Halloween Began In Ireland

by Oct 27, 2021Dublin, Europe, Ireland

Halloween Began In Ireland

Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Weekend Notes|  Oct. 27, 2021

https://www.weekendnotes.com/halloween-began-in-ireland/
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“The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween.” – Paula Guran

Did you know that Halloween originated in ancient Ireland? Halloween, an amalgamation of both pagan and Catholic traditions of connecting with the dead, is celebrated each year on October 31. A couple of years ago, I was invited on a trip that crisscrossed the country of Ireland exploring traditions old and new. Since then, I’ve learned more about the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) and how it’s led to costumes, symbols, traditions, and superstitions of modern-day Halloween.

“Darkness falls across the land, the Midnight Hour is close at hand.” – Rodney Lynn Temperton

The Celts lived 2,000 years ago, primarily in the area that is now Ireland, the UK and parts of France. They celebrated their New Year on November 1. This marked the end of the harvest, the end of their summer, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter that many associated with death.

“Be afraid, be very afraid.” – Ronnie, “The Fly“

The Celtic festival of Samhain allowed for a great celebration with the hard harvest work completed. Druid priests sacrificed animals and crops in giant bonfires and encouraged the wearing of costumes, often animal heads and skins, to ward off ghosts, including the spirits of their ancestors they feared would carry them off. These bonfires attracted bugs which, in turn, attracted bats. This led to the association with bats as harbingers of death.

“The dead rise again, bats fly, terror strikes and screams echo, for tonight it’s Halloween.” – unknown

The superstitious believed that this day allowed for a dropping of the boundary between the living and dead, that the worlds could blur. This is part of the basis for the show Outlander.

“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose?” – Bram Stoker, Dracula

When the Roman Empire conquered the Celtic lands in the modern-day regions of the United Kingdom and France, Ireland was not affected. Tommy Graham, editor of Ireland’s History magazine jokes, “the Romans took one look at the weather in Ireland … and it was so bad, they assumed it was winter here all year round, and left.” But the Roman influence added another dimension to Samhain: that of Feralia, a day when Romans commemorated the passing of the dead, and that of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, whose predominant symbol is an apple. These two supported the commemoration of the dead and the association with bobbing for apples.

“Men say that in this midnight hour, the disembodied have power.” – William Motherwell

All Saints’ Day, on November 1st, was known in Middle English as Alholowmesse, or All-hallows, so the night before, the traditional night of Samhain, was known as All Hallows Eve which became Halloween.

“Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve.” – Ray Bradbury

People in Ireland continued to associate this time of year with the wandering dead and would set out gifts of food to feed the hungry spirits. Over time, they celebrated with “mumming.” Encyclopedia.com defines mumming as the “ancient folk rituals in Europe celebrating fertility, birth, and renewal during annual festivals such as Halloween… Some of the clearest parallels among those festivals are the use of costumes and masks, travelling from house to house, and a salutary chant made by a leader or captain.” It sounds a lot like trick-or-treating to me.

The Catholic Church, in 1000 A.D., made November 2nd All Souls’ Day, commonly celebrated like Samhain with bonfires, parades, and dressing as saints, angels and devils. Centuries later, this was simplified to have October 31 be the day of Halloween, November 1 All Saints’ Day, and November 2 All Souls’ Day to commemorate all the dead. When Halloween came to America, the celebration was limited in colonial New England based on rigid Protestant beliefs, and more common in my home state, Maryland, where the Catholic influence was more pronounced. The early celebrations included the telling of ghost stories and included the beliefs of the American Indians in the area. People gathered at “play parties” to dance, sing, reminisce about the dead and tell each other’s fortunes. While many of the early Halloween superstitions were born of fear, the native American experience was one of celebration, a reunion with their ancestors as part of the natural cycle of life.

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