夏末節,節日之一,流行愛爾蘭蘇格蘭萌島等地,定喺西曆十一月一號,現今寫法有SamhainSauinOíche Shamhna咁。當地四季節日之一。而呢日就完咗豐收季,接落冬季,一半暗半開始.。古時十一月亦用依啲代表。古時當地以日落就開始第二日,因而節十月卅號晚就開始慶祝。呢日又秋分冬至半途。

古時記載,呢日古墓重開,通往異世,同時人人聚首一堂,大飲大食。亦有話有柴火,有牲祭。近世又有話由夏牧地帶走啲牛,又宰畜牲。點柴火以保護同清理[1]

由此可知夏末節祭上飲食,出於取悅眾精靈,以祈畜牲平安過冬。而親人亡靈,又得到接待,返屋企食一餐。逐家逐戶扮鬼扮馬換食,正正學精靈咁款。

呢日後來轉化成基督教萬聖節[2][3][4]。而萬聖節前夕亦喺夏末節開始之時。諸靈節亦可見同夏末節相關。

  1. O'Driscoll, Robert (ed.) (1981) The Celtic Consciousness New York: Braziller ISBN 0-8076-1136-0 pp. 197–216: Ross, Anne "Material Culture, Myth and Folk Memory" (on modern survivals); pp. 217–42: Danaher, Kevin "Irish Folk Tradition and the Celtic Calendar" (on specific customs and rituals)
  2. Hutton, p. 364
  3. Pseudo-Bede, Homiliae subdititiae; John Hennig, 'The Meaning of All the Saints', Mediaeval Studies 10 (1948), 147–61.
  4. "All Saints Day," The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, ed. E. A. Livingstone (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 41–42; The New Catholic Encyclopedia, eo.loc.