the origin of halloween lies in celtic ireland

7/30/2019 The Origin of Halloween Lies in Celtic Ireland

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The origin of Halloween lies in Celtic Ireland

The history behind Halloween. The dark side of Halloween. How our ancestors

celebrated 31 October.

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To find theorigin of

Halloween,

you have tolook to the

festival of

Samhain inIreland's

Celtic past.Samhain had

three distinctelements.

Firstly, it was

an importantfire festival, celebrated over the evening of 31 October and throughout the following day.

The flames of old fires had to be extinguished and ceremonially re-lit by druids.It was

also a festival not unlike the modern New Year's Day in that it carried the notion ofcasting out the old and moving into the new. To our pagan ancestors it marked the end of

the pastoral cycle a time when all the crops would have been gathered and placed in

storage for the long winter ahead and when livestock would be brought in from the fieldsand selected for slaughter or breeding.

But it was also, as the last day of the year, the time when the souls of the departed would

return to their former homes and when potentially malevolent spirits were released from

the Otherworld and were visible to mankind.Samhain: its place in the Celtic calendar

The Celts celebrated four major festivals each year. None of them was connected in

anyway to the sun's cycle. The origin of Halloween lies in the Celt's Autumn festivalwhich was held on the first day of the 11th month, the month known as November in

English but as Samhain in Irish.

The original Celtic year

1 Imbolc: 1st February

2 Beltaine: 1st May3 Lughnasa: 1st August

4 Samhain: 1st November
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The festivals are known by other names in other Celtic countries but there is usually some

similarity, if only in the translation. In Scottish Gaelic, the autumn festival is called

Samhuinn. In Manx it is Sauin. The root of the word - sam - means summer, while fuinmeans end. And this signals the idea of a seasonal change rather than a notion of worship

or ritual.The other group of Celtic languages (known as Q-Celtic) have very different

words but a similar intention. In Wales, the day is Calan Gaeaf, which means the first dayof winter. In Brittany, the day is Kala Goanv, which means the beginning of November.

The Celts believed that the passage of a day began with darkness and progressed into the

light. The same notion explains why Winter the season of long, dark nights marked the beginning of the year and progressed into the lighter days of spring, summer and autumn.

So the 1st of November, Samhain, was the Celtic New Year, and the celebrations began at

sunset of the day before, ie its Eve.

The Roman Autumn festival

Three little

girls prepare

for Ireland'sbiggest

Halloween

celebrations in

Derry.Harvest was

celebrated by

the Romanswith a festival

dedicated to

Pomona, the goddess of the fruits of the tree, especially apples. The origin of Halloween'sspecial menus, which usually involve apples (as do many party games), probably dates

from this period.

Pomona continued to be celebrated long after the arrival of Christianity in Roman

Europe. So did Samhain in Ireland and it was inevitable that an alternative would befound to push pagan culture and lore into a more 'acceptable' Christian event.

Sure enough, the 7th century Pope Boniface, attempting to lead his flock away from

pagan celebrations and rituals, declared 1st November to be All Saints Day, also knownas All Hallows Day.

The evening before became known as Hallows' Eve, and from there the origin of

Halloween, as a word, is clear.

The origin of Halloween's spookinessFor Celts, Samhain was a spiritual time, but with a lot of confusion thrown into the mix.

Being 'between years' or 'in transition', the usually fairly stable boundaries between the

Otherworld and the human world became less secure so that puka, banshees, fairies and

other spirits could come and go quite freely. There were also 'shape shifters' at large. This


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is where the dark side of Halloween originated.

Apples

Samhain marked the end of the final harvest of the summer, and all apples had to have

been picked by the time the day's feasting began. It was believed that on Samhain, the

puca Irish evil fairies spat on any unharvested apples to make them inedible.

The little people

Celtic tales are full of heroic warriors and mystical gods. They are also the origin of

Halloween's (and Ireland's) preoccupation with the 'little people'.Academics have concluded that the little people were, originally, the pagan gods of

Ireland who lost their significance and, metaphorically, their stature, when Christianity

arrived. Despite their reduced state and retirement to the Underworld as fairies, a memoryof their magical powers held fast in the imagination of the people. Here lies the origin of

Halloween's dark side.

There are two main groups of fairy: the trooping fairies who are, for the most part,friendly and have healing powers, and the solitary fairy who causes mischief and is quick

to anger.

5

6 The Leprechaun is the best known of the latter group.7

8 The fairy most connected with the origin of Halloween is the Puca

(pronounced Pooka) who is decidedly malevolent and capable of assuming any shape.The puca is particularly adept at taking animal shapes, especially horses, so riders beware

on Halloween your 'steed' may not be under your control!

