(le Róislín) 

Not only was Samhain the first day of the traditional Celtic year – it was also the first day of winter, fitting neatly with the rest of the laethanta trascheathrún (cross-quarter days) san fhéilire Ceilteach.  The others are Imbolc (1 Feabhra/February, now usually called Lá Fhéile Bríde), Bealtaine (1 May), and Lughnasa (aka Lúnasa, 1 August).

The idea that November 1^st is the beginning of Winter is also shown in the Welsh terms for Halloween (Nos Galan Gaeaf or Gŵyl Calan Gaeaf) and for November First (Calan Gaeaf).  As you might expect, “nos” is “night” in Welsh. Gŵyl is “festival” and is related to the Irish “féile” (despite only having one letter in common!) and both are related to the Latin “vigilia.”

“Calan Gaeaf” means “the first day of winter.”  It comes from “calan,” (first day of a month, like “Calan Mai;” related to Calends, calendar, etc.) and “gaeaf.”  “Gaeaf” is pronounced like English “guy” + “of,” with the final “f” like a “v,” or silent (for once I’m just using English analogies rather than phonetics or my phonetics “rough guide” since it seems more straightforward for this case).

“Gaeaf” is related to the Irish word for “winter” as well as to the term in Scottish Gaelic and Manx.  And Breton and Cornish.  So what’s the Irish word for “winter.”  Ná bí buartha – I’ve just given your memory a chance to be jogged and the various Celtic terms for “winter” are in the note below.  Just out of eye-drift range.  Not sure if “eye-drift range” is really a term in English, but it seems to fit the bill.

Whether you observe the day as Samhain, Calan Gaeaf, or Lá na Naomh Uile, bain sult as (enjoy it).  And although it’s not particularly traditional in Irish, one could always say “Oíche Shamhna shona [happy] duit” (on a analogy with “Nollaig Shona duit”).  It would seem like a contradiction in terms to use “beannachtaí” as one does with Easter (Beannachtaí na Cásca).  Greetings for holidays in Irish usually involve either the word “sona” (happy, or “shona” [HUN-nuh], the feminine form) or “beannachtaí” (blessings), so there’s not much choice!  SGF —  Róislín

Nóta a hAon: winter: Irish: geimhreadh (geimhridh, of winter; an gheimhridh, of the winter etc.); Scottish Gaelic: geamhrach, Manx: geurey; Cornish: gwav, Breton: goañv.  An example of very consistent pan-Celtic vocabulary, despite all the spelling differences!

All these words derive from an early Celtic form, *gaimo, or its variants.  You might be thinking “gaim” to “geimh-” or “geamh-“ for the Irish and Scottish forms, OK, but “m” to “f” in “gaeaf” for the Welsh?  Hunh?  “Elementary, my dear foghlaimeoir / fòghlumach / dysgwr!”  The letter “m” regularly changes to “f” [pronounced “v”] in Modern Welsh (as in merch, daughter, dy ferch, your daughter; mam, mother, dy fam, your mother, etc.) so it’s not too surprising that the “m” of “*gaimo” ends up as an “f” in Modern Welsh.  Remember how the pronunciation has ended up in Modern Irish, with the “-mh-“ also pronounced like a “v”.  And, sure, that explanation is not for the saineolaithe teangeolaíochta out there, just the bare bones to reassure learners that these mutation of letters are not random and unpredictable.  They’re actually quite logical and predictable.  I suppose I should add, “in their own special way.”

Nóta a Dó (Fuaimniú): geimhreadh [G^yEV-ruh, GEER-uh, G^yEV-roo, etc. – I don’t always try to do multiple dialect pronunciations as I’ve done here, but for this word they all seem quite prominent]; trascheathrún [TRASS-H^YA-hroon] cross-quarter, from tras + ceathrú (quarter portion, here lenited to start with “ch” since it’s the second element of a compound word).

And for those who want to master the Welsh phrases: in gŵyl, the circumflex above the “w” indicates that it is pronounced “oo,” not like the typical Welsh combination of “gwy” as in “gwyn” (white, also a man’s name), “gwynt” (wind), or “Gwyddel” (an Irishman).