Irish Origins of Halloween

Halloween originated in Ireland as the pagan Celtic harvest festival, Samhain. Irish, Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century.

Halloween is most popular in Ireland, where it originated, also known in Irish Gaelic as "Oíche Shamhna" or "Samhain Night". The Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, "End of Summer," a pastoral and agricultural festival of fire, when the dead revisited the mortal world, and large communal bonfires would be lit to ward off evil spirits. In Ireland they continued to practice their deep-rooted, ancient pagan rites well after the arrival of Christianity in the middle of the sixth century.

According to what can be reconstructed of the beliefs of the ancient Celts, the bright half of the year ended around November 1 or on a Moon-phase near that date, a day referred to in modern Gaelic as Samhain ("Sow-in" or alternatively "Sa-ven", meaning: End of the Summer). As October 31st is the last day of the bright half of the year, the next day also meant the beginning of Winter, which the Celts often associated with human death. The Celts also believed that on October 31, the boundary separating the dead from the living became blurred. (There is a rich and unusual myth system at work here; the spirit world, the residence of the "Sidhe," as well as of the dead, was accessible through burial mounds. These mounds opened at two times during the year, making the beginning and end of Summer highly spiritually resonant.)

The exact customs observed in each Celtic region differ, but they generally involved the lighting of bonfires and the reinforcement of boundaries, across which malicious spirits might cross and threaten the community.

Pope Gregory IV standardized the date of All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day, on November 1 to the entire Western Church in 835. There is no primary documentation that Gregory was aware of or reacting to Samhain among the Celts in the selection of this date. Because Samhain had traditionally fallen the night before All Hallows', it eventually became known as All Hallows' Even' or Hallowe'en. While Celts were happy to move their All Saints' Day from its earlier date of the 20th of April, they were unwilling to give up their existing festival of the dead and continued to celebrate Samhain. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian interpretation. Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit.

In Ireland, great bonfires were lit throughout the breadth of the land. Young children in their guises were gladly received by the neighbors with some "fruit, apples and nuts and of course sweets" for the "Halloween Party", whilst older male siblings played innocent pranks on bewildered victims.

On Halloween night in present-day Ireland, adults and children dress up as creatures from the underworld (ghosts, ghouls, zombies, witches, goblins - see thumbnail), light bonfires, and (especially in Derry and Dublin) enjoy spectacular fireworks displays. The children walk around knocking on the doors of neighbours, in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. Salt was once sprinkled in the hair of the children to protect against evil spirits.

A Halloween custom which has survived unchanged to this day in Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish "báirín breac"). This is a light fruit cake into which a plain ring, a piece of rag and a coin are placed before baking. Each member of the family gets a slice, and great interest is taken in the outcome. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.

The quintessential Halloween symbol, the jack-o'-lantern, also originated in the emerald isle. In Ireland there was a Halloween tradition of carving turnips and putting candles inside them. The practice is linked to the folktale of “Hard Jack, or Stingy Jack” a mean spirited man who managed to trick and beat the devil. As a result of his wicked ways, after his death neither heaven nor hell would have him. He begs the Devil for something to keep him warm in Limbo, and the devil tosses him a burning ember. He can’t carry it in his hands, and so carves out a turnip to carry it in, to find his way. So now the ghostly visage of "Jack of the Lantern" wanders forth on Halloween, trying to find someplace to call home.

When the Irish emigrate to the U.S., they find pumpkins are easily available, and much easier to carve, and thereafter a new tradition is born.

Another famous Halloween tradition finds its roots in Ireland. Dracula was written by Dubliner Abraham "Bram" Stoker (1847-1912). Halloween traditions survive most accurately on the island of Ireland, where the last Monday of October is a public holiday. All schools close for the following week for mid-term, commonly called the Halloween Break. As a result Ireland and Northern Ireland are the only countries where children never have school on Halloween and are therefore free to celebrate it in the ancient and time-honored fashion.

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