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Samhain (band) Members
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] |
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] |
Neopagan Witchcraft
Neopagan witchcraft, sometimes referred to as The Craft, is an umbrella term for some neo-pagan traditions that include the practice of magic. They may also incorporate aspects of nature worship, divination, and herbalism. These traditions began in the mid-20th century, and many were influenced by the witch-cult hypothesis, a now-rejected theory that persecuted witches in Europe had actually been followers of a surviving pagan religion. The largest and most influential of these movements was Wicca. Some other groups and movements describe themselves as " Traditional Witchcraft" to distinguish themselves from Wicca. In contemporary Western culture, some adherents of these religions, as well as some followers of New Age belief systems, may self-identify as "witches", and use the term "witchcraft" for their self-help, healing, or divination rituals. Others avoid the term due to its negative connotations. Religious studies scholars class the various neopagan witchcraft trad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dáithí Ó HÓgáin
Dáithí Ó hÓgáin (13 June 1949 – 11 December 2011) was an Irish writer, poet and professor of Irish folklore at University College Dublin. Born in County Limerick, he wrote extensively in both the English and Irish languages. Life and works Dáithí Ó hÓgáin was born in Bruff, County Limerick, on 13 June 1949, a son of former jockey Davy Hogan and Mary (née Tyrell). He obtained a BA in Modern Languages (Irish, English) History and Philosophy, then an MA in 1971 in the Irish Language Irish at the University College Dublin, followed by a PhD in Folklore in 1976. His doctoral thesis at UCD, overseen by Bo Almqvist was later republished as ''An File'' in 1983. Its theme was the lore on how poets received the gift of poetry, and the supernatural powers poetry could manifest according to folk tradition. Before obtaining his doctorate, he had an 18-month stint as a radio journalist at the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). While at the department, he gained acquaintance w ... [...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] |
Harvest
Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing season. On large mechanized farms, harvesting uses farm machinery, such as the combine harvester. Automation has increased the efficiency of both the seeding and harvesting processes. Specialized harvesting equipment, using conveyor belts for gentle gripping and mass transport, replaces the manual task of removing each seedling by hand. The term "harvesting" in general usage may include immediate postharvest handling, including cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling. The completion of harvesting marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular c ... [...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] |
Kekri (festival)
Kekri, also known as ''keyri'', ''köyri'', ''köyry'' (in Torne Valley) ''kööri'' and ''kegri'' (in Karelian), is a Finnish and Karelian harvest festival, celebrated in the fall. Kekri was once widely celebrated in Finland and Karelia, but it has been largely eclipsed by Christmas, to which many old Kekri traditions have migrated. Historically, Kekri has also referred to a deity. Originally, the celebration of Kekri was not tied to a permanent calendar date, but – instead – was determined by the ongoing year's agricultural autumn activities. However, by the early 19th century, it came to coincide with All Saints' Day in Western Finland and Michaelmas in Eastern Finland.Kekri Finnish national museum. (in Finnish) Etymology In various[...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] |
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] |
Dziady
Dziady ( "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals and customs that were dedicated to them. The essence of these rituals was the "communion of the living with the dead", namely, the establishment of relationships with the souls of the ancestors, periodically returning to their headquarters from the times of their lives. The aim of the ritual activities was to win the favor of the deceased, who were considered to be caretakers in the sphere of fertility. The name "dziady" was used in particular dialects mainly in Belarus, Poland, Polesia, Russia, and Ukraine (sometimes also in border areas, e.g. Podlachia, Smoleńsk Oblast, Aukštaitija), but under different other names (''pomynky'', ''przewody'', ''radonitsa'', '' zaduszki'') there were very similar ritual practices, common among Slavs and Balts, and also in many European and even non-Europea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Day Of The Dead
The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember amusing events and anecdotes about the departed. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage. The observance falls during the Christian period of Allhallowtide. Some argue that there are Indigenous Mexican or ancient Aztec influences that account for the custom, though others see it as a local expression of the Allhallowtide season that was brought to the region by the Spanish; the Day of the Dead has become a way to remember those forebears of Mexican culture. The Day of the Dead is largely seen as having a festi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calan Gaeaf
''Calan Gaeaf'' is the name of the first day of winter in Wales, observed on 1 November. The night before is ''Nos Galan Gaeaf'' or ''Noson Galan Gaeaf'', an ''Ysbrydnos'' ("spirit night") when spirits are abroad. Traditionally, people avoid churchyards, stiles, and crossroads, since spirits are thought to gather there. The term is first recorded in literature as "''Kalan Gayaf"'' in the laws of Hywel Dda. The same term, '' Kalan Gwav'', is found in the Cornish language, and ''Kalan Goañv'' in Breton. Traditions Dancing On ''Nos Calan Gaeaf'', women and children would dance around a bonfire and everyone would write their names on, or otherwise mark, rocks and place them in and around said fire. When the fire started to die out, they would all run home, believing if they stayed, ''Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta'' (a bad omen that took the form of a tailless black sow with a headless woman) or ''Y Ladi Wen'' ("the white lady", a ghostly apparition often said to be headless) would chase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
