The Irish-American Society of New Mexico, based in Albuquerque, NM, wishes you a hundred thousand welcomes to our site!
Stay connected! Read our current newsletter or visit our Facebook page and check out the Irish Book Club page!
Céad Mile Fáilte!
Next Monthly Meeting and Program:
Friday, October 11, 2024
7 PM
Ramada Plaza
2020 Menaul N.E.
Samhain Explained:
The Celtic Origins of Hallowe’en
By Maya Magee Sutton, PhD
At this session, Dr. Maya Sutton will explain that the Celts of 2,000 years ago had a great celebration called Samhain (SOW-in), the Irish word for summer’s end. Since the Celts started every important event on the evening before, the Hallowed Evening before Samhain became Hallowe’en. But how did all the strange customs begin that even today we associate with this event? Why do people dress up in costumes? Why do children go around asking for food, and what pranks are meant by “Trick or Treat”? You will learn how the Irish Celts celebrated the last harvest of each year with a bonfire. Samhain was dedicated to honoring the ancestors. Tradition says that at Samhain, the veil between this world and the Otherworld is the most thin, and our ancestors’ spirits are free to roam our visible world. Are you beginning to see the connections?
Dr. Maya Sutton taught Celtic History and Mythology at UNM for many years. She currently teaches classes about all aspects of Celtic history at the UNM Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and at Oasis. She and some friends have enjoyed enacting the major Celtic myths at various venues. For 30 years, she has been a member of a Druid Grove that celebrates the Celtic cross-quarter days, including Samhain.
This event is free and open to the public,
so invite your friends!
(Costumes are encouraged!)
Coffee and tea will be provided;
there is a cash bar adjacent.
We ask that you bring a sweet or salty snack to share.
Need help with getting an Irish passport or have questions regarding travel in Ireland?
Visit the Consulate General of Ireland's site here.
by Font Meme
Join the IAS!
Get (or renew) your membership or make a donation here