9

10 The Banshee is another fairy, always female, who warns of approaching death byletting loose a terrible, eerie wail (the Banshee scream) that is guaranteed to send a shiver

down the spine of those that hear it. If you hear the cry of the Banshee of Ireland, youshould look out for a funeral carriage pulled by a headless horse.

Since humans could see these spirits on this night, they might try to appease them, but

could easily fall foul of them by committing an unexplained discourtesy. The spirits were

famously sensitive to any slight!Among the specific terrors of Halloween were the Fomorians who believed they had a

right to take back to the Otherworld their share of fresh milk, grains and live children.

To ward off the evil let loose at Samhain, huge bonfires were lit and people wore uglymasks and disguises to confuse the spirits and stop the dead identifying individuals who

they may have disliked during their own lifetime.

They also deliberately made a lot of noise to unsettle the spirits and drive them awayfrom their communities. The timid, however, would leave out food for the fairies in their

homes, or at the nearest hawthorn or whitethorn bush (where fairies were known to live)

hoping that their generosity would be sufficient to appease the spirits. For some, the

tradition of leaving food (and a spoon to eat it!) in the home usually a plate of champ or

colcannon was more about offering hospitality to their own ancestors.

Just as spells and incantations of witches were especially powerful at Samhain, so the


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night was believed to be full of portents of the future.

The origin of Halloween games

Celts looked to the future at Samhain and could see 'clues' to the year ahead in the

simplest things. Even peeling an apple could provide a clue to the name of a future wifeor husband; if the peel was allowed to drop to the floor as it was peeled, it would form the

initial letter of the lucky spouse.

Apples also featured in the 'ducking for apples' game where the object is to retrieve anapple from a barrel or large bowl of water without using hands or feet. There was nothing

particularly symbolic about the origin of Halloween games such as these. They are fun

games in which all ages can participate, and apples were plentiful at this time of the year.

Most other games and 'rituals' played out at Halloween were to do with courtship. Amongthem was the fortune-telling bowl of Colcannon! (link to recipe at bottom of page)

A ring (and sometimes a thimble, too) were mixed into a large bowl of this warming,

simple dish which was placed in the middle of the table. Each person sitting around the

table took a spoonful of the potato and cabbage mixture, dipping it into the well of meltedbutter at its centre. The person who found the ring was sure to be married within the year.

The thimble, when used, denoted life without love and marriage.The origin of Halloween 'trick or treating' seems to have been a Druid ritual of collecting

eggs, nuts and apples from the individual homes of the community. These offerings were

meant to bring some protection from bad luck such as damage to crops or livestock in thenext year. Those that were miserly in their offerings were likely to have a trick played on

them. These pranks were harmless enough, but intended to cause confusion ie changing

the direction a gate opened.

The origin of the Halloween lantern

The Devil played a part in theorigin

of the Halloween Jack

O'Lantern

In order to prevent unwelcomespirits entering their homes, the

Celts created menacing faces

out of turnips and left them ontheir doorsteps. Adding a lit

candle to the hollowed out facegave added protection.In modern times, pumpkins are used. They're considerably easier to carve, and a lot

bigger, too, but they are not native to Ireland.

According to legend, the origin of the Halloween lantern can be found in the tale of ayoung smith called Jack O'Lantern who made a pact with the Devil during a gambling

session. He managed to thwart the Devil and extracted a promise from him that he would

never take his soul.


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When he eventually died, Jack was refused entry to heaven on account of his drunken,

lewd and miserly ways. The Devil, remembering his earlier promise, also refused to

allow him into hell. So Jack was condemned to roam the dark hills and lanes of Irelandfor eternity.

His only possessions were a turnip with a gouged out centre and a burning coal, thrown to

him by the Devil. He put the coal inside the turnip to light his way through the darkcountryside where he still wanders......

Ireland's best Halloween party is in Derry

While the origin of

Halloween doesn't liespecifically in Derry,

the world's biggest

Halloween party is

held there every year.More than 30,000

people take to the

streets, most of themdressed as witches,

ghouls, vampires and monsters from the Otherworld.

It's a time when you're almost certain to hear the Banshees screaming assuming you can hear anything much above the marching bands, ceilidh music, hard rock and calypso as

the carnival proceeds through the town.

Guildhall Square plays host to a free concert, and many events, including Ghost Walks,

are held throughout the city before a spectacular fireworks display brings celebrations to

a close.

11

12 Find out more about this year's Halloween party in Derry:www.derryvisitor.com(opens in new window).

13 Do Halloween in true Irish style with this Colcannon recipe.

14 Or try one of these Irish soda bread recipes... the Apple version is traditional at this

time of year.

