What Is Samhain? Art, Community & the Season Between in Bergen County, NJ
Samhain is a Gaelic seasonal festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. Traditionally observed on November 1, with celebrations beginning the evening before, it is part of the history behind Halloween.
There’s something about late October that asks us to pay attention. The light shifts. Familiar streets look different after dark. We find ourselves thinking about what we’re holding onto and what we’re ready to leave behind.
Here in Bergen County, the season also offers a reason to step out of our usual routines and discover the creative work happening close to home. At Raven’s Ink Printing & Gallery, that space between endings and beginnings feels like a place for art.
What does Samhain celebrate?
Samhain marks a seasonal threshold. The National Museum of Ireland describes traditions including feasting, games, divination, disguises, and beliefs about the dead returning home. These customs connect the changing season with memory, uncertainty, and gathering together.
You don’t need to follow a particular spiritual tradition to find meaning in that pause. It can be as simple as remembering someone, making something, or spending an evening with your community.
On the Brink: art, word & spirit in Ramsey, NJ
Those themes also run through On the Brink: Living in the Liminal, our exhibition exploring endings, beginnings, and becoming.
Join Raven’s Ink Printing & Gallery and 7 Souls Tattoo for a showcase and meet & greet on October 28, 2026, from 7–9 p.m. Expect local artwork, poetry, music, tarot readings, and tattoos at 7 Souls Tattoo and Piercing, 2 E Main St, Ramsey, NJ 07446.
Looking for an October art event in Bergen County? Our Ramsey showcase brings the exhibition and the people behind it into the same room. Whether you’re coming from nearby Mahwah or Allendale, or making an evening of it from elsewhere in North Jersey, you’re invited to meet the artists and spend time with the work. The artwork is on display October 25–November 1.
This is an art and community gathering inspired by themes of transition, rather than a traditional Samhain ceremony.
RSVP for On the Brink in Ramsey →
Keeping local creativity in print
A drawing becomes an art print. A collection of poems becomes a zine. A gathering begins with a flyer passed from one person to another. Alongside the gallery, Raven’s Ink Printing offers art prints, posters, flyers, zines, stickers, apparel, and custom projects. For Bergen County artists, writers, independent businesses, and community organizers, these are ways to give an idea a life beyond the screen. If this season has you making something of your own, explore Raven’s Ink Printing & Gallery and tell us what you have in mind.
A few quick answers
How do you pronounce Samhain?
An approximate Irish pronunciation is “SOW-in,” with the first syllable rhyming with “cow.” Pronunciation varies by dialect. Hear Irish pronunciations at Teanglann.
Is Samhain the same as Halloween?
They are connected, but not identical. Samhain is a seasonal festival; Halloween also carries Christian and later folk traditions. The name Halloween refers to the evening before All Saints’ Day.
Where is the On the Brink event?
The October 28 showcase takes place at 7 Souls Tattoo and Piercing, 2 E Main St, Ramsey, New Jersey, from 7–9 p.m. RSVP here.
Where can I ask about art prints, zines, or custom printing in Bergen County?
Raven’s Ink Printing & Gallery welcomes inquiries about art prints, posters, flyers, zines, stickers, apparel, and custom projects. Visit ripgallery.com to explore the printing services and get in touch about your idea.