Samhain (pronounced "SAH-win" or "SOW-in", never "Sam-hane") is the ancient Celtic festival that marks the end of the harvest and the start of winter, and it is the true root of the Halloween we celebrate today. Held from the evening of 31 October into 1 November, Samhain was one of the most important dates in the Gaelic year for the peoples of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. The word comes from the Old Irish for "summer's end", and the same word is still the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for the month of November. If you have ever wondered why we carve lanterns, dress up and tell ghost stories at the end of October, the answer begins here, more than two thousand years ago.
First, the pronunciation, because almost everyone gets it wrong on the first go. It is not "Sam-hane". In Irish it sounds like "SAH-win", and in Scottish Gaelic you will hear "SOW-in" (rhyming with "cow-in"). The spelling looks nothing like it reads, which is part of the charm. The name itself most likely means "summer's end", from the Old Irish sam (summer) and fuin (end), a neat description of a festival that closes the bright half of the year and opens the dark one. You can read more about the festival's deep Celtic origins of Samhain and its place in Gaelic life.
Samhain was not a one-off. It was one of four great seasonal festivals that split the Celtic year into quarters, falling roughly halfway between an equinox and a solstice. Its sister festivals were Imbolc in early February, Beltane on 1 May and Lughnasa in August. Together they tracked the farming year, and Samhain sat at the most dramatic turn of all: the moment the harvest was gathered in, the last livestock were brought down from the summer pastures, and families settled in for the long, dark months ahead. In that sense it worked as a Celtic new year, the close of one pastoral cycle and the beginning of the next.
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What made Samhain feel magical, and a little frightening, was the old belief that it was a "liminal" time, a threshold between one season and the next. On this single night the veil between our world and the Otherworld was said to grow thin, so that spirits, fairies and the souls of the dead could slip across. Some of these visitors were welcome ancestors come home for the night. Others, in folklore at least, were mischievous or downright dangerous. To stay safe, people lit great bonfires, left out food and drink for the wandering dead, and disguised themselves so that no unfriendly spirit would recognise them.
If your idea of honouring the old ways is a bonfire night in with the curtains drawn, our cosy Halloween onesies are made for exactly that kind of evening.
Bonfires, turnip lanterns and guising
The Samhain bonfire was the heart of the celebration. In Ireland the druids were said to light a sacred fire, and every household hearth was then rekindled from those communal flames, a symbol of the whole community sharing one source of warmth and protection through winter. From this fire tradition grew two customs you will recognise straight away. People carved ghoulish faces into turnips (yes, turnips, not pumpkins) and set a glowing ember inside to ward off spirits, the direct ancestor of the modern jack-o'-lantern. Pumpkins only took over much later, once the tradition reached North America, because they were native there and far easier to carve.
Then there was "guising". Long before trick-or-treating, people in Scotland and Ireland would dress in disguises, sometimes genuinely terrifying ones made of sheepskin, straw and old clothes, and visit neighbouring houses. They would recite a rhyme, riddle or song in exchange for food. Add divination games, where young people tried to glimpse their future spouse, and a healthy dose of seasonal mischief, and you have the recognisable bones of the modern holiday.
How Samhain became Halloween
So where does the name Halloween come from? As Christianity spread across the Celtic world, the Church placed All Saints' Day, also called All Hallows' Day, on 1 November, layering a Christian feast over the existing Samhain. The evening before became All Hallows' Eve, which softened over the centuries into "Hallowe'en", and then simply Halloween. The older Samhain customs did not vanish, though. They were absorbed into the new festival and carried across the Atlantic by Irish and Scottish emigrants during the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the wake of the Highland Clearances and the Great Famine. What we often think of as an "American" holiday is really a Celtic one that went travelling and came home dressed in new clothes.
How Samhain is observed today
Samhain never really went away. For modern Druids, Wiccans and many pagans it remains a living festival, sometimes called the "witches' new year". Celebrations tend to focus on remembrance: lighting candles for those who have died, sharing a quiet meal in their memory, gathering round a fire, and taking a moment to mark the turning of the year as the nights draw in. You do not have to be a practising pagan to enjoy it. Plenty of people across the UK and Ireland simply use the night to honour lost loved ones, slow down, and welcome the dark half of the year with a little warmth and good company.
And if your celebration leans more towards a comfortable evening at home than a hilltop bonfire, there is no shame in that. A great Samhain night in calls for soft lighting, a warm drink and your snuggest layers. Our cosy comfy wear and plush teddy onesies are perfect for curling up with a ghost story while the candles flicker.
However you mark it, remember that you are taking part in something genuinely ancient. When you light a pumpkin this October, you are echoing a custom that began with a turnip and a Celtic bonfire more than two millennia ago. For more on how the night evolved, the history of Halloween picks up the story from here.
Did you know?
Samhain is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for the whole month of November.
The original jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips, not pumpkins, which only took over in North America.
Samhain is one of four Celtic cross-quarter days, alongside Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa.
The word likely means "summer's end", from the Old Irish sam (summer) and fuin (end).
Long before trick-or-treating there was "guising", where disguised neighbours swapped rhymes and songs for food.
Frequently asked questions about Samhain: The Celtic Festival Behind Halloween
It is not "Sam-hane". In Irish it sounds like "SAH-win", and in Scottish Gaelic you will hear "SOW-in". The spelling looks nothing like it reads, which trips almost everyone up the first time.
Not quite, but they are closely linked. Samhain is the ancient Celtic festival held on 31 October and 1 November. When Christianity placed All Hallows' Day on 1 November, the evening before became All Hallows' Eve, which softened into Halloween. Halloween grew directly out of Samhain.
Samhain marks the end of the harvest and the start of winter, the "darker half" of the Celtic year. People believed that on this night the veil between our world and the Otherworld grew thin, letting spirits and the souls of the dead cross over, which is why bonfires, disguises and offerings were so important.
Samhain runs from the evening of 31 October into 1 November. Because the Celtic day began and ended at sunset, the celebrations traditionally start on the evening of the 31st. In 2026 that means the evening of Saturday 31 October into Sunday 1 November.
For modern Druids, Wiccans and pagans, Samhain is a living festival sometimes called the "witches' new year". It centres on remembrance: lighting candles for the dead, sharing a quiet meal in their memory, gathering round a fire, and marking the turning of the year as the nights draw in.
