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Line 63: − − The earliest mention of Samhain in surviving literature is "The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain," which dates from the tenth or eleventh centuries. It portrays Samhain as a harvest festival held at "summer's end": − {{cquote|[The young men of Ulster] used to keep that festival every year; nor was there anything in the world that they would do at that time except sports, and marketings, and splendours, and pomps, and feasting and eating; and it is from that custom of theirs that the Festival of the Samhain has descended, that is now held throughout the whole of Ireland.<ref>Maelmuiri mac Ceileachair, "[http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/cuchulainnsick.htm The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain]." The translation is from ''Heroic Romances of Ireland.'' Vol I. A. H. Leahy, ed. − London: David Nutt, 1905. pp. 57-85.<br/>While others partied, Ulster hero Cuchulain was on his sick bed receiving an extended vision of ''Mag Mell'', the Plain of Delight, a Celtic version the [[Elysian Fields | Elysian fields]].</ref>}}
→Samhain and the Celtic calendar
If the holiday itself originated in Scotland, the eerie rituals of the modern Halloween celebration are the child of Victorian England. The Victorians were fond of reviving quaint customs that never were, and Halloween costume parties became popular in the late 19th century. An illustrated guide published in 1887 provided costume ideas.<ref name="Holt">"[https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52990/26-halloween-costume-ideas-1887-guide-fancy-dress 26 Halloween Costume Ideas from an 1887 Guide to Fancy Dress]."</ref>
If the holiday itself originated in Scotland, the eerie rituals of the modern Halloween celebration are the child of Victorian England. The Victorians were fond of reviving quaint customs that never were, and Halloween costume parties became popular in the late 19th century. An illustrated guide published in 1887 provided costume ideas.<ref name="Holt">"[https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52990/26-halloween-costume-ideas-1887-guide-fancy-dress 26 Halloween Costume Ideas from an 1887 Guide to Fancy Dress]."</ref>
===Samhain and the Celtic calendar===
=== Samhain ===
That Halloween originated as the day before All Saints' Day might seem a straightforward explanation. But popular history points to another source: The pagan festival of Samhain, observed by the ancient Celts.<ref>For a "popular history" account, see "[https://www.irishpost.com/news/samhain-seven-facts-about-the-spooky-irish-festival-which-became-halloween-105009 Samhain: Seven facts about the spooky Irish festival which became Halloween]", ''Irish Post''.</ref>
That Halloween originated as the day before All Saints' Day might seem a straightforward explanation. But popular history points to another source: The pagan festival of Samhain, observed by the ancient Celts.<ref>For a "popular history" account, see "[https://www.irishpost.com/news/samhain-seven-facts-about-the-spooky-irish-festival-which-became-halloween-105009 Samhain: Seven facts about the spooky Irish festival which became Halloween]", ''Irish Post''.</ref>
[[File:De Ricci Coligny 1926 detail month14.jpeg|left|130px|thumb|Part of the Coligny calendar. This Celtic calendar was discovered in Coligny France in 1897]]In modern Gaelic, ''Samhain'' refers primarily to the month of November.<ref>Mark, Colin, ''The Gaelic–English Dictionary'' (2003).</ref> For the pre-Christian Celts, Samhain was the most important date of on the calendar. Little is known of the pagan festival. Sources on Samhain conflict on many points, including what time of year the festival was.
[[File:De Ricci Coligny 1926 detail month14.jpeg|left|130px|thumb|Part of the Coligny calendar. This Celtic calendar was discovered in Coligny France in 1897]]In modern Gaelic, ''Samhain'' refers primarily to the month of November.<ref>Mark, Colin, ''The Gaelic–English Dictionary'' (2003).</ref> For the pre-Christian Celts, Samhain was the most important date of on the calendar. Little is known of the pagan festival. Sources on Samhain conflict on many points, including what time of year the festival was.
The earliest mention of Samhain in surviving literature is "The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain," which dates from the tenth or eleventh centuries. It portrays Samhain as a harvest festival held at "summer's end":
{{cquote|[The young men of Ulster] used to keep that festival every year; nor was there anything in the world that they would do at that time except sports, and marketings, and splendours, and pomps, and feasting and eating; and it is from that custom of theirs that the Festival of the Samhain has descended, that is now held throughout the whole of Ireland.<ref>Maelmuiri mac Ceileachair, "[http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/cuchulainnsick.htm The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain]." The translation is from ''Heroic Romances of Ireland.'' Vol I. A. H. Leahy, ed.
London: David Nutt, 1905. pp. 57-85.<br/>While others partied, Ulster hero Cuchulain was on his sick bed receiving an extended vision of ''Mag Mell'', the Plain of Delight, a Celtic version the [[Elysian Fields | Elysian fields]].</ref>}}
===The Celtic calendar===
''Cormaic's Glossay'' was started by the king-bishop of Munster around AD 900. Many of its entries were added centuries later. It gives ''Imbol'' (February 1) as the first day of spring, ''Beltaine'' (May 1) the first day of summer, ''Lugnasad'' (August 1) the first day of fall, and ''Samhain'' (November 1) the first day of winter.<ref name="Olmsted">Olmsted, Garrett (2009). ''The Coligny Calendar: the Implications for Gaulish and Irish Festival Dates''.</ref> The Irish adopted the Julian calendar around AD 450. The seasonal dates may have transferred from the Celtic calendar at this time.
''Cormaic's Glossay'' was started by the king-bishop of Munster around AD 900. Many of its entries were added centuries later. It gives ''Imbol'' (February 1) as the first day of spring, ''Beltaine'' (May 1) the first day of summer, ''Lugnasad'' (August 1) the first day of fall, and ''Samhain'' (November 1) the first day of winter.<ref name="Olmsted">Olmsted, Garrett (2009). ''The Coligny Calendar: the Implications for Gaulish and Irish Festival Dates''.</ref> The Irish adopted the Julian calendar around AD 450. The seasonal dates may have transferred from the Celtic calendar at this time.
With a leap day every five years, the Coligny calendar gives the length of a solar year as 365.20 days. Since the true length is 365.2422 days, the calendar drifted by one day every 23.7 years.<ref name="Olmsted"/><ref>The amount of drift can be used to estimate the age of the calendar. For Samhain to move from the December-January period to November suggests that the calendar was in use for about 1,300 years. Pliny writes that Celtic months started on sixth day of the lunar cycle. This suggests that the calendar had already accumulated a thousand years worth of drift in his time, according to Olmsted.</ref>
With a leap day every five years, the Coligny calendar gives the length of a solar year as 365.20 days. Since the true length is 365.2422 days, the calendar drifted by one day every 23.7 years.<ref name="Olmsted"/><ref>The amount of drift can be used to estimate the age of the calendar. For Samhain to move from the December-January period to November suggests that the calendar was in use for about 1,300 years. Pliny writes that Celtic months started on sixth day of the lunar cycle. This suggests that the calendar had already accumulated a thousand years worth of drift in his time, according to Olmsted.</ref>
===American Halloween===
===American Halloween===