How Halloween celebrations today reflect ancient traditions.

Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh! That’s Happy Halloween in Gaelic, the native language of Ireland and where Halloween originated thousands of years ago. Pronounced EE-hyeh HOW-nuh HUN￾uh DEE-iv, or EE-hyeh HOW-nuh HUN-uh Ditch if speaking to just one person.

Halloween in Australia is gaining considerable traction each year, much to the delight of Celtic descendants such as myself. Unfortunately, there is still much negative association with Halloween as being “too American,” which is mindboggling as we are all too willing to accept a fat man dressed in red whose modern-day image was coined in 1881 by an American cartoonist, yet we think customs practiced for thousands of years which one country has adopted and practice for just over 100 years, completely brands this celebration as unsavoury. Luckily for us, times are changing. Not only for the satisfaction of the Celts, but for the kids!! What I would give to be a kid again roaming the streets with my friends in a costume and collecting lollies and chocolate from houses decorated with spiders and skeletons. You can bet your butt I am one of those houses that puts up Halloween decorations, because why not?! I don’t care that they’re up for only a week at most, and yes it takes a lot of time and effort, but when all the kids round the corner to my house, and to see them excitedly try and pull their mum or dads arm off while running across the road to get to my house is a glorious feeling. No regrets!

But enough of my disgruntled pelican ramblings. Being an absolute history buff, I've included a lot of information in this article. Historians rejoice! But for those of you who just want the super simplified nutshell version, I have put them first and if you are interested to read more, please do so.

Halloween in a nutshell:

What and where is Halloween?

Around 2000 years ago in Ireland (actually all of the British isles and a bit of continental Europe, the inhabitants collectively known as the Celts). The celebration was to mark the end of the autumn harvest and the start of winter. The festival originated in the Northern Hemisphere, so everything is a little backwards for us southerners.

Do Christians celebrate Halloween?

Only Catholics, and it is more of an observance, not a big celebration like Easter. Catholic Celts

however still celebrate as a big festival.

Why do people dress up for Halloween?

So you don’t get kidnapped by faeries or monsters, obviously.

Did people go trick or treating a thousand years ago?

Yes, and it was called ‘Mumming’ or ‘Souling’.

Why do people ‘bob for apples’ on Halloween?

The Romans occupation for 400 years left their mark and some of their customs got intertwined with the ancient Celtic customs.

Why do people carve pumpkins?

Because of a trickster named Stingy Jack (no I did not make that up!) who tricked the devil and

was forced to forever walk the earth with a carved out turnip with a piece of coal inside.

Why is Halloween often associated with death, ghosts and monsters?

It was believed that Halloween Eve was when the veil between worlds was at its thinnest, and

spirits, ghouls and monsters could cross over into the land of the living.

How did Halloween come to America?

From all the Irish immigrants fleeing the great potato famine in the 1840’s.

How is Halloween celebrated in Ireland today?

It’s basically the same as America today, although the Irish focus more on the original ghoulish aspect of Halloween and people prefer to dress up as witches, goblins and zombies instead of Disney characters and Superhero's.

Are there any other cultures with an ancient celebration like Halloween?

Absolutely – Indigenous Mexicans have celebrated el Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, for about 3000 years. In Poland they still celebrate Dziady or ‘Forefather’s Eve. Ancient Greeks celebrated Apokries and ancient romans celebrated Feralia. In Japan they have the Obon festival, the chinese celebrate Teng Chieh, and in Cambodia Bhuddist monks celebrate P'chum Ben. Philippines have a festival called Angangaluluwa and Hong Kong has The Hungry Ghost festival. India have a celebration called Pitru Paksha. Nigeria have Awuru Odo festival, Haiti have the voodoo festival of Fed Gede, and South Koreans have Chuseok.

And that’s was Halloween in a nutshell! Want a little more detail? Don‘t worry; keep reading, we’ve got you covered:

What and Where is Halloween?

The origins of Halloween are traced back 2000 years ago to the ancient Celts. On November 1st they celebrate Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) which marked the end of the harvest and the

start of the ‘dark half of the year’ as winter loomed. The 31st of October is observed as ‘Samhain Eve’ where the veil between worlds is at their thinnest, and spirits and dark creatures

can cross into the world of the living. People would dress up in costumes (mostly animal heads and hides – no superhero costumes!). Celebrations included cattle sacrifices, lots and lots of drinking and huge community bonfires. Members of the community would then carry a flame home from this community bonfire and light their own hearth with it. Offerings were left in fields for the trickster faeries (or Sidhs).

Do Christians celebrate Halloween?

As Christianity spread around the world, with most pagan festivals the Catholic leaders of the time tried to morph Samhain into a Catholic celebration. Pope Boniface in the 5th Century attempted this by ‘moving’ the celebration to the 13th of May and indicated the day should be a celebration of all saints and martyrs. In the 9th Century, Pope Gregory moved the celebration back to the original time and declared it ‘All Saints Day’ on November 1st and ‘All Souls Day’ on November 2nd. All soul's day was celebrated in a very similar fashion to Samhain with bonfires and parades with people dressing up and angels and devils, but the pagan traditions of Samhain survived the Christian belief with Catholicism declaring the 31st October to be ‘All Hallows Eve’ and eventually, ‘Halloween’.

It is worth noting that these days Catholics don’t celebrate Halloween like they would Easter, it is more of an observance and honestly hardly mentioned at all. Catholic Celts however still hold Halloween in high regard as a huge Celebration. The pagan rituals died out a long time ago, but the traditions of Samhain remained. Just like Christmas, it has become a tradition for all to enjoy and you don’t have to believe in the origins of the celebration to get together with friends and family.

