Samhain: the Celtic night that gave birth to Halloween

More than two thousand years ago, in Ireland and Scotland, the night of 31 October was the most important of the year. The harvest was over, the cattle came back from the pastures and the dark half of the year began. The Celts called it Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), and for them it wasn't an ending: it was the new year.

What Samhain is

Samhain is one of the four great festivals of the Celtic calendar, together with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh. It marks the midpoint between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice: the moment when the light truly withdraws.

The Celts believed that on this night the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead grew very thin. The ancestors could come home: food was left on the table for them and a light in the window. Great bonfires were lit on the hills, too, and each family carried an ember from that shared fire back to its own hearth.

From Samhain to Halloween (and All Saints' Day)

• In the 8th century, the Church set All Saints' Day on 1 November, and the night before became known as All Hallows' Eve: hence Halloween.
• Carved pumpkins come from an Irish custom with turnips: a face to frighten away evil spirits. When the custom reached America, the turnip was swapped for a pumpkin.
• Dressing up is ancient too: it was a way of passing unnoticed among the spirits roaming free that night.

In Spain, the same root lives on in the Galician Samaín, in the roasted chestnuts of All Saints' Day and in visits to the cemetery. In Poland, in the Slavic Dziady and the candles of Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints' Day).

How long it lasts

Like all Celtic festivals, Samhain ran from sunset to sunset: from dusk on 31 October to dusk on 1 November. Today many people keep it for three days, until 2 November, All Souls' Day.

Its energy

Samhain carries the energy of deep autumn: nature lets go of its leaves and withdraws underground to rest. It's a good moment to:

• let go of what you don't want to carry into the new year;
• look inwards: darkness isn't fear, it's rest;
• honour your ancestors: remember where you come from.

A simple ritual for Samhain night

1. Place a candle in the window or on the table, for those who are no longer here.
2. Write on a sheet of paper what you are leaving behind from this year. If you can, burn it carefully or tear it up.
3. Write in your journal a list of what you're grateful for from this cycle.
4. Have a seasonal supper: pumpkin, chestnuts, apples, nuts.
5. Turn off the lights for a while and sit in silence.

I have it marked on 31 October in my journal: it's my moment of the year to open my goals and see what has grown. If you'd like to discover the other seven festivals, start with the wheel of the year.