15 Is it just their height that makes Celtic high crosses so impressive?

16 DiscoverLnasa, another of the major Celtic holidays, held in August.

17 Return from Origin of Halloween to the Irish symbols page.

A history of St Patrick
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The story of St Patrick of Ireland. When St Patrick was born. Saint Patrick in the culture

of Ireland.

The history of St Patrick, the

patron saint of Ireland who was

born in the second half of the 4thcentury, is inevitably sketchy.

Even his year of birth is uncertain,

with some scholars hitting on 373

while others calculate 390.Similarly, the place where St

Patrick was born cannot be

confirmed. It is known that he wasraised near a village called Banna

Vemta Burniae but its location

cannot be identified. It may havebeen lowland Scotland but is

equally likely to have been Wales,

then under Roman control.Patrick's real name was probably Maewyn Succat. His father, Calpornius, was a Roman-

British army officer and a deacon. Despite this family involvement in the church, the

young Patrick was not a believer. His life was ordinary, and completely unexceptional

until the age of 16.But dramatic events then occurred which set the history of St Patrick on course.

The kidnapped shepherd

The young lad was kidnapped, along with many others, by Irish pirates and sold intoslavery in Ireland. According to his autobiographical Confessio, which survives, the next

six years were spent imprisoned in the north of the island and he worked as a herdsmen ofsheep and pigs on Mount Slemish in co Antrim.

During this period, he became increasingly religious. He considered his kidnapping and

imprisonment as a punishment for his lack of faith and spent a lot of time in prayer. After

a vision led him to stow away on a boat bound for Britain, Patrick escaped back to hisfamily.

There he had a dream that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about

God. This inspired him to return to Ireland as a priest, but not immediately. At this pointhe didn't feel adequately prepared for a life as a missionary. His studies took him to

France where he was trained in a monastery, possibly under St Germain, the bishop ofAuxerre and it was some 12 years before he returned to Irish shores.

Ireland's apostle


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St Patrick meets King

Loegaire to request

permission to preachChristianity.

The next chapter of thehistory of St Patrick isbetter known than his

earlier life. He landed at

Strangford Loch, coDown, as a bishop sent

with the Pope's blessing.

Although he is often

credited with havingbrought Christianity to

Ireland, he was not the

first to have done so. Anearlier mission had seen Palladius preach to the Irish.

Patrick's success lay in the scale of his conversion of the native Irish, most of whom were

pagans. They also spoke Irish, so he must have learned the language in order tocommunicate with them so convincingly.

Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing. The history of St Patrick is littered with arrests and

brief periods of imprisonment when his teachings had upset local chieftains or Celtic

Druids, but he always escaped or eased his way to freedom by presenting his captors withgifts.

For twenty years he travelled the length and breadth of the island, baptising people and

establishing monasteries, schools and churches as he went.

Visit the Saint Patrick Centre

Located in Downpatrick, co Down, the Centre is the only permanent exhibition in theworld dedicated to the story of St Patrick and how he became Ireland's Patron Saint.

Close to both Down Cathedral and Patrick's Grave, the centre provides an interactive

exhibition about the history of St Patrick and his legacy. It is also an important stop on

the new Saint Patrick's Trail through counties Armagh and Down.For more details:www.saintpatrickcentre.com.

By the time he died, on 17 March 461 (or 493, depending on which date you started your

calculation), he left behind an organised church, the see of Armagh, and an island ofChristians.

This date 17 March has been commemorated as St Patrick's Day ever since.

He was buried either in Downpatrick, co Down, or in Armagh.
http://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/http://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/


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More about Ireland's saint

1 Discover the many legends associated with Saint Patrick of Ireland.

2 The history of St Patrick's Day.

Irish Christmas traditions

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Irish Christmas traditions,

like festive customs theworld over, are not set in

stone. They evolve over

the generations, and not

necessarily over verymany generations, either.

Longevity certainly wasn't arequisite feature of tradition

for my Nana Tierney. Thanks

to her, all my childhood

memories of Christmas which ought to be beautiful

things are set to a sound

track of 'Oh come all yefaithful' mingled with 'I

believe' by The

Bachelors.Nana insisted that, as Irish Christmas traditions went, you couldn't get betterthan The Bachelors. To this day, a big nostalgic lump gets stuck in my throat when I hear

that wretched song (or anything else by the scrubbed up Brothers B) and imagine her,

standing in front of the fire, skirt hitched up to warm the back of her thighs, singing alongto 'Every time I hear a new-born baby cry....'

Not once did anyone dare point out that listening to records of The Bachelors could not

have achieved the elevated status of Traditional in the early 1960s.

