Welcome to ‘Tales from the Other Side’ where we look at folklore, mythology and magic.
All Hallows Eve, more commonly known as Hallowe’en, is a holiday full of mischief and merriment which has grown hugely in popularity across the globe. Many attribute this rise in popularity to the influence from American culture where it is celebrated with costume parties, trick-or-treating, chilling stories, carving pumpkins as well as a number of other activities. These traditions became popular in the USA in the 19th Century but their origins go back much further.
Samhain
The Celtic calendar is often displayed in a ‘wheel’ and focused on seasonal changes and transitions of the sun through the year. The most significant of the festivals was Samhain. The Celtic year was split into two halves; the light and the dark. Samhain was a festival that signified the transition from light being the prominent power to the dark days taking over. This is one of the festivals best known for the thinning of the veil between the human world and the other world. This meant it was a time when the sighe (fairies), the púca, spirits and the dead could cross into our world.
Bonfires
As with all Celtic festivals, bonfires were an important tradition. When cattle were brought down from summer pastures they would be led between two bonfires as part of a cleansing ritual and the fire was thought to ward off bewitching and plague amongst the livestock.
Communities would gather together where the bonfire was lit by one of the Druid priests. This fire was lit to welcome any spirits seeking warmth and comfort, in the hope that it would serve as a guiding light to any ancestors who had returned to the human world. Each household would light a torch from this fire and when they returned home they would douse the fire that had been burning through the day and restart a new one using the flames from the communal bonfire. This was thought to banish evil and strengthen the community bonds.
The other side…
Due to heightened magical and supernatural activity, many traditions involved dealing with fairies, ghosts and ghouls. Samhain was a very important time for remembering family and friends who had died. An extra place was always set at the table in their honour in case loved ones returned home to visit their living relations. However, there were more mischievous and spiteful spooks around and measures were taken to try avoid unpleasant interactions with them. Food was left outside and sometimes a section of crops would not be harvested as an offering to the other worldly creatures. It was also an ideal time to play tricks and pranks on other people as these could easily be blamed on the fairy folk.
Turnips were carved with terrifying faces to try ward off any malevolent spirits which were displayed in windows. Walking alone was avoided as much as possible but if it was necessary to go out, people would carry Jack-o-lanterns and turn their clothing inside out to try trick any ghouls they might come across. It was common to dress up and impersonate monsters or ghosts to for protection. This custom evolved into people going from house to house in costume to perform music, songs or stories in exchange for food which was known as mumming or guising and is where the tradition of trick-or-treating originated.
Fortune telling
This liminal festival was a popular time for divination and looking for clues to reveal the future. Many of these methods involved apples which represented abundance and fertility. Apples would be peeled in one, long continuous strip and then tossed over the shoulder - its shape would predict the letter of a future spouse’s name. Bobbing for apples was also popular amongst the unmarried. After the apple had been caught and a bite taken out of it, the person would then sleep with it under their pillow to invoke dreams of their future sweetheart. Brave people might look into a mirror on Samhain night in the hope of seeing who they would marry but it was said that doing so ran the risk of inviting demons and devils to appear in the reflection.
It was traditional to bake a barmbrack which is a sweet bread with dried fruits which had various charms added to it to predict the year ahead. If you found the ring, you would be wed; if you found the stick you would have a troubled marriage full of disputes; if you found the coin you could expect good fortune; if you found the pea you would remain unmarried and the least fortunate person would find the cloth would have bad luck and poor finances in the forthcoming year.
Christian influence
As Christianity became more widespread, the Church attempted to move Samhain celebrations away from the Pagan customs. In the 9th century All Saints Day was moved to 1st November with All Souls Day following on 2nd November, a period referred to as Allhallowtide. The homage to Saints and Martyrs had some similarities to the Celtic feast with honouring the dead, offerings for ancestors and communities meeting together continuing to make an easier transition into Christianity. 31st October became known as All Hallows Eve, later becoming more well known as Hallowe’en, which retained many of the more spooky and supernatural Celtic traditions and practises.
Hallowe’en hits the US
Due to the influence of the Puritans, All Hallows Eve was not celebrated in America. The Puritans did not wish to observe any holidays with pagan origins such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas. They did celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on 5th November which included lighting bonfires. This practice faded out in the US but are very popular across the UK to this day.
The rituals of Hallowe’en arrived in America following mass immigration from Ireland in the late 1800s. Finding themselves in a strange new country, the largely Catholic communities would come together to share their music, traditions and culture, including Hallowe’en. By the 20th century, Hallowe’en had evolved and modernised and became incorporated into mainstream society. The popularity of Hallowe’en rocketed when rationing ended following the war and there was an increase in the availability of sweet treats, costumes and decorations manufactured especially for this holiday.
So this Hallowe’en whilst you’re enjoying a horror film, costume party or simply eating some spooky themed sweets, remember that in doing so you are honouring an ancient tradition from over 2000 years ago.
Further information:
The story of Stingy Jack, the origin of the pumpkin carving tradition is available in another Tales from the other side here
We compiled a list of spooky hallowe'en thrillers available on youtube in one of our articles here
The largest Hallowe'en festival on the island of Ireland takes place in Derry/Londonderry. The official website has a detailed programme and examples of the events. Find it all here.
This Irish Times article gives more details on the traditional cake, the Barmbrack
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