Next: 31 Oct to 1 Nov 2026
Samhain and Halloween
The night of 31 October: turnip lanterns, costumes, bonfires and barmbrack with a ring baked in.
When is Samhain and Halloween in 2026?
Samhain and Halloween 2026 runs from 31 October to 1 November 2026. Other years: 2027, 31 October to 1 November 2027; 2028, 31 October to 1 November 2028.
About Samhain and Halloween
Halloween comes from the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter, and was thought to be a time when the border between worlds thinned. In Ireland and Scotland, bonfires were lit, and people dressed in costume to avoid being recognised by wandering spirits. Children carved turnips into lanterns, which in North America became pumpkins, and went door to door "guising" for treats, the root of trick-or-treating. Traditional games include bobbing for apples, and fortune-telling with nuts. In Ireland, a barmbrack, a fruit loaf, is baked with a ring, a coin and a pea hidden in it, each foretelling something, and colcannon is eaten. The Christian feast of All Hallows follows the next day.
Samhain and Halloween dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Samhain and Halloween date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 October to 1 November 2026 |
| 2027 | 31 October to 1 November 2027 |
| 2028 | 31 October to 1 November 2028 |
What is eaten
- barmbrack
- colcannon
- toffee apples
- pumpkin
Traditions of Samhain and Halloween
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Halloween" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source