Samhain was one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calendar, marking the end of the
harvest and the beginning of winter. 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
feis 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.
Ritual bonfires Like Bealtaine, bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain, and there were rituals involving them.
F. Marian McNeill says that they were formerly
need-fires, but that this custom died out. 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". 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. 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. 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, 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. This meant the
aos sí, 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. made for 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.
Mumming and guising , 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. 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. It is suggested that the blackened faces come from using the bonfire's ashes for protection. 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
Mari Lwyd (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".
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. 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". or were
used to ward off evil spirits. These were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century. 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. ==Celtic Revival==