Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”) is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, traditionally celebrated on the night of October 31st to November 1st. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals and is often regarded as the Celtic New Year. The word "Samhain" translates to “summer’s end” in Old Irish, signifying the transition from the light half of the year to the dark.
During Samhain, it was believed that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world was thinnest, allowing spirits to cross over. People would light bonfires to ward off malevolent spirits, and leave offerings of food to appease wandering souls. Many Samhain customs, such as dressing in costumes and carving turnips (later pumpkins), have influenced modern Halloween traditions.
In addition to honoring the dead, Samhain was also a time for divination and connecting with ancestors. Modern pagan and Wiccan communities still celebrate Samhain as a spiritual and reflective time, honoring the cycles of nature and the unseen world.
Today, Samhain continues to be recognized as a time for reflection, remembrance, and the celebration of the natural cycles of life and death.