Halloween is so much more than dressing up and trick or treating for sweets.
The Irish tradition of Oiche Shamhna, the eve of Samhain, which is the night before All Saints Day, is celebrated with deep-rooted rituals to mark the end of summer and the harvest season with the beginning of winter. Over the years, contemporary society has taken many of the old traditions and incorporated them into the celebration of modern-day Halloween. You may recognise some of these ideas, and if not, why not incorporate them into your Halloween celebrations this year.
Colcannon
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dinner made of potato, curly kale, and onion, often eaten as a customary dinner on Halloween. The best part of colcannon is searching for the coins cooked in the feast. Clean coins wrapped in baking paper are placed in the potato for children to find. Considered the future telling mashed potato, finding a coin in your dinner meant good wealth for the coming year. Older generations would also place a rag, stick and other items in the colcannon to predict the future. But, these days, we tend to stick with coins!
A Ring in the Barmbrack
Barmbrack is a traditional Irish fruit bread made around Halloween and often served with butter and tea. The brack is cut into slices and shared amongst the family. If you are lucky, you will get the portion with the ring or coin. If you are unlucky, you may find a rag in your slice. The ring is a sign of impending romance, while the coin shows riches in your future. And a rag casts doubt on your financial future.
Bonfires
Bonfires have long been a traditional Halloween custom as the Celts believed that the dead revisited the living on All Hallows Eve. Therefore, bonfires were lit to keep away any evil spirits.
Costumes
The tradition of dressing up in frightening costumes is heavily rooted in the same belief about evil spirits wandering the earth on All Hallows Eve. The ceremony began with bonfires, as those who gathered feared being recognised by spirits. And so, at a bonfire, it is a tradition for those joining to dress in costume to disguise themselves from dangerous spirits or devils who may try to take them away.
Jack-O-Lanterns
Glowing pumpkins may seem heavily rooted in an American custom, but the Jack-O-Lantern originated in eighteenth-century Ireland and was traditionally a turnip and not a pumpkin. The legend goes that an Irish blacksmith named Jack had conspired with the Devil and was refused entry to Heaven. With the doors locked to him, he was sentenced to roam the earth in darkness. However, the Devil granted him a burning coal ember for a light which he placed inside a gouged turnip. The belief was that the blacksmith would stay away from them by placing a lantern in their window. As many Irish crossed the seas to America, they naturally brought their traditions with them, but turnips were hard to find, and so the pumpkin became an autumnal and Halloween tradition.
The Blind Date
A unique tradition to Ireland is the blind date on Halloween. Local girls were blindfolded and would walk into the fields to uproot the first cabbage they could find. How much earth was attached to the roots would decide how much money their future loved one would have. More dirt meant more money. Eating the cabbage would tell the girl more about their future husband. Would he be bitter or sweet?
The Apple
Finally, another tradition is embedded in the apple. Or instead, in its peel, to be precise. If an apple were peeled in one go, dropping the peel to the ground would reveal the initials of your future partner. Playing the game Snap-Apple is still a traditional Halloween game in many households. Played with apples either suspended by a string from the ceiling or floating in buckets of water, the competition involves trying to be the first to bite the apple. Tradition has it that the first person to sink their teeth in will be the first person to marry.
Main Image by nancy sticke from Pixabay
FAQs
Halloween comes from the old festival of Samhain, which was celebrated in Ireland and Scotland to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The boundary between the earthly world and the Otherworld was believed to be more porous at this time, so spirits roamed the earth.
What do they call Halloween in Ireland? ›
Halloween began as a pagan celebration over 2,000 years ago in Ireland as part of a festival known as 'Samhain'. Traditionally celebrated on the 31st of October – 1st November, the Celtic festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the annual harvest and the coming of Winter.
What is the Irish Halloween myth? ›
According to Irish mythology, the night before Samhain, November Eve (or 'Oíche Shamhna' in Irish), was a liminal time in which the lines between this world and the 'alltar' (the Irish for 'Otherworld') were blurred, due to the night's lying between one year and the next.
What are the superstitions for Irish Halloween? ›
One old Irish Halloween game was to blindfold a person and have them place their hand on items spread across a table. Landing in a bowl of water meant emigration, a piece of earth meant a death in the family, a ring meant a wedding was coming soon and so on. Black cats are definitely associated with Halloween.
What are 5 interesting facts about Ireland? ›
5 Bonus fun facts about Ireland
- Ireland is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest. ...
- Halloween was invented in Ireland. ...
- Ireland has the largest number of red-haired people of any country in the world. ...
- Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol.
In Ireland, where Halloween originated, people celebrate by setting off fireworks. They also eat barmbrack, a traditional fruitcake, and light bonfires to celebrate the Holiday. “Jack o'lantern” comes from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack.
What is the old Irish word for Halloween? ›
'Samhain' in Gaelic means 'November' and the Irish for Halloween is 'Oíche Shamhna', or the 'Eve of Samhain'.
What does Samhain mean in Gaelic? ›
For the Celts, who lived during the Iron Age in what is now Ireland, Scotland, the U.K. and other parts of Northern Europe, Samhain (meaning literally, in modern Irish, “summer's end”) marked the end of summer and kicked off the Celtic new year.
What are the traditional decorations for Halloween in Ireland? ›
Houses are bedecked with Jack O'Lanterns, broomsticks and other Halloween decorations, while in Ireland the family may share a traditional Halloween fruitcake called a barnbrack. A number of family orientated events are held throughout Ireland to celebrate Halloween.
Why did the Irish dress up for Halloween? ›
This time of year was believed to be when the veil between the dead and the living was the thinnest and people would wear disguises to ward off spirits. This tradition was carried over to North America when Irish immigrants fled famine in the 1840s.
Halloween began as an old Celtic festival called Samhain. The Celts, thought to be from Western Europe, immigrated to Ireland sometime between 700 and 100 BC. They brought with them pagan beliefs and customs, centered around celebrating the cycles of nature through prayer and festivities.
Are black cats lucky or unlucky in Ireland? ›
In Scottish lore, if a black cat appears on your front porch, it will bring you prosperity. In Ireland, Germany, and the UK, however, black cats may only be deemed lucky if they cross your path in a certain direction. In the English Midlands, a black cat may actually be considered a good-luck wedding present.
What is considered bad luck in Ireland? ›
If you count the cars at a funeral, bad luck will befall you. If you burn a pack of playing cards, bad luck will befall you. If the Christmas candles do not burn straight on Christmas, there will be bad luck in the house during the coming year. It is unlucky to cut hay in the same year where cattle graze.
What is the Irish Samhain ritual? ›
In some areas, two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people—sometimes with their livestock—would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. The bones of slaughtered cattle were said to have been cast upon bonfires. People also took the flames from the bonfire back to their homes.
Is Halloween a holiday in Ireland? ›
Although Halloween is on October 31st, in the Republic of Ireland it is celebrated as a public holiday on the last Monday in October. It became a public holiday in 1977 and as it falls close to Halloween, it has become known as a Halloween holiday.
Did the Irish come up with Halloween? ›
Halloween's oldest roots are in an ancient Irish holiday called Samhain (pronounced sah-win)! Samhain—usually translated “summer's end”—was in part a harvest festival when Celtic tribes held assemblies, and rulers and warriors conferred and made laws.
Was Ireland the first country to celebrate Halloween? ›
Modern Celebrations in Ireland
So, as you put on your costume and carve your jack-o'-lantern this October 31st, remember that you are participating in a celebration with roots that reach back thousands of years to the enchanting and mystical land of Ireland, the true birthplace of Halloween.
