Sam-Hane? Samhain!

We can officially say Happy Halloween! But, you guys, it’s only October 30th! Well dearest mortals it is but today’s blog post is all about the festival that inspired the modern festivities that we know as Halloween – Samhain (Modern Irish). Apart from the fact Halloween is Emma’s favourite holiday and Niamh practically spent an entire semester in her undergraduate dedicated to the celebrations, we thought it would be interesting to put everything we know about this truly haunting time of the year into one place! This post is also dedicated to the wonderful writers of Supernatural Season Four and the butchering of the pronunciation of Samhain and the countless giggles that episode gave us! 

Sam-hane? Samhain!

Hi, it’s Emma. And the first thing I’m going to do is tell you how to pronounce it right. Sow (like a female pig) + win = Samhain or even Sa-win is a good attempt at it. Not Sam Hane or Samin. It’s Irish, we leave out the letters even when we’re speaking English; our native language is no different. People have no idea just how mad I got when whoever was in charge of providing a pronunciation of Samhain told Jared Padalecki to say Sam Hane. All it required was a little research. Initially, in the episode of Supernatural that Niamh was referring to (“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”), I had no idea what monster this was (and in case you haven’t realised I love my monsters) so I turned on the subtitles and I was appalled. They had so badly butchered the pronunciation that I didn’t even recognise an Irish pagan celebration. Couldn’t find a single Irish person in North America to help you pronounce it? No? You had one job! Also, Samhain was not a demon or deity. It was the changing of the season and much more, all of which Niamh will get into in a moment, but most believe that Samhain was not a Celtic God.

So without further ranting and raving from me, I will leave you in the very knowledgeable hands of Niamh.

First things first, we need to look at the meaning of the word. Get comfortable in your seats all, one of the areas I (Niamh) focused on in my college days was Etymology (the study of the origins of words and their change in meaning throughout history) and Historical Linguistics (the history of languages, the study of language change over time and how languages relate to one another) so I do usually look at this for fun! Samhain is the Modern Irish word deriving from the Old Irish work Samain. In Old Irish, the word is made up of: ‘Sam’ meaning “Summer” + ‘fuin’ meaning “end”. However, it is believed by many scholars that this literal translation of Summer’s End may have a folk etymology as, it was past down through generations. 

As the modern day celebration of Halloween is based on the Celtic celebration of Samhain, it is important to remember that the Celts lived thousands of years ago and we still celebrate what started off as a Pagan (pre Christian) festival. In terms of Etymology, we can find the remains of Samhain found throughout the Celtic Speaking world! Our nearest language cousins are Scots Gaelic (Samhuinn) and Manx (Sauin) while, if you trace the word back to the European continental Celtic languages, you can find it in it’s Gaulish form (Samonios). Alright Niamh enough of the History of a word it’s not like it is important to many people! Well you see it is, dear readers, as the Gaulish form of the word is going to look similar to the earliest documentation we have on Samhain dating back to the 1st century B.C.E! 

As we are looking back in time to thousands of years ago, it goes without saying that we need to remember that not every single document surrounding Samhain survives. You also have to think of the oral tradition passed from generation to generation without being written down at all! Having said that, two of my favourite sources regarding the Celts come from a Calendar entry and from Julius Caesar’s writings! The Calendar entry can be found in the Coligny Calendar dating back to the late 1st century B.C.E. The month is called Samon(ios) and refers to the “three nights of Samain” – ‘Trinux(tion) Same(aii)’. Three nights? This confused me too but Julius Caesar AKA one of those famous Roman Generals who conquered lands for Rome also wrote about the people of the lands he came up against. He backs up this finding in his writings ‘De Bello Gallico’ stating that the Celts define time by the number of nights not days! (Side Note: De Bello Gallico is not a fun read, trust me. Been there, read that – Em)

These three nights of celebrations seem to have been passed down to us rolled into one! Although the Celts celebrated this feast of Samain (or Samhain) over three nights, they believed the last night of the three was when the veil between our world and the other world was at its weakest! The overall celebration is seen as the end of the Harvest season with many accounts suggesting that, during this period, offerings from the harvest were offered up to the Gods. The people believed that, on this final night, that the veil between our world and the other world was at its weakest! Family feasts celebrated the memories of their ancestors and cake was left out around the house throughout the night for any visiting deceased spirits who may get hungry. Doors were believed to have been left open to invite in the otherworldly creatures! 

One of the biggest physical ties here in Ireland to Samhain that survives to this day, across the country, is the large fires. It is believed that the Irish people celebrate Samhain as the division between the lighter half of the year (Summer) and the darker half of the year (Winter). Two hills in the Boyne Valley in Co. Meath are associated with Samhain. The first is Tlachtga which was the location of the Great Fire Festival, this began on the eve of Samhain. The second is the Hill of Tara focusing on the Mound of Hostages. The Mound itself is aligned with the rising sun around Samhain. This is an extremely interesting fact because the mound dates back to 4,500 to 5,000 years ago! 

With the turn of the centuries and the introduction of Christianity, it is unbelievable to think that Halloween celebrations survived the test of time and we still celebrate it today. Some of our favourite traditions date back to the Medieval Period. People carved turnips originally to ward off evil spirits and they also wore costumes and masks to ward off these evil spirits. This tradition turned to carving pumpkin when Irish immigrants arrived in America and used what was native to the country! While Trick or Treating started off as children going from house to house singing for the ancestors of each family. Tricks that were played were blamed on the fairy folk. Today, we primarily give out sweets with only a number of children playing tricks!

Samhain Monsters! (Of course there’s monsters >:))

Samhain has its own monsters too and, because the veil between our world and the next is breechable during Samhain, Celts left out offerings to the Sidhs (AKA fairies, Fair Folk). Some of the monsters specifically related with Samhain include the Púca (pronounced pooka) which was a shape shifting monster (which could be anything from a rabbit to a horse or even a human) and it would receive harvest offerings from the field. The Lady Gwyn was a forlorn and headless woman who chases night wanderers accompanied by a black pig. While Dullahans can appear as an imp-like creatures or as headless men riding flame-eyed horses, carrying their own heads; their appearance was considered a death omen to those who encountered one. There are a whole host of other Celtic monsters that can make appearances during Samhain found in Irish and Celtic based folklore. 

Wiccan, Celtic Reconstructionism and Neo-Paganism

Even now, the celebration of Samhain takes place in many forms. The Wiccan Community celebrates Samhain, the passing of the year, in a variety of ways including traditional fire ceremonies, celebrations embracing more modern aspects of Halloween and honouring nature or ancestors. Celtic Reconstructionists embrace Celtic traditions with the intent of reintroducing them faithfully into modern paganism and Samhain is called Oíche Shamnhna (which is the Irish way of saying Halloween). Samhain and Samhain-based festivals are held by some Neopagans and, as there are many kinds of Neopaganism, Samhain celebrations can vary greatly even though they share a name. Some celebrations are based on varied sources as Gaelic culture is only one source and therefore there is a great variety of celebrations that can be held during Samhain.