Irish Halloween Traditions through the Years

All over the world, we have been celebrating Halloween as a significant holiday. We carry on all the Halloween traditions and spend a day full of fun and… Spookiness.

While this day is celebrated worldwide, people mistakenly believe it to be of American origin. This may be because America celebrates this day religiously and considers it noteworthy.

Many people are unaware that Halloween and its traditions originated in ancient Ireland. This can be surprising to some, but we are here to prove it and spread awareness.

The History of Halloween Traditions starts in Ireland

Many centuries ago, the ancient Irish people celebrated everything that happened in the universe. They even had deities for every occasion. One of the Celtic festivals that the pagans celebrated in ancient Ireland was Samhain. It was the autumn season, but according to the Celtic calendar. Samhain is a Gaelic word; its celebration was mostly spiritual. However, throughout the years, it became celebrated rather for fun.

Moreover, that celebration took place from 31 October to 1 November. Its purpose was to welcome the season of the harvest or what was known as the dark half of the year. That was because the cold breeze started to show up. It was a time when they considered the animals and plants to die as they hibernated until springtime. Then, they bloom once again.

How Did the Halloween Traditions Start?

In ancient times, the Irish believed that strong barriers separated the real world from the spiritual one. The World of Spirits was full of evil spirits and demons. During the time of Samhain, this barrier supposedly became quite delicate or vanished altogether. It was at this time that evil spirits started crawling into the real world and interacting with humans.

Since ghosts and other supernatural spirits wander our world, it’s pretty scary. Consequently, the Celts used to host a big party to scare away those spirits. They thought that wearing spooky costumes would confuse them. So, most Halloween traditions were meant to ward off the mean supernatural creatures.

The Relation Between Halloween and Samhain

According to some, Halloween and Samhain are two distinct festivals. That’s because modern pagans still celebrate Samhain. However, they share the same superstitions and performing practices. Besides, they both take place in autumn, at the end of October or the start of November. Yet, people still associate Halloween with America rather than Ireland.

In fact, upon the arrival of Christianity, Samhain became known as All Hallows’ Eve—the day before All Saints. Every pagan festival was then Christianized. In addition, a great number of Irish immigrants immigrated to America in the 19th century. They carried out their practices typically until Halloween became a thing in America. And ever since, America has picked up the pace.

Popular Halloween Traditions That Were Originally Irish

Halloween traditions are usually associated with the appearance of the scary-carved pumpkin, freaky costumes, and trick-or-treating. We are even used to seeing those Halloween themes in movies and TV shows throughout October, especially in American shows and movies.

But, again, most of those traditions go back to some of the Celtic roots. They were not originally American, but they were adopted by the Irish immigrants who left for the U.S. Check out these Halloween traditions and learn about their origins.

The Bonfire

Myth has played a great role in shaping cultures, and Ireland is no exception. The Celts used to ignite bonfires to bring good luck. Since Samhain marked the beginning of a new year—a Celtic year—they ignited bonfires. It was among the customs of celebrating Samhain; in fact, it was a significant tradition in any celebration. But in Samhain, it was not only about welcoming a new Celtic year.

It was also to ward off the evil spirits that roamed the earth on that day. According to the Celts, huge bonfires were specifically used to fend off unrecognisable creatures and ghosts. The ashes left behind after the fire was put out were also of great significance. They believed those ashes were laden with good fortune. Thus, they spread them across the field to ensure blissful years for the farmers.

There was also an unpopular notion regarding the usage of bonfires. People of the Celts had those traditional beliefs that bonfires stimulated your dreams. They provided you with vivid dreams about who your future spouse would be. The spouse’s identity remained ambiguous and sealed in the shrouds of mystery. However, you could unravel the identity by cutting your hair strand and dropping it into the fire.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Among the Halloween traditions lies the significance of decorating your place with illuminated pumpkins. While they are supposed to look freaky and spooky, we all enjoy having them around. But let us tell you the real story. Did you know that according to the origins of Halloween traditions, pumpkins weren’t used? Yes, they were more like beets or turnips, and they did not look particularly nice. The Celts also used to refer to them as Jack-O-Lanterns.

