Samhain

Samhain is one of the doorways that Celts set for the starting of a Celtic year. There are said to be two doorways for the Celtic year: Beltain (May 1st) and Samhain (November 1st). Celtics believe that there are two starts to the year—dark and light. They consider that the new day starts from the night.

Samhain is today better known as Halloween, although some consider Halloween to be a different culture. In fact some say that Samhain has provided competition for Halloween.

Samhain literally means "summers' end". It marks the first day in winter and in countries like Ireland people consider it the feast day, when fodder is stacked for the cattle for the winter and chosen one are slaughtered to feed the people after they have been offered to the blessed one.

It is believed that during Samhain all the Gods come close to earth and so offerings and sacrifices are a must to please them. Samhain sees the lighting up of bonfires and celebration by dancing and singing.

Children born on Samhain are said to possess psychic abilities. The eve of Samhain also is a time of divination which usually involved things from the recent harvest such as nuts and apples.

The most famous part of the Samhain eve is the dreaming stone divination. It is said that people take three stones from a boundary stream, pray by saying a verse and then take it home, keep it under the pillow and wish for a dream which will help as a solution.