Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year, winter. This falls about halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. It is one of the four quarter days associated with Gaelic festivals along with Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasa. First mentioned in the earliest Irish literature, from the 9th century, and is associated with many important events in Irish mythology.