On the night of Hallowe’en, hundreds of volunteers will throw their most ambitious Samhuinn Fire Festival yet. The festival heads to the top of Calton Hill for the first time in Beltane Fire Society’s history, where thousands of spectators are expected to gather and watch the contemporary rendering of the Celtic New Year.
With nearly 20 different performance groups, this will be the biggest ever Samhuinn Fire Festival production. The festival’s participants embody different factions of Winter and Summer, who battle it out all over the Hill in a dramatic enactment of the turn of the seasons. What has previously been a procession is being transformed into a uniquely immersive experience, where audiences can choose their own route through the story that is performed simultaneously throughout the arena.
The festival celebrates Scotland’s heritage with a modern reimagining of traditional Samhuinn celebrations. It was first revived in 1995 by a small group of enthusiasts, and has typically taken place in Edinburgh’s Old Town. The festival’s move to Calton Hill is however rooted in Samhuinn’s history. There are historical accounts of similar celebrations at this time of year being moved up to the Hill for their Winter celebration in the 1400s. Since Calton Hill is also the home of Beltane Fire Society’s Summer event, Beltane Fire Festival, it is both a fitting new venue and a return home for Samhuinn Fire Festival.
The story that the festival tells marks the onset of Winter by depicting a battle between the Summer King and the Winter King, which is overseen by the Cailleach, a goddess figure from folklore around the British Isles. Over the years, hundreds of volunteers have constructed a contemporary myth from their own interpretations of the story. Some groups this year will be inspired by folk traditions worldwide, including from Norse legends, to enhance the Celtic narrative.
Erin Macdonald, Beltane Fire Society’s chair said:
We’re very excited to be returning to our spiritual home on Calton Hill for this year’s Samhuinn Fire Festival. The new venue has given us a great opportunity to think outside the box for how we tell the Samhuinn story – including how we make it very different to our Beltane event – and our volunteers have been buzzing with loads of creative ideas already. We’ll have everything from giant puppets through to battles and bonfires, so it will certainly be a unique Hallowe’en night experience.“Our festival has been growing in popularity for a number of years, and the limited number of tickets for this year’s event on Calton Hill means that we do expect to sell out. Our tip is for people to buy tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.