This recollection reflects apeculiarity about Irish

Christmas traditions (and

probably holds true for many

other customs, too) that they can be traditions to individual families only, notnecessarily entire communities or nations. Very often, the word 'traditional' means

nothing more than 'what we did when we were young'. I suppose we hang on only to

those family customs that carry the warmest memories and despatch the rest.So it is that
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25th and 26th December are days when families the world over play out their own

versions of what went before. But there is also a core of seasonal traditions that nearly all

Irish families and/or communities observe to a greater or lesser extent.This page is primarily about the pre-Christmas customs the traditions that help to set the

atmosphere of this magical time of year. But you can also follow these links to find out

abouttraditions of specific days over the Christmas period and how to prepare some ofthedelicious seasonal dishes that accompany them.

Decorating the home

Irish Christmas cards

The sending and receiving of festive greetings in paper format is hugely popular in

Ireland. It isn't the oldest of Irish Christmas traditions by any means but there's an

element to it the inclusion of a long newsy letter, often with some recent photos

that I imagine is a throw back to the days of mass-emigration from the island.

Back then, a letter from a long-separated family member would have been the season's

best present. A card, possibly bearing some essence of the foreign land from which it was

sent, would have added an exotic touch.

The card would be placed on public display while the letter would be stored safely butreadily available for regular re-readings.

Today, Irish Christmas cards are big business with cards exchanged between work

colleagues, neighbours and friends, as well as family members near and far. And, in myexperience, at least, the Christmas letter is still well-practised in Ireland.

The big clean-up

For many of our ancestors, Advent (the four weeks leading up to Christmas) began with a

bucket of whitewash in hand. This annual painting of outhouses was one of the most

popular of rural Irish Christmas traditions. It was carried out mainly by the men folk

while the women scrubbed the interiors.It dates back to pre-Christianity and is generallyregarded as the ancient version of spring-cleaning, carried out prior to the Winter Solstice

when daylight hours shrink to just under seven and a half hours. With the arrival of

Christianity the tradition was rebranded as a homely preparation for the arrival of Mary,Joseph and the new-born baby, Jesus.

Some say that this whitewashing tradition continues in some rural areas. If it does, I don't

know the family! Where it may survive in spirit is in the understandable desire to makethe home clean and comfortable for family and friends who will visit during the holiday.

Candle at the window.
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This is one of the most well-

observed of Irish Christmas

traditions and has changed

little over the years except inits increasing popularity. Just

one candle used to be placedin a window as a sign ofwelcome for Mary and

Joseph on Christmas Eve but

it is common these days tosee lit candles, usually

electrically powered, in all

downstairs street-facingwindows throughout the

festive season. In some

homes they are also placed

in upstairs windows.

Holly

A holly wreath remains a popular front-door adornment and dates back to the days when

most of our ancestors would have decorated their home with this freely available

plant.My dear cousin Mary, having lived through many austere years, was not one forover-doing the Christmas decorations. The only hint of the season came in a single holly

sprig, glossy and heavy with red berries, strategically placed on the fireplace of her home

near Bantry.

The tree and the tinsel

Decorating a tree in the dead of winter was a Pagan custom that has survived with little

variation except that the dressed tree (now draped in tinsel) makes its appearance earlierand earlier each year! As with the rest of the decorations, they are now put up in many

homes and offices at the beginning of December and remain in place until the 6th

January.This business of decorating the home with tinsel, fairy lights and festiveornament is a relatively recent phenomenon (especially when they are festooned all over

the front of a house). Before the 20th century, it was only shops, churches, and the homes

of the gentry that were decorated so lavishly. The ordinary family made do with holly andmistletoe.

The church and community

The crib

I have never known

my mother fail to


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create a crib in December.

As a child, it was a treat to help her set it up and to choose where to place the shepherds,

the sheep and the donkey (we didn't quite run to the three wise men).The placing of Mary, Joseph and the baby, Jesus, didn't require much creative direction,

however. They got centre-stage on the straw-strewn miniature stable. Obviously.I have a feeling that the crib in the home is one of the Irish Christmas traditions that maybe on the wane. Not because the religious element of the festivities has been lost;

Christmas remains essentially a religious holiday in Ireland.

Perhaps the little crib is considered clutter in homes that are often chock-a-block with

people, presents, decorations and food at this time of the year.Whether or not the crib-at-home is losing favour, there are often larger-scale cribs

atmospherically lit up in town centres and there is certainly always one in every Roman

Catholic church.

Midnight mass

Attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is probably the most widely practised of allIrish Christmas traditions. Usually the church will be crammed to the rafters with the

largest single congregations of the year and it is a particulary social occasion, as families

that have come together for the holiday meet friends and neighbours they may not have

seen for a year.Although midnight mass is a religious occasion, it is one that non-religious folk sometimes attend because they enjoy the chance to sing some carols, often

accompanied by live music, to exchange Christmas greetings and to play their part in

their local community.

the origin of halloween lies in celtic ireland

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