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As children and adults around the world take part in the spooky festivities of Halloween on the night of October 31st, All Hallows Eve, few know of its ancient Irish Celticroots in the Samhain(Samain) festival.
Read more about Celtic Halloween Origins,
Celtic Halloween called Samhain in Gaelic is a traditional Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season. It also marks the beginning of winter also known as the "darker half" of the year because the days get dramatically shorter. Samhain is traditionally celebrated at sunset on October 31st and lasts until sunrise on November first. This is considered the halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. This time during Samhain was seen as a transitional time, when the vail between this world and the other side could be crossed without difficulty allowing Aos SÃ, or the 'spirits' like the 'fairies' into our world to create mischief. The Irish have many Celtic Halloween Traditionsto ward off these spirits.
Celtic Anti-Fairy Measures for Halloween
On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. Phrases like "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.
The Irish legend of the Dullahan, or English translation "dark man" is unnerving. The Headless Horseman or Dullahan is the Irish foreteller of death. The Dullahan rides a jet black horse with flames shooting from its eyes, carrying his head under one arm. Irish folklore says that when he stops riding, a human dies.
There are many versions of this scary tale. Some say that the Dullahan throws buckets of blood at people he passes, while other say he simply calls out the name of the mortal that will soon die.
Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in, Irish pronunciation for Samhain the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, Samhain is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.
