Confectioner Nov. 1916, p. 41

Kelley, Ruth Edna (1919). The Book of Hallowe'en. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. ISBN 9781470161958. OCLC 1041627791. Public Domain free download

Snodgrass, M. Benjamin (2010). "The Specter of Sex Offenders on Halloween: Unmasking Cultural, Constitutional, and Criminological Concerns" (PDF). Ohio State Law Journal. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. 71 (2): 417-456.

Truwe, Ben. The Halloween Catalog Collection. Portland, Oregon: Talky Tina Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9703448-5-6

Winick, Stephen. "Research Guides: Halloween & Día de Muertos Resources: Introduction". guides.loc.gov. Library of Congress.

"Ancient Halloween Traditions". Campbell House Museum. 27 October 2016.

"LOC Halloween: Chambers of Mystery Bibliography" (PDF). loc.gov. loc. The Library of Congress' autumn 2017 pop-up exhibit tells the intriguing tale of Halloween and Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) through a dazzling range of treasures from across the collections. LOC Halloween: Chambers of Mystery covers the ancient and mysterious traditions behind these autumn holidays through a rich selection of books and archival special collections. Experience the spooky and solemn celebrations through sound and video recordings, prints and photographs, film scores and sheet music, chapbooks, and movie memorabilia.

"Trick or Treat" ("Trick or Treat for UNICEF"). Web page from etymologist Barry Popik on the history of "trick or treat".

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Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead.

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The roots of Halloween can be traced back to over 2000 years ago, to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain which was celebrated on November 1 in what is now Ireland, United Kingdom and Northern France. Then, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. On the night before Samhain, on October 31, people believed that the dead returned as ghosts, so they would leave food and wine on their doorsteps to ward off roaming spirits, and would wear masks when they left the house so they would be mistaken for fellow ghosts!

Then in the 8th century (701-800 AD), the Roman Catholic church turned Samhain into All Saints Day or All Hallows Day, while the night before became All Hallows Eve - later shortened to Halloween. While trick-and-treating is done on Halloween, so was and - all three of which originated in medieval Britain.

Then, on November 2 - celebrated as All Souls Day, the needy would beg for pastries known as soul cakes, and in return would pray for people's dead relatives (which was known as Souling), for good health, better weather and bounteous harvest. Also, in the medieval Halloween tradition of Guising, young people would dress up in costumes and accept food, wine, money and other offerings in exchange for singing, reciting poetry, or telling of jokes .

In the 19th century, immigrants from Ireland spread the Halloween tradition to the United States, where they revived old traditions associated with the festival. For example, Guising became trick-or-treating, which initially was more in the form of tricks than treats, and involved pranks. It wasn't until later in the 19th century that Halloween became a family-friendly, kid-centred custom that involved giving out treats to young children who came knocking on doors.

1. This tradition is now very popular around the world, and even where the name has changed, the tradition has remained almost the same.

2. At a time, young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple or mirrors.

3. Some of the superstitions associated with Halloween included setting places at the dinner table, leaving treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lighting candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Some people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into cats, while others try not to walk under ladders, avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt.

4. In the United States, more than $2.5 billion is spent on costumes, and more than $6 billion on candy - second only to Christmas.

And that's all there is to Halloween, I bet you didn't know this!
Source: history.com

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Amazing Facts I Bet You Didn't Know About HALLOWEEN!

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The roots of Halloween can be traced back to over 2000 years ago, to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain which was celebrated on November 1 in what is now Ireland, United Kingdom and Northern France. Then, people would light bonfires and wear costumes

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BONFIRES

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SAMHAIN

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Samhain ( SAH-win, SOW-in, Irish: , Scottish Gaelic: ), (Manx: ) or Oíche Shamhna ( EE-hə HOW-nə) is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or " darker half" of the year. It is also the Irish language name for November. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. A similar festival is held by the Brittonic Celtic people, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales.

Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins, and some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland and Britain are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. It is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature, from the 9th century, and is associated with many important events in Irish mythology. The early literature says great gatherings and feasts marked Samhain when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the 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 summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. Special bonfires were lit, which were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers. Like Bealtaine, Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld blurred, making contact with the (the 'spirits' or ' fairies') more likely. Most scholars see them as remnants of pagan gods. At Samhain, they were 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. 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 Frazer suggested it had been the "Celtic New Year", but that is disputed.

