Diwali & Samhain
Ireland’s First Indo-Celtic Festival
Diwali & Samhain is an annual celebration of the similarities between Indian and Celtic culture and traditions. Dubbed, as Ireland's first Indo-Celtic festival it explores the themes of light, brightness, rebirth and renewal which are common to both traditions.
The festival will return in November 2012, with a fantastic 2 week celebration of Indo-Celtic music, dance, visual arts, film, exhibition and language, concluding in a magical public celebration with a spectacular lighting and pyrotechnics show. Please check back for updates.
What is Diwali?
Enthusiastically celebrated by people of all nationalities, races and religions, Diwali, the festival of lights creates a magical world of joy and festivity. It celebrates the triumphant victory of good over evil – and the glory of light over darkness, a beam of hope over despair.
The word Diwali or Deepavali (in its full form), means ‘a row of lamps’. Diwali marks a new beginning, a renewal of commitment to family values, and represents all the good virtues we seek such as love, reflection, forgiveness and knowledge
What is Samhain?
Samhain (meaning ‘summers end’) is a Gaelic harvest festival marking the Celtic New Year. The festival celebrates the end of harvest, the end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half". It focuses on the themes of birth and renewal as part of ancient Celtic mythology.
Fusing Cultures
ArtsEkta first introduced Diwali & Samhain in 2007 as a small community festival in North Belfast in partnership with McCracken Cultural Society. Over four years the festival has grown in size and popularity with audience numbers increasing from 500 to 7,000 people.
In 2010, the programme was expanded and partnerships developed with the Ulster Museum, Queens University, University of Ulster, Irish language and Ulster Scots groups hosting a diverse and innovative arts programme over one week concluding in a major public event at the grounds of the Ulster Museum/Botanic Gardens.