Carving jack-o’-lanterns, bobbing for apples, dressing up in costumes, decorating with black and orange, giving out candy, trick-or-treating…what do all of these hallmarks of Halloween have in common? They all originated with the ancient Celts. They all originated with Samhain. You’ve heard of it. Indirectly, you’ve probably already celebrated it. And if you’re not from Ireland or Scotland, you’ve definitely mispronounced it: Samhain Perhaps the most important holiday on the ancient Celtic calendar, Samhain marks the end of summer and the end of the pastoral year. It is a liminal time—a time when the forces of light and darkness, warmth and cold, growth and blight, are in conflict. A time when the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead is at its thinnest. A time when all manner of spirits and demons are wont to cross over from the Celtic Otherworld. Or at least that’s according to Irish mythology and folklore. And that’s exactly what you’ll find inside Samhain in Your Pocket : summaries and analyses of the Irish myths and folktales (as well as historical and archaeological evidence) upon which our current knowledge of Samhain is built. What’s more, we’ll trace the origins of Samhain back to its (potentially) Gaulish roots, and explore how modern Halloween traditions evolved from ancient Celtic customs and rituals.