In the 9th century, the Western Church endorsed 1 November as the date of All Saints' Day, possibly due to the influence of Alcuin, and 2 November later became All Souls' Day. It is believed that Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' influenced each other and the modern Halloween. Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from Irish and Scottish immigrants. Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs until the 19th century.

Since the later 20th century Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.

In ⟨ Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic the name is Samhain, while the traditional Manx Gaelic name is Sauin. It is usually written with the definite article An tSamhain (Irish), An t-Samhain (Scottish Gaelic), and Yn Tauin (Manx). The amhai⟩ is a pentagraph for the sounds /əu̯/. Older forms of the word include the Scottish Gaelic spellings Samhainn and Samhuinn. The Gaelic names for the month of November are derived from Samhain.

These names all come from the Old and Middle Irish Samain or Samuin , the name for the festival held on 1 November in medieval Ireland, which has been traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *semo- ('summer'). As John T. Koch notes, however, it is unclear why a festival marking the beginning of winter should include the word for 'summer'. Linguist Joseph Vendryes contends that it is unrelated, saying that the Celtic summer ended in August. Linguists Xavier Delamarre and Ranko Matasović derive it from Proto-Celtic * samoni- (< PIE * smHon- 'reunion, assembly'), whose original meaning is best explained as 'assembly, feast of the first month of the year' (cf. Old Irish - samain 'swarm'), perhaps referring to an 'assembly of the living and the dead'.

Samonios on the Coligny calendar

On the Gaulish Coligny calendar, dating from the 2nd century CE, the month name SAMONI is believed related to the word Samhain. However, SAMON[I] also bears strong similarity to the reconstructed Proto-Celtic word *samos, meaning "summer", which parallels the reconstructed word for winter (*gyemos) which is likely cognate with the month appearing six months later on the calendar, GIAMONI. A festival of some kind may have been held the 17th day of Samonios : the "three nights of Samoni today" (Gaulish TRINOX SAMO[ SINDIU = trinoxtion Samoni sindiu). The starting point of the calendar is unclear.

Samain or Samuin was the name of the festival ( feis) marking the beginning of winter in Gaelic Ireland. It is attested in the earliest Old Irish literature, which dates from the 9th century onward. It was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (~1 November), Imbolc (~1 February), Bealtaine (~1 May), and Lughnasa (~1 August). Samhain and Bealtaine, at opposite sides of the year, are thought to have been the most important. Sir James George Frazer wrote in his 1890 book, 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 practising seasonal transhumance. It is at the beginning of summer that cattle are driven to the upland summer pastures, and at the beginning of winter, they are led back. Thus, Frazer suggests the festival has pastoral origins.

Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the times of Samhain and Imbolc. These include the Mound of the Hostages ( Dumha na nGiall) at the Hill of Tara, and Cairn L at Slieve na Calliagh.

The hero Fionn fighting Aillen, who is said to have burned Tara each Samhain

While Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks. The tenth-century tale Tochmarc Emire ('The Wooing of Emer') lists Samhain as the first of the four seasonal festivals of the year. The literature says a peace would be declared, and there were great gatherings where they held meetings, feasted, drank alcohol, and held contests. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales. The tale Echtra Cormaic ('Cormac's Adventure') says that the Feast of Tara was held every seventh Samhain, hosted by the High King of Ireland, during which new laws and duties were ordained; anyone who broke the laws established during this time would be banished.

According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Bealtaine) was a time when the 'doorways' to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to come into our world; while Bealtaine was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead". The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that the (fairy mounds or portals to the Otherworld) "were always open at Samhain". Each year the fire-breather Aillen emerges from the Otherworld and burns down the palace of Tara during the Samhain festival after lulling everyone to sleep with his music. One Samhain, the young Fionn mac Cumhaill, stays awake and slays Aillen with a magical spear, for which he is made leader of the fianna. In a similar tale, one Samhain, the Otherworld being Cúldubh emerges from the burial mound on Slievenamon and snatches a roast pig. Fionn kills Cúldubh with a spear throw as he re-enters the mound. Fionn's thumb is caught between the door and the post as it shuts, and he puts it in his mouth to ease the pain. As his thumb had been inside the Otherworld, Fionn is bestowed with great wisdom. This may refer to gaining knowledge from the ancestors. Acallam na Senórach ('Colloquy of the Elders') tells how three female werewolves emerge from the cave of Cruachan (an Otherworld portal) each Samhain and kill livestock. When Cas Corach plays his harp, they take on human form, and the fianna warrior Caílte then slays them with a spear.

