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Irish Halloween Traditions
The Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, 'All Hallowtide' - the 'Feast
of the Dead', when the dead revisited the mortal world. The celebration
marked the end of Summer and the start of the Winter months.
During the eighth century the Catholic Church designated the first day
of November as 'All Saints Day ('All Hallows') - a day of commemoration
for those Saints that did not have a specific day of remembrance. The
night before was known as 'All Hallows Eve' which, over time, became
known as Halloween.
Here are the most notable Irish Halloween Traditions:
Colcannon for Dinner: Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a cabbage) and raw
Onions are provided as the traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean
coins are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for children
to find and keep.
The Barnbrack Cake: The traditional Halloween cake in Ireland is the
barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a
slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of
rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. 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 Ivy Leaf: Each member of the family places a perfect ivy leaf into a
cup of water and it is then left undisturbed overnight. If, in the
morning, a leaf is still perfect and has not developed any spots then
the person who placed the leaf in the cup can be sure of 12 months
health until the following Halloween. If not.....
The Pumpkin: Carving Pumpkins dates back to the eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out.
The tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer being the
wandering blacksmith - a damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that
the lantern in their window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish
emigrated in millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips
so pumpkins were used instead.
Halloween Costumes: On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of
wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On the special night
when the living and the dead were at their closest the Celtic Druids
would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits
and devils in case they encountered other devils and spirits during the
night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being
carried away at the end of the night. This explains why witches, goblins
and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes.
Snap Apple: After the visits to the neighbours the Halloween games
begin, the most popular of which is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended
from a string and children are blindfolded. The first child to get a
decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The same game can be
played by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get a grip on
the apple without too much mess!
The Bonfire: The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to encourage dreams of
who your future husband or wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a
cutting of your hair into the burning embers and then dream of you
future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations.
Blind Date: Blindfolded local girls would go out into the fields and
pull up the first cabbage they could find. If their cabbage had a
substantial amount of earth attached to the roots then there future
loved one would have money. Eating the cabbage would reveal the nature
of their future husband - bitter or sweet!
Another way of finding your future spouse is to peel an apple in one go.
If done successfully the single apple peel could be dropped on the floor
to reveal the initials of the future-intended.
Anti-Fairy Measures: Fairies and goblins try to collect as many souls as
they can at Halloween but if they met a person who threw the dust from
under their feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged to release any
souls that they held captive.
Holy water was sometimes anointed on farm animals to keep them safe
during the night. If the animals were showing signs of ill health on All
Hallows Eve then they would be spat on to try to ward off any evil
spirits.
Happy Halloween from Ireland!
Irish Halloween Traditions - An article provided by The Information
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
~Alex Levine
Leprechaun: Irish fairy. Looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes...they also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.
