Samhain

E675384

Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, traditionally associated with the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Samhain canonical 12

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Celtic festival
fire festival
harvest festival
pagan festival
associatedWith ancestors
ancient Celts
linked to: Celtic tribes

bonfires
divination
fairies
feasting
liminality
mumming and guising
otherworld
protective rituals
spirits of the dead
supernatural beings
thinning of the veil between living and dead
calendarRole Celtic new year in some traditions
cosmologicalBelief boundary between worlds is weaker
culture Celtic
influenced All Hallows’ Eve customs
modern Halloween
languageOfName Old Irish
marking beginning of winter
end of the harvest season
meaningOfName summer’s end
modernRevival Neopaganism
Wicca
observedBy Celtic reconstructionist Pagans
Wiccans
linked to: Wicca

modern Pagans
region Brittany
Gaul
Ireland
Isle of Man
Scotland
Wales
relatedTo Beltane
Imbolc
Lughnasadh
religiousContext pre-Christian Celtic religion
ritualElement divination games
extinguishing and relighting household hearths
lighting of communal fires
offerings of food and drink
setting places at table for the dead
wearing disguises or masks
season autumn
winter
time around 31 October
between 31 October and 1 November

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Gaels traditionalFestivals Samhain
Wicca celebrates Samhain
Celtic culture hasFestival Samhain
Sídhe associatedWith Samhain
Beltane pairedWith Samhain
Lughnasadh precedes Samhain
Imbolc follows Samhain
Dziady relatedTo Samhain
Crúachan associatedFestival Samhain