Some tales suggest that offerings or sacrifices were made at Samhain. In the Lebor Gabála Érenn (or 'Book of Invasions'), each Samhain the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn, and their milk to the monstrous Fomorians. The Fomorians seem to represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature; personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought. This tribute paid by Nemed's people may represent a "sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant". According to the later Dindsenchas and the Annals of the Four Masters-which were written by Christian monks-Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with a god or idol called Crom Cruach. The texts claim that a firstborn child would be sacrificed at the stone idol of Crom Cruach in Magh Slécht. They say that King Tigernmas, and three-fourths of his people, died while worshiping Crom Cruach there one Samhain.

The legendary kings Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae each die a threefold death on Samhain, which involves wounding, burning, and drowning, and of which they are forewarned. In the tale Togail Bruidne Dá Derga ('The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel'), king Conaire Mór also meets his death on Samhain after breaking his (prohibitions or taboos). He is warned of his impending doom by three undead horsemen who are messengers of Donn, the god of the dead. The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn tells how each Samhain the men of Ireland went to woo a beautiful maiden who lives in the fairy mound on Brí Éile (Croghan Hill). It says that each year someone would be killed "to mark the occasion", by persons unknown. Some academics suggest that these tales recall human sacrifice, and argue that several ancient Irish bog bodies (such as Old Croghan Man) appear to have been kings who were ritually killed, some of them around the time of Samhain.

In the Echtra Neraí ('The Adventure of Nera'), King Ailill of Connacht sets his retinue a test of bravery on Samhain night. He offers a prize to whoever can make it to a gallows and tie a band around a hanged man's ankle. Demons thwart each challenger, who runs back to the king's hall in fear. However, Nera succeeds, and the dead man asks for a drink. Nera carries him on his back, and they stop at three houses. They enter the third, where the dead man drinks and spits it on the householders, killing them. Returning, Nera sees a fairy host burning the king's hall and slaughtering those inside. He follows the host through a portal into the Otherworld. Nera learns that what he saw was only a vision of what will happen the next Samhain unless something is done. He returns to the hall and warns the king.

The tale Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig ('The Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig') tells how Mongfind kills her brother, King Crimthann of Munster, so that one of her sons might become king. Mongfind offers Crimthann a poisoned drink at a feast, but he asks her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she dies on Samhain eve. The Middle Irish writer notes that Samhain is also called Féile Moingfhinne (the Festival of Mongfind or Mongfhionn) and that "women and the rabble make petitions to her" at Samhain.

Many other 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 surprised the Ulstermen. The Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh also begins on Samhain. The Morrígan and The Dagda 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. 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') it is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of Brú na Bóinne.

The 'Cave of Cruachan', one of the many 'gateways to the Otherworld' whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain.

Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. Each Samhain, a host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from the Cave of Cruachan in County Roscommon. The Hill of Ward (or Tlachtga) in County Meath is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire; the Iron Age ringfort is said to have been where the goddess or druid Tlachtga gave birth to triplets and where she later died.

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 historical reference to pagan religious rites is in the work of Geoffrey Keating (died 1644), but his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that no religious rites are mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers had no record of them. Hutton suggests Samhain may not have been particularly associated with the supernatural. He says that the gatherings of royalty and warriors on Samhain may have been an ideal setting for such tales, in the same way, that many Arthurian tales are set at courtly gatherings at Christmas or Pentecost.

Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. 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. The Togail Bruidne Dá Derga notes that bonfires were lit at Samhain and stones cast into the fires. 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 of Tara was held for a week every third Samhain when the nobles and ollams of Ireland met to lay down and renew the laws, and to feast. He also claims that the druids 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.