Why do people dress up for Halloween?

The ancient Celts would dress up as animals and monsters so the faeries and spirits wouldn’t recognise them as a human and try to kidnap them.

Did they go trick or treating a thousand years ago?

Absolutely! It is said that this tradition took place on the nights leading up to Samhain, and was called ‘Mumming’ or ‘Souling’. Children would adorn costumes and go door to door, singing songs for the dead. The occupants of these houses would give out cakes, bread and sometimes coins as thanks. The ‘tricks’ of trick or treating would indeed happen; however the ancient Celts would naturally blame the faeries for these happenings.

Why do people ‘bob for apples’ on Halloween?

This custom is thought to originate from the Roman influence on the Samhain festival. As the Roman occupation lasted for 400 years on Celtic lands, no doubt some influence was going to stay. The Romans celebrated Feralia in late October, which was the time they traditionally observed the passing of the dead (and very likely the reason the celebration of Samhain survived the roman occupation). The Romans at that time of year also celebrated Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit. Her symbol is an apple, and it is believed that this is where apples were incorporated into the Samhain festival.

Why do people carve pumpkins?

Stingy Jack. Never heard of him? He is the reason pumpkins are carved today! According to Celtic folklore, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years. Soon after, Jack died and as the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.” The Celts would make their own Jack O’Lanterns by carving scary faces in potatoes or turnips and place them on the window sill to keep Jack’s wondering spirit at bay. The English would use large beetroots. When the tradition was brought over from Ireland by immigrants to the New World (aka America), they found that the pumpkin, a fruit native to America was more readily available than the humble turnip and was perfect for Jack O’Lanterns.

Why is Halloween often associated with death, ghosts and monsters?

As the veil between worlds was at its thinnest, ancestors were believed to be able to cross into the world of the living. This wasn’t always seen as scary and was a night people looked forward too. By the middle ages, The ‘Dumb Supper’ feast was a common practice where a family would prepare and eat a feast, but not before inviting their ancestors to join in. During the meal, the family would talk about all the important events and happenings over the past year to keep their ancestors up to date, and the children would play games to entertain the dead. After the festivities had concluded, all the doors and windows were to be left open so the spirits could come in and eat all the cakes that were left out for them.

There of course were more unwelcomed visitors to the land of the living during Samhain. There was Pukah, a shapeshifting creature that would take offerings left in the fields. There was a headless woman dress in white accompanied by a black pig, Lady Gwyn, who chased people roaming around at night. The Faeries would be trying to kidnap people and the Slaugh would enter people’s houses and steal their soul. Then there was the Dullahan who would appear as headless men on horses who carried their heads in their arms, riding horses with flames in their eyes. Seeing one of these was an omen of death.

How did Halloween come to America?

Halloween in America didn’t gain traction until the 1800s because the early states of America were all staunch protestants. With Halloween considered a catholic observance, it wasn’t publicly celebrated. The combination of the traditions of European settlers and the traditions of native Indians’ created a sort of mish mash of traditions, and it wasn’t long until a clear autumn harvest festival became the norm, with neighbours getting together celebrating the harvests and singing and dancing, and sharing stories about the dead with a few mischievous pranks here and there. It wasn’t until the 1840’s Great Potato famine in Ireland when America was inundated with Irish immigrants fleeing the famine did ‘Halloween’ become a fully-fledged celebration in America.

The late 1800s saw a movement to rid Halloween of its ghoulish and witchcraft ways and focus more on the family friendly aspect of the celebrations.

How is Halloween celebrated in Ireland today?

Halloween is still a huge celebration today with festivals and street parties all over the country.

The Samhain traditions are still practiced in Ireland, even though what they are celebrating is the catholic celebration of All Hallows Eve, not the pagan rituals of Samhain. Houses are lavishly decorated with ghosts and witches, ghouls and vampires. Everyone dresses up in ghoulish costumes such as witches, goblins, Banshees and zombies instead of the Disney characters and Superhero's preferred in America. Street parties are filled with the laughter of children running door to door yelling “trick or treat!?” and parades with firework displays are common. A new tradition is starting to emerge is the ‘Halloween tree’, which is basically a black Christmas tree with all manner of spooky decorations displayed on it.

Halloween Food and Drinks

The traditional Samhain feast is still practiced and traditional food is still served. Traditionally

Halloween was a time of fasting and no meat was to be consumed, this is no longer practiced. In today's traditional Irish Halloween feats you can expect hot apple pies and toffee apples, Colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale and raw onion), Potato Farles (potato bread), and Barmbrack (fruit bread), a slice of which has to be left outside overnight so that any passing faeries or spirits may feast as well and bestow good luck upon your household. A common occurrence in many of these dishes would be a coin baked into the dish, and whoever gets the slice with the ‘lucky penny’, good fortune would be theirs the following year.

All this food makes you thirsty! And would be washed down with a drink called ‘Lambswool’. It is a traditional concoction of roasted crushed apples, milk, spiced ale, cider and wine. Sugar is added and also bits of toast if you were feeling fancy. ‘Lambswool’ is derived from the Irish Gaelic, “La Mas Nbhal” meaning ‘Feast of the Apples’, it was pronounced “Lammas-ool” and this eventually evolved into Lambswool.

And there you have it, my in-depth analysis of how ancient traditions influence the Halloween of today. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it! I hope I have managed to convinced you that Halloween is not “too American” and that everyone starts to embrace the celebration - not because you believe in a veil between worlds, faeries or Stingy Jack, but because it is just so much fun! And to have fun is the best excuse to get together with friends and family – you just have to all dress up as zombies.