There are different superstitions and stories associated with Jack-O-Lanterns. In this particular case, we have two versions of the Jack-O-Lanterns story. The first story narrates how the people of the Celts used to carry an ember from the communal bonfire. They brought them home to bring good luck and bliss. But, they had to hollow out a turnip to keep the fire ignited. Some believe that people still carve pumpkins as an attribute to an old tradition.

The other version of the story narrates the tale of Jack. He was a lazy blacksmith who colluded with the Devil. Their collaboration started when he trapped the Devil with a cross. He freed him only after the Devil promised to never take his soul. Thus, he was denied entry to heaven. He kept walking the earth for eternity and wanted some light, so he hollowed out a turnip. Nowadays, people believe that pumpkins represent that hollowed turnip. They use them to fend off Jack’s soul.

The Notion of Costumes and Dressing Up

We may have already mentioned that before, but we will elaborate in more detail. All around the world, wearing costumes is part of Halloween traditions. When Halloween was here, people lit huge bonfires and gathered around them. They would dress up in weird and scary costumes to fend off evil spirits.

People believed that fires actually scared spirits and monstrous creatures. Besides, it was hard to travel alone at night. You might risk being kidnapped, so costumes worked. They confused the spirits, tricking them into believing you were one of those spirits. Thus, they let you go free and never kidnapped or hurt you.

People nowadays don’t believe in the mythological notions that people firmly adopted in the past. However, wearing costumes became an integrated part of the Halloween traditions. We now do it for fun.

Trick or Treat

Before people included Trick or Treat as one of the famous Halloween traditions, it was called Souling. That was a long centuries ago, and there is a reason why people refer to it as such. Poor people, especially children, knocked on rich people’s doors during the Samhain festival.

They kept going on and on, asking for food or money. Before they had anything, they offered prayers and singing in return. During that time, offering those poor a soul cake was popular. It was a flattened bread that consisted of some fruits. That was where the name of that Halloween tradition came from. Afterwards, people experiencing poverty would use all the food and money they collected to celebrate Halloween.

Snap the Apple

Many games have become part of the Halloween traditions. People enjoy playing, in general, and Halloween games are fun. Among those games is Snap Apple. This game involves suspending several apples from a string hanging from the ceiling. The participants get their arms tied behind their backs and their eyes blindfolded. Whoever takes a decent bite of the apple is deemed the winner and receives a prize.

This game involved a mythical notion that people used to believe in. According to the Celts, apples are considered to be signs of love and fertility. Thus, the one who gets the first bite is the first to marry. Girls believed that keeping their bitten apples under their pillow at night would make them dream of their future spouse.

Since Celtic girls loved to believe everything had something to do with their marriage, there was another practice. This time, the practice does not involve snapping an apple but involves girls going out, blinded into the field. The first cabbage to stumble upon says a lot about her future spouse. She could know whether he was poor or rich according to the amount of clay attached to the cabbage’s root. The more, the richer. She could also learn about his identity by eating the cabbage.

Forecasting the Future

Telling fortunes is always fun. Whether you believe in future predictions or not, we all enjoy hearing what happens to us in the future. We all love to hear good news, like getting more affluent, more intelligent, or meeting the love of our lives. While Halloween is meant for Spookiness, since it’s all fun and games, it doesn’t hurt to predict a scary future during that time.

In ancient times, the Celtic people read tea leaves. It was a popular practice; however, it was not the only way. Among the Halloween traditions of the ancient Celts was using the four plates to foretell the future. That practice required placing four plates before a person with a blindfold.

Those plates contained various things from which the person chose. They included clay, food, water, and a ring. Each of those items symbolised something. Clay predicted nearby death, water meant immigration, food meant prosperity, and the ring definitely meant marriage.

The ancient Celts regarded marriage as a significant part of life, especially for women. That’s why they felt incredibly joyful when their choice fell in the ring. Most of their beliefs also revolved around the idea of marriage. There were several ways where they learned about their future spouse. Some women fasted before going to bed so they could dream of their future husbands offering them food.

The Resurrection of the Dead

This one on the list is instead a belief that it is one of the Halloween traditions. Halloween was famous for being the night when ghosts come alive. People believed the barriers between our natural world and the Otherworld were more accessible on Halloween. This allows evil spirits to enter our world and wander about our earth.

The dead were believed to come back to revisit the mortal world through spirits. However, those souls, in particular, were friendly; they only came back to return to their families. For that, people held some practices that were supposed to welcome back their dead people. Those practices included leaving empty seats or food for the dead to feel welcomed back.

