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Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year was into two parts, the summer half beginning at Bealtaine (May 1st) and the winter half at Samhain (November 1st) ... The festivals properly began at sunset on the day before the actual date, evincing the Celtic tendency to regard the night as preceding the day". It is also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for November. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the September equinox, autumnal equinox and winter solstice. It is one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day, All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), Christian martyr, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of Horror fiction, horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural. One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celts, Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaels, Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have Paganism, pagan roots. Some theories go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianization, Christianized as All Hallows' Day, along with its eve, by the Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Calendar
The Celtic calendar is a compilation of pre-Christian Celtic systems of timekeeping, including the Gaulish Coligny calendar, used by Celtic countries to define the beginning and length of the day, the week, the month, the seasons, quarter days, and festivals. Continental Celtic calendar The Gaulish Coligny calendar is the oldest known Celtic solar-lunar ritual calendar. It was discovered in Coligny, France, and is now on display in the Palais des Arts Gallo-Roman museum, Lyon. It dates from the end of the second century AD, when the Roman Empire imposed the use of the Julian Calendar in Roman Gaul. The calendar was originally a single huge plate, but it survives only in fragments. It is inscribed in Gaulish with Latin characters and uses Roman numerals. The Coligny Calendar reconciles the cycles of the moon and sun. The Coligny calendar considers the phases of the moon to be important, and each month always begins with the same moon phase. The calendar uses a mathematical arr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Polytheism
Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celts, Celtic peoples of Europe. Because there are no extant native records of their beliefs, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts (some of them hostile and probably not well-informed), and literature from the early Christian period.Miranda Aldhouse-Green, Green, Miranda (2012). "Chapter 25: The Gods and the supernatural", ''The Celtic World''. Routledge. pp.465–485 Celtic paganism was one of a larger group of polytheistic Indo-European religion, Indo-European religions of Iron Age Europe. While the List of Celtic deities, specific deities worshipped varied by region and over time, underlying this were broad similarities in both Celtic deities, deities and "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples. Widely worshipped Celtic gods included Lugus, Toutatis, Taranis, Cernunnos, Epona, Maponos, Belenos, and Sucellos. Sacred springs we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hop-tu-Naa
Hop-tu-Naa ( ; ; ) is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. It is the celebration of the traditional Gaelic festival of Samhain, the start of winter. It is thought to be the oldest unbroken tradition in the Isle of Man.Oral history interview with Sue Woolley conducted by Culture Vannin, 19 October 2016 
Etymology The Manx name ''Oie Houney'' corresponds to the Irish ''Oíche Shamhna'', which was pronounced the same (though n ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Saints' Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are known or unknown. From the 4th century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places, on various dates near Easter and Pentecost. In the 9th century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on 1 November, and in the 9th century this was extended to the whole Catholic Church by Pope Gregory IV. In Western Christianity, it is still celebrated on 1 November by the Western Catholic Church as well as by many Protestant churches, such as the Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions. The Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran churches celebrate it on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The Syro-Malabar Church and the Chaldean Catholic C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish language, Irish, Manx language, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic. Gaelic language and culture originated in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland in the Middle Ages, Scotland. In antiquity, the Gaels Hiberno-Roman relations, traded with the Roman Empire and also End of Roman rule in Britain, raided Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland and the Isle of Man. There was also some Gaelic settlement Wales in the Roman era#Irish settlement, in Wales, as well as cultural influence through Celtic Christianity. In the Viking Age, small numbers of Early Scandinavian Dublin, Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels. In the 9th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wicca
Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was Witchcraft Today, introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon paganism, ancient pagan and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, 20th-century Hermetic motif (folkloristics), motifs for theology, theological and ritual purposes. Doreen Valiente joined Gardner in the 1950s, further building Wicca's liturgical tradition of beliefs, principles, and practices, disseminated through published books as well as secret written and oral teachings passed along to Initiation, initiates. Many variations of the religion have grown and evolved over time, associated with a number of diverse lineages, sects, and Religious den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veneration Of The Dead
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a afterlife, continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups Veneration, venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain religious groups, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Anglican Church, and Catholic Church venerate saints as Intercession, intercessors with God; the latter also believes in prayer for Soul, departed souls in Purgatory. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin. In Culture of Europe, European, Culture of Asia, Asian, Oceanian, Culture of Africa, African and Afro-American religion, Afro-diasporic cultures (which includes but should be distinguished from multiple cultures and Indigenous populations in the Americas who were never influenced by the African Diaspora), the goal of ancestor vene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guising
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in Halloween costume, costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system. The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Nights
Winter Nights () was a specific time of year in medieval Scandinavia, held 28 days after the autumn equinox. According to Zoega's ''Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic'', ''vetr-nætr'' referred to "the three days which begin the winter season". The term is attested in the narrative of some of the ''Fornaldarsögur'', mostly to express passage of time ("as autumn turned into winter"). The first day of weather was believed to set the course for the rest of the winter, for example snow during the event would mean a snowy winter. It would usually be marked with a leaf-less (defoliated) tree. The exact term "winter nights" is not mentioned in the Ynglinga saga by Snorri Sturluson where (in chapter 8) the three great sacrifices of the year are prescribed: Specific sacrifices held at the beginning of winter during the Old Norse period were álfablót and dísablót. Of these, dísablót came to be a public sacrifice, according to the Ynglinga saga performed by the king of Sweden. By ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling it as ''banefyre'' and John Mirk's ''Book of Festivals'' speaking of a communal fire in celebrations of Saint John's Eve that "was clene bones & no wode & that is callid a bone fyre". The word is thus a compound of "bone" and "fire." Samuel Johnson's 1755 ''Dictionary of the English Language, Dictionary'' incorrectly analyzed "bon" as the French ''bon'' 'good'. Regional traditions In many regions of continental Europe, bonfires are made traditionally on 24 June, the solemnity of John the Baptist, as well as on Saturday night before Easter. Bonfires are also a feature of Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, and Bonfires of Saint John, the celebrations on the eve of St. John's Day in Spain. In Sweden bonfires are lit on Walpurgis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Souls' Day
All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, All Souls' Day is the third day of Allhallowtide, after All Saints' Day (1 November) and All Hallows' Eve (31 October). Before the standardization of Western Christian observance on 2 November by St. Odilo of Cluny in the 10th century, many Roman Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls' Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic churches and the Eastern Lutheran churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite (Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church), (Syriac Catholic Church). commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent. As with oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
