Greetings on the Celtic Celebration of Halloween 2017

The Celtic festival Halloween is celebrated on the night of 31st October and 1st November every year.

In the six Celtic Nations, Halloween marks the end of the summer and the beginning of winter. The festival is associated with the Celtic feast of Kala-Goañv (Breton), Calan Gwaf (Cornish), Samhain (Irish), Sauin (Manx Gaelic), Samhuinn (Scottish Gaelic) and Calan Gaeaf (Welsh).

Entirely pagan in origin, Halloween was traditionally a time of year when the worlds of the living and the dead were seen to be at their closest. It is a time when the creatures of the 'Otherworld' make their presence known to the people of 'this world'.

Halloween is now a globally celebrated festival, particularly in the 'New World' where its traditions were brought by waves of Celtic emigration. The lanterns, fires, costumes and belief in the supernatural remain deeply rooted in Celtic culture and tradition. So greetings on this Halloween or Hop tu Naa as it is known on the Isle of Man. Remember to enjoy this festival, but take care, spirits and entities not of this world arise on this night as our ancestors knew only too well. Pay respect to the creatures of the 'Otherworld' or there maybe a heavy price to pay!

If you haven't already, we recommend reading our exclusive interview with Dr Jenny Butler on the Celtic Folklore Traditions of Halloween.

Here's a great video from Dessie Baker! 'Spiorad na Samhna -- Origins of Halloween. It also traces origins of Halloween itself to the Celtic festival of Samhain. Dr. Jenny Butler from the Folklore Department of University College, Cork narrates this. Watch and Enjoy!

(Spiorad na Samhna -- Origins of Halloween from Dessie Baker on Vimeo.)

Transceltic has a wealth of articles on Halloween to help get you in the spirit (or should I say with the spirits):

• Mysterious Halloween in Ballantrae - A Scottish ghost story by Alastair Kneale
• The Otherworld of Halloween – The Festival of Samhain by Emmett McIntyre
• Ankou: A short Halloween story from Brittany by Dominique Corolleur
• An Irish American Halloween in South Jersey by Niall McCarsten
• Ghost Tram (Manx Gaelic: Tram Scanjoon) - A Manx Hop-tu-Naa (Halloween) Story by Alastair Kneale
• Nos Calan Gwaf - the Cornish Halloween by Myghal Map Serpren
• Nos Galan Gaeaf - Welsh Halloween by Gruffydd Davies
• Halloween poem by Robert Burns
• Bugul Noz on Halloween Night in Brittany by Dominique Corolleur
• Angelystor, the Old Yew Tree and the Grim Prophesy by Mary Williams
• Derry Hosts Ireland's Largest Halloween Festival 2013 – Honours the Celtic Feast Day of Samhain
• The Banshee of Dunluce Castle-An Irish Ghost Story of Lost Love by Eibhlin O'Neill