Shaving the Friar

This is an ancient game that the ancient Celts used to play. However, it was not that popular all around Ireland. It was the most popular in County Meath, in particular. This game was a competitive one. A group of people put a pile of ash in the shape of a cone with a wood piece atop. After piling the ash, the players take turns trying to dig the most significant amount of ash. However, they should keep the pile balanced and avoid its collapse. And throughout the game, they all keep enchanting:

“Shave the poor Friar to make him a liar;

Cut off his beard to make him afraid;

If the Friar will fall, my poor back pays for all!”

Measures to Control the Fairies (Anti-Fairy Measures)

The Irish folklore is full of mythological beliefs that people used to embrace firmly. Among those beliefs was the evilness of the fairies and the goblins. They believed those creatures roamed to collect people’s souls, especially during Halloween.

Thus, practices were used as one of the Halloween traditions to fend off the fairies and creatures. One of those practices was wearing noisy bells to keep them off. Or, you could wear your outfits inside out so they couldn’t steal your soul. Other practices were throwing dust at the fairies, under the condition of passing it under your feet. That way, you force the fairies to release the souls they already captivated and set them free.

There was an old Irish expression, “Away with the Fairies.” This expression indicated that someone wasn’t focused on it. They tended to say it to those whose attention was elsewhere. Returning to the origin of the belief, legend has it that fairies steal souls. People also believed that fairies stole little children and replaced them with their offspring. They used to use the term “Changelings” to refer to children with any kind of mental disorder. They blamed it on the fairy world because they couldn’t explain some children’s behaviour.

 

Foods that Are Part of the Halloween Traditions

Every celebration needs special foods and drinks to feast on. All cultures around the world nearly celebrate with food. Since Halloween is celebrated in many regions worldwide, each culture may have its own traditions.

At some point in history, meat indulgence in Ireland during Halloween was not accepted. I’m not sure what the reason behind those Halloween traditions was, but there was other popular food for the occasion. Those foods usually included fruits or potatoes- since they are the primary food ingredient in Irish culture. The list of those foods contains homemade apple pies and toffee apples. However, you cannot have those delicious dishes before binging on Barmbrack and Colcannon. They were the main foods served over Halloween as part of the sacred Halloween traditions.

Most importantly, all of those foods are served in dishes with the “Lucky Penny.” It’s a coin that was believed to bring luck and good fortune. Whoever finds that coin shall keep it to ensure an upcoming year of bliss. Getting to the drinks, Lambswool is the most popular beverage consumed as part of the Halloween traditions. Its literal meaning is Feast of the apples since this fruit is used as the main ingredient during the occasion. Besides, the drink has more than a few recipes, but the bases are the same. The drink’s primary ingredients are cider or wine, milk, and crushed apples.

Barnbrack

This is a popular food that people make during Halloween. It’s an Irish Halloween cake with a slice of food inside, sometimes alongside other treats. Well, it’s sweeter bread rather than an actual cake. Ready-made ones that you get from shops contain some different treats.

Each item means something to the person who finds it. Those items included a coin, ring, thimble, or a rag. The coin indicates that your year is going to be fruitful and successful. The ring shows that you’ll get married or happiness awaits you. The thimble and the rag were deemed unlucky signs for their implicated symbols. Getting a thimble means that you’re never going to get married, which is a terrible thing in Irish culture. The rag indicates that your finances in the future are in doubt.

Another Halloween tradition was feeding the fairies and spirits. That way, you would ensure they bestow good luck at your place.

Colcannon

Colcannon is just as popular as Barmbrack. It’s one of the popular foods that is part of the Halloween traditions. However, this is not a sweet dish; it is the main one that people usually have for dinner. You are supposed to have Colcannon on Halloween’s Eve. It’s a simple dish with healthy ingredients. This dish includes raw onions, boiled potatoes as the main ingredient, and curly kale cabbage.

Like other dishes of Halloween, this dish hid a precious prize for people to find, especially children. Coins were popularly slipped into the dish for children so they could find and keep them. Rings were also a common item since people in Ireland cherished the notion of marriage. Legends claim that whoever finds the ring will have their wedding within a year.

Click here for the Recipe for the Colcannon.