Samhain, the Celtic New Year: Why It Is the Perfect Time to Start Writing

Samhain, the Celtic New Year, begins on 31 October. Discover its bonfires, folklore and storytelling, and why it is the perfect time to start writing.

Long before Halloween costumes and plastic pumpkins, the people of Ireland marked the end of October with fire, feasting and stories. Samhain was the turning of the year. For writers, it is still one of the best moments to begin something new.

What Is Samhain?

Samhain (say it "SOW-in") is the Irish word for November. It is also the name of the old Gaelic festival held from sunset on 31 October to 1 November. It marked the end of the harvest, the start of the dark half of the year, and the beginning of the Celtic New Year.

In the old way of counting, a day began at sunset, not at dawn. In the same way, the year began in darkness, at Samhain. Everything new started in the dark and grew towards the light. That is a fine thought for any writer staring at a blank page.

Bonfires, Thin Veils and Fireside Tales

Fire was at the heart of Samhain. Tradition tells of great fires lit on the Hill of Ward (Tlachtga) in County Meath, and households across the country lit their own hearths again from bonfires.

Samhain was also the night when the veil between this world and the Otherworld was said to be at its thinnest. The dead might visit, the sídhe (the fairy folk) were abroad, and the púca roamed the roads. People carved lanterns from turnips to light the way and keep wandering spirits at a distance.

And when the work was done and the fires were lit, people told stories. The long winter nights belonged to the seanchaí, the storyteller, who kept the old tales alive by the fire.