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But as it fell out on last Halloween
When the seely court was riding by
The queen lighted down on a rowan bank
Not far frae the tree where I wont to lie

She took me up in her milk white hand
And she's stroked me three times on her knee
She changed me again to my ain proper shape
And I nae more maun toddle about the tree

Samhain. All Hallows. All Hallow's Eve. Hallow E'en. Halloween. So many terms, all Hallow's Eve is the eve of All Hallow's Day (November 1). And for once, even popular tradition remembers that the eve is more important than the day itself, the traditional celebration focusing on October 31, beginning at sundown. Halloween is a celtic holiday, ancient, before the written word. The Celts called it Samhain, which means "summer's end", according to their ancient twofold division of the year, when summer ran from Beltane to Samhain and winter ran from Samhain to Beltane.

Samhain is pronounced (depending on where you're from) as "sow-in" (in Ireland), or "sow-een" (in Wales), or "sav-en" (in Scotland), or (inevitably) "sam-hane" (in the U.S., where not many speak Gaelic). Samhain was seen as the end of the year by the celts, a new years eve. The new year itself began at sundown of halloween night with the onset of the dark phase of the year. The night itself is a celebration of the dead.

As a feast of the dead, this was the one night when the dead could, if they wished, return to the land of the living, to celebrate with their family, tribe, or clan. And so the great burial mounds of Ireland (sidhe mounds) were opened up, with lighted torches lining the walls, so the dead could find their way. Extra places were set at the table and food set out for any who had died that year. And there are many stories that tell of Irish heroes making raids on the Underworld while the gates of faery stood open, though all must return to their appointed places by cockcrow.

It is also classed as a celtic feast of divination. The reason for this has to do with the Celtic view of time. In a culture that uses a linear concept of time, like our modern one, New Year's Eve is simply a milestone on a very long road that stretches in a straight line from birth to death. Thus, the New Year's festival is a part of time. The ancient Celtic view of time, however, is cyclical. And in this framework, New Year's Eve represents a point outside of time, when the natural order of the universe dissolves back into primordial chaos, preparatory to reestablishing itself in a new order. Thus, Samhain

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