Samhain is a Celtic holiday. The Celts divided the year into two seasons, the light half and the dark half. Samhain is a celebration of the Beginning of the Dark half of the year, and was actually considered to be more important than its counterpart, Beltane for its magickal potentials.

Samhain is considered a “cross-quarter” Sabbat, even though it always falls on the 31st, and the cross-quarter doesn’t officially occur until the Sun reaches 15 degrees of Scorpio, sometime in the 1st week in November. (Note: In 2005, Samhain actually occurs on November 2, 2005 at 6:03AM EST, on the same day as the new moon.)

Samhain also symbolizes the death of the God, the final turn of the wheel. The days become shorter, the nights longer. Also, Samhain falls between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, a time when the “veil between the worlds” becomes very thin. It is a time to pay homage to our elders and ancestors that have passed from this world to the next.

This time is a time much like Thanksgiving, a celebratory feast in which we celebrate the year’s bounty, and remember those who have passed. Many people of the Craft hold traditional “Dumb Suppers”, called a Feast of the Dead, in which a large meal is prepared and eaten in silence, with an extra place set in remembrance of our ancestors. Many also light a candle to bring in the “New Year”, lighting their way through the darkness of the upcoming months until Yule.