A modern Samhain bonfire

Like Bealtaine, bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain, and there were rituals involving them. 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. F. Marian McNeill says that they were formerly need-fires, but that this custom died out. Likewise, only certain kinds of wood were traditionally used, but later records show that many kinds of flammable material were burnt. It is suggested that the fires were a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic; mimicking the Sun, helping the "powers of growth" and holding back the decay and darkness of winter. They may also have served to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences". Accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries suggest that the fires, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.

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. 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.

People also took the flames from the bonfire back to their homes. During the 19th century, in parts of Scotland, torches of burning fir or turf were carried sunwise around homes and fields to protect them. 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. The 17th-century writer Geoffrey Keating claimed that this was an ancient tradition instituted by the druids. 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.

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 and in Brittany. 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. Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times, and it has survived in some rural areas.

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. Apples and hazelnuts were often used in these divination rituals and games. In Celtic mythology, apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld and immortality, while hazelnuts were associated with divine wisdom. 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. 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.

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. Items were hidden in food-usually a cake, barmbrack, cranachan, 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. 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. 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.

Samhain was seen as a liminal time when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the , 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. At Samhain, it was believed that the aos sí needed to be 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, and portions of the crops might be left in the ground for them.

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 ministers, but the ceremony shifted to the springtime and survived until the early 19th century.

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. 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 ward-off bad luck, sickness, and witchcraft and would be replaced each Samhain.

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. 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. 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. 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". However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a wronged person could return to wreak revenge.

A Mari Lwyd, the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán

In some areas, mumming and guising were part of Samhain. It was first recorded in 16th century Scotland and later in parts of Ireland, Mann, and Wales. People went from house to house in costume or disguise, usually reciting songs or verses in exchange for food. 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. Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them. S. V. Peddle suggests the guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune". McNeill suggests that the ancient festival included people in masks or costumes representing these spirits and that the modern custom came from this. In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.

In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted, or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed. This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th. It is suggested that the blackened faces come from using the bonfire's ashes for protection. 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". 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. This is akin to the (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at Midwinter. In Wales, the white horse is often seen as an omen of death. 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".

A plaster cast of an Irish Seán na Gealaí 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. 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. 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. 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 cakes.[citation needed ]

The "traditional illumination for guisers or pranksters abroad on the night in some places was provided by turnips or mangel wurzels, hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces". They were also set on windowsills. By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings, or were used to ward off evil spirits. These were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century. 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'-lanterns.

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). It was also the time to choose which animals would be slaughtered. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock. 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, goose, or sheep-would be slaughtered and some of its blood sprinkled on the threshold of the house. It was offered to Saint Martin, who may have taken the place of a god or gods, and it was then eaten as part of a feast. This custom was common in parts of Ireland until the 19th century, 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. These customs were meant to keep away bad luck, and similar customs were found in other Celtic regions.

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. Rhys's theory was popularised by Sir James George Frazer, though at times he did acknowledge that the evidence is inconclusive. Frazer also said that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic festival of the dead and that it had been Christianized as All Saints and All Souls. 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.

Samhuinn Wikipedia editathon at the University of Edinburgh, 2016

In the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages, Samhain is known as the "calends of winter". The Brittonic lands of Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany held festivals on 31 October similar to the Gaelic one. In Wales it is Calan Gaeaf, in Cornwall it is Allantide or Kalan Gwav, and in Brittany it is Kalan Goañv.

The Manx celebrate Hop-tu-Naa on 31 October, which is a celebration of the original New Year's Eve. Traditionally, children carve turnips rather than pumpkins and carry them around the neighbourhood singing traditional songs relating to hop-tu-naa.

In 609, Pope Boniface IV endorsed 13 May as a holy day commemorating all Christian martyrs. By 800, there is evidence that churches in Ireland and Northumbria (England) were holding a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November, which became All Saints' Day. Alcuin of Northumbria apparently inspired his friend Arno of Salzburg, Bavaria to hold the feast on this date. James Frazer suggests this date was a Celtic idea (being the date of Samhain), while Ronald Hutton suggests it was a Germanic idea, writing that the Irish church commemorated all saints on 20 April. Some manuscripts of the Irish Martyrology of Tallaght and Martyrology of Óengus, which date to this time, have a commemoration of all saints " of Europe" on 20 April, but a commemoration of all saints of the world on 1 November. It is suggested that Alcuin, a member of Charlemagne's court, introduced the 1 November date of All Saints in the Frankish Empire, and in 835 the Empire officially adopted the date. In the 11th century, 2 November became established as All Souls' Day. This created the three-day observance known as Allhallowtide: All Hallows' Eve (31 October), All Hallows' Day (1 November), and All Souls' Day (2 November).

