Concert: HALLOWEEN - Celtic New Years!

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Introduction

"In her unique Halloween performance, Áine casts a spell on her audience with her ethereal voice, the incredible music she makes on her harp, and the stories she tells of old Ireland. Working with Áine is a pleasure: she is a true professional and a fantastic performer who always draws - and pleases -an audience."

Lauren Wolk, Cultural Center of Cape Cod

This program explore the Celtic roots of Halloween as it is derived from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

October 31st, (Samhain) was one of the most important “fire” festivals in the Celtic tradition. As well as marking the beginning of a new season, it also served as the Celtic “New Year’s Eve."

Filled with myth and magic, this is one of Áine's most popular (and unusual) programs. Many people can relate to Halloween and love to hear about its origins through music, song and story.

Check out the 'background' link above for more information on Samhain.

Please feel free to use the press release sample (right margin) if you wish.

Concert Timeframe

Leading up to Halloween

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Concert Background

The Celtic cycle of the year was marked by four major "fire festivals": Beltaine (May 1), Lughnasadh, (August 1) Imbolc, (February 1) and of course, Samhain (October 31) or Halloween, as it has come to be known. These boundaries marked the new season, and allowed for movement between the worlds as lines along which the supernatural were thought to break through to the surface of existence.

These “fire” festivals, as they were known revolved around the agricultural cycle of the year, and they led the people in the union of practical life and the earthly world with that of the spirit.

During these seasonal feasts, the veil between the worlds was thought to be lifted, the obstacles removed, the laws of space suspended, and communion with one's ancestors became a distinct possibility. They celebrated freedom from addiction to the purely visible, in the age-old premise of a life beyond this one, in which our ancestors are no further away than the next world. And that world itself being rather close by.

Beltaine occurred on the First of May, May Day, and marked the beginning of the "light half" of the year. It was symbolized by the white flowering hawthorn tree, around which ritual dancing took place to ensure a good harvest (Lughnasadh – August 1) later that year.

Samhain or Halloween occurred on October 31 and marked the beginning of the “dark half” of the year.

Samhain was the feast that marked the end of the "light half" of the year and the beginning of the "dark half." The light half was that of the people, the dark half belonged to the earth, the cycle of time being expressed in the basic duality of darkness and light. Samhain, or Halloween as it has come to be known, was actually New Year's Eve in the Celtic calendar. For the Celts, the dark always preceded the light, and day began at dusk, not dawn. The children's tradition of otherworldly creatures coming to life on Halloween has its origins in the ancient feast of Samhain. The custom of dressing up in costume was commonplace. It was acceptable to stretch the boundaries by assuming a different identity to welcome the supernatural.

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