Thread by @RobertBohan

Thread: Halloween, as the world knows it, is an Irish invention from ancient Hiberno-Celtic roots. It’s correct name is Samhain & marks the end of the Harvest. It was culturally appropriated by the Christian Church as All Hallows’ Eve

Samhain was seen as the time when the concrete & the spirit worlds interacted & was a portal to the Otherworld. All sorts of spirits, particularly malevolent ones, walked amongst the living!

Traditions associated with Samhain go back over 2,000 years in Ireland. These include the building of bonfires & the carving of turnips (pumpkins were not grown in Ireland). Turnips are scarier & tougher to carve!

Historians have suggested that carved turnips were used to scare away malevolent spirits on a night when they roamed the countryside. A similar rationale is given for Sheela Na Gigs - which guard the exterior of ancient churches established by Irish religious figures

Dressing up is also an Irish tradition. The Folklore Commission noted boys would dress up as old men or hags/Cailleach (the Cailleach is a key figure in ancient mythology & for instance the Banshee (Bean Sídhe) is a version of her. Dressing up confused evil spirits!

As children go door-to-door they request that households ‘Help the Halloween Party’ (due to Americanisation this is being replaced by ‘Trick or Treat’). Sweets, nuts & apples are the usual gift. The important thing was the portal element & offerings that were made

Simple games were often played after a traditional feast (feasta). One was the peeling of an apple in one continuous rind, others were snap-apple & apple-bobbing. Many centred on the divination of the future. Thus the Celtic harvest offering & prophecy tradition survived

An Irish cake was & is made for Samhain. It’s called the Barm Brack (Speckled loaf), which is a spicy fruit bread. The fruit celebrated the harvest. Inside, items were hidden for divination & fecundity. These included a ring (for marriage), a coin (for wealth) & a pea (bad luck).

There were also superstitions associated with the festival. Many centre on the barriers between the real & spirit worlds breaking down. They often link to so-called ‘Fairy Forts’ which are liberally scattered over Ireland (in fact these are usually abandoned Iron Age hill forts)

Another spirit associated with Samhain is the Phooka (Púca) which is usually translated as a spirit of ghost. His or her role was often to kidnap the unwary who roamed abroad after midnight & take them away to the Otherworld.

The Samhain feast has a rich & firm grasp of the Irish Imagination. It is, perhaps, no surprise that the scariest figure in the world’s imagination was invented by an Irish writer. Dracula, by Dubliner Bram Stoker, was published in 1897. Happy Halloween! 👻

I’ve also written a thread on the Irish Imagination & the links between the Celtic Gods & the Irish Landscape

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