It is widely believed that many of the modern secular customs of All Hallows' Eve ( Halloween) were influenced by the festival of Samhain. Other scholars argue that Samhain's influence has been exaggerated and that All Hallows' also influenced Samhain itself.

Most American Halloween traditions were brought over by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century. Then, through American influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by the late 20th century.

A neopagan Samhain bonfire

Neopagans in Ireland celebrating Samhain

Samhain and Samhain-inspired festivals are held by some Modern Pagans. As there are many kinds of Neopaganism, their Samhain celebrations can be very different despite the shared name. Some try to emulate the historic festival as much as possible. Other Neopagans base their celebrations on sundry unrelated sources, Gaelic culture being only one of them. Folklorist Jenny Butler describes how Irish pagans pick some elements of historic Samhain celebrations and meld them with references to the Celtic past, making a new festival of Samhain that is uniquely part of the neo-pagan culture.

Neopagans usually celebrate Samhain on 31 October-1 November in the Northern Hemisphere and 30 April-1 May in the Southern Hemisphere, beginning and ending at sundown. Some Neopagans celebrate it at the astronomical midpoint between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice (or the full moon nearest this point), which is usually around 6 or 7 November in the Northern hemisphere.

Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans (CRs) emphasize historical accuracy. They base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore as well as research into the beliefs of the polytheistic Celts. They celebrate Samhain around 1 November but may adjust the date to suit their regional climate, such as when the first winter frost arrives. Their traditions include saining the home and lighting bonfires. Some follow the old tradition of building two bonfires, which celebrants and animals then pass between as a purification ritual. For CRs, it is a time when the dead are especially honoured. Though CRs make offerings at all times of the year, Samhain is when more elaborate offerings are made to specific ancestors. This may involve making a small altar or shrine. They often have a meal where a place for the dead is set at the table, and they are invited to join. An untouched portion of food and drink is left outside as an offering. Traditional tales may be told, and traditional songs, poems, and dances performed. A western-facing door or window may be opened, and a candle left burning on the windowsill to guide the dead home. Divination for the coming year is often done, whether in all solemnity or as games. The more mystically inclined may also see this as a time for deeply communing with their deities, especially those particularly linked with this festival.

Wheel of the Year

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Samhain as one of their yearly Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. It is deemed by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four "greater Sabbats". Some Wiccans see Samhain as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets, and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals, the spirits of the dead are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Bealtaine.

Wiccans believe that at Samhain, the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.

Arnold, Bettina (31 October 2001). "Bettina Arnold - Halloween Lecture: Halloween Customs in the Celtic World". Halloween Inaugural Celebration. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Center for Celtic Studies. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018.

Campbell, John Gregorson. The Gaelic Otherworld, edited by Ronald Black. (1900, 1902, 2005). Birlinn Ltd. pp. 559-62. ISBN 1-84158-207-7

Danaher, Kevin. "Irish Folk Tradition and the Celtic Calendar". In The Celtic Consciousness, ed. Robert O'Driscoll. New York: Braziller, 1981. pp. 217-42. ISBN 0-8076-1136-0. On specific customs and rituals.

Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.

Matasović, Ranko (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. ISBN 9789004173361.

Ross, Anne "Material Culture, Myth and Folk Memory". In The Celtic Consciousness, ed. Robert O'Driscoll. New York: Braziller, 1981. 197-216. ISBN 0-8076-1136-0.

Stokes, Whitley (1907). "Irish etyma". Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung. 40: 243-49.

Vendryes, J. Lexique Étymologique de l'Irlandais Ancien. 1959.

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Samhain ( SAH-win , SOW-in , Irish: , Scottish Gaelic: ), (Manx: ) or Oíche Shamhna ( EE-hə HOW-nə ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or " darker half" of the year. It is also the Irish language name for November.