Samhain facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Samhain is the Gaelic celebration at the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is pronounced SOW-in. This festival is also celebrated in Paganism and Wicca. It is now known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve and celebrated on the 31st of October.

Legends

A common legend on Samhain is that it is easy to talk to the dead. One way to do this is by using a Ouija board, a wooden board with numbers and letters on it.

Images for kids

Samonios on the Coligny calendar
The hero Fionn fighting Aillen, who is said to have burned Tara each Samhain
The 'Cave of Cruachan', one of the many 'gateways to the Otherworld' whence beings and spirits were said to have emerged on Samhain.
Bonfires were a big part of the festival in many areas (pictured is a Beltane bonfire in Scotland)
Snap-Apple Night (1833), painted by Daniel Maclise, shows people playing divination games on 31 October in Ireland
A Mari Lwyd, the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán
A plaster cast of an Irish Seán na Gealaí turnip lantern from the early 20th century at the Museum of Country Life
Samhuinn Wikipedia editathon at the University of Edinburgh, 2016

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Samhain Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.