Full Answer
What does Samonios mean in Celtic?
Samonios refers to summer (samo-) while Giamonios refers to winter (giamos). The meanings of the other names are less clear. The Celtic year was divided into halves: "summer" from May 1 to October 31, and "winter" from November 1 to April 30.
What are Samonios and sonnocingos?
There were two intercalary months, Quimonios, which appeared in first year of the five year calendar cycle, and Sonnocingos, which appeared in the third year. Samonios refers to summer ( samo-) while Giamonios refers to winter ( giamos ). The meanings of the other names are less clear.
How many Samonios are preserved without any gaps?
The following table shows the arrangement of a complete month (Samonios of year 2, with TRINVX (TION)SAMO (NII) marked on the 17th day). This is the only month out of 62 that has been preserved without any gaps.: 182.
What is the 17th day of the month in Samonios?
In the month Samonios depicted above, the 17th day is marked TRINVXSAMO, corresponding to TRINOSAM SINDIV in Samonios of year 1. The name of the following month, DVM (AN), is mentioned several times (on days 1, 3, 8 and 16). Conversely, the following month marks days 1, 8, 16 and 17 with SAMON (I).
What Samhain means?
Samhain was first observed by Celtic Pagans. Samhain marked the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season. It also signaled the beginning of winter, which they associated with death. On this day, the Celts believed the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin.
Are Samhain and Halloween the same?
While Halloween does have roots in Samhain, they are not the same thing. Samhain is still celebrated today by various groups including Wiccans and there are many ways in which the festival is celebrated. There are not only group rituals, but single rituals as well.
Is Samhain a God?
Samhain isn't a god at all, and, as we've seen, the idea of Samhain being a god was based on false, inaccurate scholarship that has nonetheless been propagated for centuries. Samhain, for most modern Pagans, is a time to mark the end of the fertile season, and to embrace the darkness of the coming winter.
What did the Celts call the moon?
The Celts showed their respect for the moon by using euphemisms such as gealach - meaning 'brightness', and never referring directly to 'the moon'. Manx fishermen followed this custom up until the nineteenth century, referring to the moon as ben- reine ny hoie - 'queen of the night'.
Who is Samhain demon?
Samhain, also known as the origin of Halloween, was a powerful and special demon of Hell and was one of the 66 Seals. He could only rise when summoned by two powerful witches through three blood sacrifices over three days, with the last sacrifice day on the final harvest, Halloween.
Is Valentine's day pagan?
The earliest possible origin story of Valentine's Day is the pagan holiday Lupercalia. Occurring for centuries in the middle of February, the holiday celebrates fertility. Men would strip naked and sacrifice a goat and dog.
Is Halloween related to Christianity?
Christian origins and historic customs. Halloween is thought to have roots in Christian beliefs and practices. The English word 'Halloween' comes from "All Hallows' Eve", being the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (All Saints' Day) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November.
Is Samhain the lord of the dead?
Samhain was known in Ireland as the "Lord of Darkness". The Druid religion was practiced by ancient Celtic tribes that populated Ireland and parts of Europe. This religion worshipped Samhain, the Lord of Darkness. Some writings also speak of Samhain as the "Lord of the Dead".
How do witches celebrate Samhain?
Wicca and Samhain In the Druid tradition, Samhain celebrates the dead with a festival on October 31 and usually features a bonfire and communion with the dead. American pagans often hold music and dance celebrations called Witches' Balls in proximity to Samhain.
How did Celts tell time?
The Celts understood time completely differently than we do. Time was circular, rather than linear. Like the modern Jewish calendar, they reckoned days from sunset to sunset, rather than from dawn to midnight like we do.
Did the Celts celebrate birthdays?
Julius Caesar said in his Gallic Wars: "[the Gaulish Celts] keep birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night." Longer periods were reckoned in nights, as in the surviving English term fortnight meaning two weeks, and the obsolete se'nnight meaning one week.
What is a Celtic tree?
The Celts attribute the tree of life symbol to qualities like wisdom, strength and longevity. These qualities of trees were the reason behind Celts worshiping them. The Celts believed that their enemies would be rendered powerless if their (enemy's) sacred tree was cut down.
What is the meaning of 17 Samonios?
Detail of Samonios (year 1), with Quimon- visible at the top. The entry 17 Samonios refers to "three nights of Samo nios.". This festival may be equivalent to a 10 night festival of Apollo Grannus recorded in a first-century AD Latin inscription from Limoges. An intercalary month every two and a half years.
What does Ivos mean in Celtic?
The word ivos has long been associated with the Celtic word for "yew" – Rhys (1910), c.f. Ivo, īwaz – but Zavaroni suggests that in this context it means " (con)junction". ^ At the beginning of Elembiv in year 2 there are five IVOS days, whereas other months begin with only three or four.
What does Samonios mean?
The latter of which is what leads some to believe Samonios is cognate to Samhain. Some believe Samonios means something like “assembly, gathering”. However, the frame of reference we use to build a conclusion is not Samonios, but Giamonios.
When does the month of Giamonios start?
At the date of writing, (11 December, 2019), we are in the month of Giamonios. It started on 4 December. This means you can use the normal 12 months until then to know what months come next.
When was the Cingos Ammanês calendar discovered?
It was discovered in 1897 in Coligny, Ain, France. It is thought to date to the 2nd century CE. Almost everything about the calendar is hotly debated.
Overview
List of months
The names of the twelve regular months are recorded as Samonios, Dumannios, Rivros, Anagantios, Ogronios, Cutios, Giamonios, Simivisonnios, Equos, Elembivios, Edrinios, and Cantlos. There were two intercalary months, Quimonios, which appeared in first year of the five year calendar cycle, and Sonnocingos, which appeared in the third year.
Samonios refers to summer (samo-) while Giamonios refers to winter (giamos). The meanings o…
Reconstruction
The Coligny calendar was a lunisolar calendar. It attempted to synchronize the solar year and the lunar month. The common lunar year contained 354 or 355 days.
The first month of the year was Samonios. The name was based on samo-, Gaulish for summer. This suggests that the Celtic year once started on the su…
Footnotes
1. ^ The arrangement by de Ricci misplaces four fragments, according to Duval & Pinault.
2. ^ "L'étymologie est transparent puisque le nom du mois et fait sur celui de l'hiver giamo-." — Delamarre (2003) [The etymology is transparent since the name of the month is made on that of the winter "giamo-".]
Bibliography
• Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. 2nd edition, Paris, Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6.
• Dottin, Georges, La langue gauloise : grammaire, textes et glossaire (1920) no. 53, pp. 172–207.
• Duval, Paul-Marie and Pinault, Georges (eds) (1986). Recueil des inscriptions gauloises (R.I.G.), Vol. 3: Les calendriers de Coligny (73 fragments) et Villards d'Heria (8 fragments). Paris, Editions du CNRS.
External links
• The Gallic calendar – Lugdunum Museum