What the word means
Samhain is the modern Irish spelling of the Old Irish samain, and the name for November in Irish today. It is most often explained as summer's end. In ancient Ireland it was the time of gathering in for winter, the counterpart of Beltane on 1 May, which opened summer. The two days split the old year into a light half and a dark half.
What we really know
Less than most pages suggest. The early Irish left few records, and much of what we have comes from later Christian writers. Short mentions appear in Irish tales of the 10th and 12th centuries, while detailed descriptions date only from the 18th century. Bonfires, feasting and telling fortunes are all recorded, though how far back they go is unclear. It was perhaps a new year festival; the evidence does not settle it.
The thin night
Folklore from Ireland and Wales describes a night when the barrier between the living and the spirit world opens. Fairies came out of the mounds, those who had died that year passed on, and a careless walker could stumble across. People met that unease with fire, and with disguise.
From Samhain to Halloween
Halloween grew from Samhain meeting the Christian days for the dead, All Saints on 1 November and All Souls on 2 November. Masks, and frightening faces carved into turnips, may come from Samhain customs. The pumpkin arrived later, in the United States.
How it is kept today
In modern Paganism, and in Wicca above all, Samhain is a major festival for honouring the dead. An altar with photographs of those who have gone is the most common form. At home it needs very little: a dark room, a candle, and a name said aloud.
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