when is samhain and solstice?

Question

they are supposed to be the days of the witch's new year and half year. samhain is supposed to be on halloween night? i dont know for sure. and what about solstice?

Answer 1

Samhain - is generally celebrated on October 31st (although may be celebrated Nov 1st as well. )



Which Solstice are you asking about ? there are 2 Solstice and 2 equinox's



Summer Solstice (a.k.a. -Midsummer, Litha) Is generally celebrated on June 21st (although depends on the year., may be anywhere between June 20th-23)



Winter Solstice (a.k.a. - Yule) is generally celbrated on Dec.21st (although, again.. may be between June 20-23. Depending on the year..)

Answer 2

Samhain is the Irish Gaelic word for November. The Eve of Samhain is thus October 31st which is the Eve of All Saints Day (November 1st), also know as All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en for short.



All Saints is a Christian feast inaugurated by the pope in Rome in about 750 AD (over 1000 years ago). The feast spread around Europe and was made an official church wide festival about 100 years later. When it reached Ireland (which had been Christian for 500 years) it replaced their old All Saints festival which had been in April. The festival became very popular and later Nov 2nd was added as All Souls Day, which made it even more so. The festival started on the Eve with an all night vigil which pretty soon became a bit of a party with processions, dressing up, games, bell ringing, lights, bonfires and dances.



After the Reformation, the new Protestant churches didn't like this sort of Catholic celebration and tried to ban it - they attacked it and called it "pagan", they stopped the bell ringing and tried to stop the parties but in many places people kept these going, but now outside the church - a bit secular..



Modern pagans have adopted the Eve as one of their festivals under the mistaken impression that Hallowe'en was originally a pagan festival. This idea was cooked up in the 19th century by some romantic Victorians in Britain based on some of the Irish myths and on the Protestant propaganda about Hallowe'en celebrations not being Christian.



The Irish myths were written down by monks in around 1100 AD and they do mention a feast on Samhain Eve, but it is not a day of the dead, it is a warrior's feast (http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/cuchulainnsick.htm) . As these monks were writing long after paganism had died out, it is more than likely that they placed the feast on a festival they knew well - All Saints Eve - if it is not entirely mythical.



The Summer Solstice occurs around June 21st (give or take a day depending on how it is defined and on the year). Again there is no historical evidence of it being a pre-christian pagan festival.



Ideas about witches having special days, "new year and half year", are also entirely modern with no historical basis before about 1954 when Gardner invented Wicca.

Answer 3

Well, I will cover the ancient feast day of Samhain instead of the modern pagan celebration:



There are many accounts of Samhain in both he Medieval sagas and historical records, dating back to at least the ninth century (800's). Most of these accounts are fairly neutral, with a few Christian flourishes thrown in here and there, but a few are very obviously biased accounts that were openly meant to paint the Irish pagans in a negative light.



The stories of Samhain, which speak of events that happened centuries before they were written down, mention a feast held for the warriors and chieftains of Ireland, epic battles between various races that have supposedly inhabited Ireland over the centuries, divination by the Druids, and interactions between mortals and the world of the sidhe (this was the fairy realm which was very different from both the modern depiction of fairies and the Christian world of the dead). The accounts clearly mark the day as being November 1 (the same as All saints Day) although this was according to the calendar that was imported with the coming of the Christians. In the 19th century, according to my study of Gaelic dictionaries, Samhain evolved from meaning November 1st to denoting the entire month of November (the old word for November was Naoimhi). As is mentioned above, the Irish Gaelic term for Halloween is oiche shamhna (ee-huh how-nuh) and means the 'Eve of November'.



You only asked about Samhain, however: All Saints Eve and All Souls Eve are Roman Catholic holidays that developed separately from Samhain - in fact feasts to honor the saints existed before the church was aware of Samhain. All Hallows Eve means All Saints Eve, so-called because it is the night before All Saints Day, November 1st. When All Hallows came to Ireland, and subsequently Scotland, it combined with both Samhain and folk traditions that already existed there and completely changed, eventually being named "Hallowe'en". It no longer resembled the Catholic feast day, but instead became an eve for supernatural beings, divination games, and parties. (Although it did retain its Christian connection to death, as, contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that Samhain had anything to do with the dead - that is a modern pagan function of the celebration). When the Irish and Scottish brought Halloween to America it was changed even more, and now it is considered an American holiday.



All Saints Day is still a public holiday in many European countries, with no relation to any Scottish or Irish traditions, but not in Ireland. Ireland observes the secular Halloween with a bank holiday in October.



Midsummer Eve was celebrated by pagans because it is the summer solstice and for Catholics it is Saint John's Eve. Like most holidays of the past, St. John's Eve had superstitions and supernatural activity associated with it.



EDIT: I should have mentioned:

Samhain was also the opening of the winter half of the year, with May 1 being the opening of the summer half. This is documented in history. The contemporaneous historical accounts are a little different from the sagas (which probably contain some actual history, as they claim to) in that it is clear that Samhain was still a day important enough to be acknowledged, but how much of its ancient observance remained is a matter of debate.



The celebration of the solstices was common to many pre-Christian cultures. This is well-know to archaeologists.

Answer 4

Solstice is roughly June 21. Sometimes 23 or 4th. It's called Midsummer, as in Midsummer Night's Dream which takes place on that night:



http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=holidays&id=3525



It is whichever is the longest day of the year, which varies from year to year.



Samhain is Halloween Night, and the next day, which is the Feast of All Souls in some traditions.

Answer 5

samhain is a harvest festival which is on october 31st, this later evolved into halloween, A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme.



well hope this helps

Answer 6

SAMHAIN (Pro; “SOW-en”, or “SOH-en”) Samhain is the beginning of the ancient Celtic liturgical year, and is the Festival of the Dead. At Samhain we honor the Spirit world, the spirits of our Ancestors and deceased loved ones, as well as our Spirit Guides. At this time we reflect upon our own physical mortality and the nature of change and transformation in the cycle of Life and Death. Samhain is the festival of the end of the Harvest and the beginning of Winter (by traditional reckoning). The word Samhain is GAELIC and means “Summers End.” Samhain is pronounced “SOW-en” in Ireland, and “SOH-en” or “SAH-en” in Scotland. Samhain is celebrated on NOVEMBER 1. By ancient reckoning the day begins at sundown, which is why the Samhain celebrations begin on October 31. The night time portion of the festival is properly called the OICHE SHAMNA, or Vigil of Samhain. Oiche Shamna is pronounced “uh-EEK-uh HOW-nuh.” Samhain is also called Hallows or Hallowmas, and the Oiche Shamna is also called Hallowe’en. The word Hallow means “Spirit” -literally “Holy One.”

MIDSUMMER Midsummer, as its’ name implies, is celebrated at the SUMMER SOLSTICE, the longest day of the Year. Midsummer is considered the high point of the Summer season. Midsummer celebrates the very height of the powers of the Sun and of Life. But it also acknowledges that after this date the Sun will begin to weaken and the days to grow shorter.



A Solar Sabbat, Midsummer is sacred to the Sun God, as Lord of Life. This God has many names, including Apollo, Balder, Lugh, Horus, Chango, and many others. He is the God of Life and the Physical World, and is the principle archetype of the God. The celebrations of Midsummer stress the powers of light and life, and rejoice in the good things the Universe has to offer.