Irish Halloween Traditions, Superstitions and Origins


CELEBRATE A TRADTIONAL IRISH HALLOWEEN

In Ireland Halloween is called Samhain. The word Samhain is pronounced SOW-in. It is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year.

Celtic and Irish Halloween Traditions

When is Halloween celebrated in Ireland?

Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.

 Is Halloween an American or Irish holiday?

Halloween is traditional thought of as an American holiday for children, but it originated from Celtic traditions in Ireland revolving around the seasonal harvest. The Celts celebrated Halloween or Samhain, 'All Hallowtide' as the 'Feast of the Dead’ when the dead revisited the mortal world.

The Halloween Bonfire in Ireland

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 embers and then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt ‘fire’ celebrations.

 

Samhain Blessings, Spells and History

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.

A Samhain Blessing:

 

At all Hallow’s Tide, may God keep you safe

 

From goblin and pooka and black-hearted stranger,

 

From harm of the water and hurt of the fire,

 

From thorns of the bramble, from all other danger,

 

From Will O’ The Wisp haunting the mire;

 

From stumbles and tumbles and tricksters to vex you,

 

May God in His mercy, this week protect you.

SamhainSpell Card and Samhain Blessing for Halloween

By pumpkin light,

 

On this witch’s night,

 

I bring to thee good tidings

 

for a happy start to

 

Your New Year.

 

Samhain blessings!

 

Samhain Spell and Blessing


Irish Fairies and Anti Fairy Measures

In Ireland they believe there are fairies, good natured and some mischievous FAIRIES. If you have ever traveled at night on the winding Irish back roads in the countryside of Ireland, you would know it is a kind of eerie darkness that puts fear in your very heart. One can easily imagine something moving over the moors or hearing the forlorn screech of a dammed fairy.

As a child in Ireland you are warned to not play inside a fairy fort because the fairies don’t like it and might curse you or worse, they might fancy you. Fairy forts are mounds or hills found all over Ireland. They are the ruins of circular mound dwellings in which people lived during the Iron Age such as Newgrange.

‘Away with the fairies’ is an old Irish expression referring to someone whose mind is elsewhere. It originated with the belief in the folklore that mischievous fairies steal souls and carry children off to the underworld, leaving changelings in their place.

A Changeling is a creature thought to be the offspring of a fairy that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. It is thought that fairies often fancy mortals and steal their pretty children. They carry the babies away leaving behind a Changeling, an ailing fairy child, or a log of wood so bewitched that they seems to be a mortal pining away in bewilderment.
They say if you wear your clothing inside out or wear bells you can ward off the malevolent fairies.

Anti-Fairy Measures for Halloween

There is an old Irish folklore that warns of fairies and goblins that try to collect as many souls as they can at Halloween. Folklore says if you through the dust from under your feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged to release any souls that they held captive.

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 Irish Halloween Superstitions:

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…..

In Ireland they used to say ivy provided protection from evil when growing on or near to a dwelling. However, if it should die or fall down then misfortune would fall upon those therein. Ivy was often carried by young women for good luck and fertility.

The Jack O Lantern is a Celtic Tradition:

Carving Pumpkins dates 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.

Thus, 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 their millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips, so pumpkins were used instead.

Halloween Custume origins and history

How did the Irish trick or treat and dress up? 

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 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 an Celtic Jewelry 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 a Popular Halloween Game:

After the visits to the neighbors 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 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 their 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.

Celtic Owl Pendant by The Irish Jewelry Company

The Celtic Owl

 The word "cailleach" in the Scottish-Gaelic means old woman!, Owl in Gaelic is "cauileach-oidhche" , believe it or not it means "night-cockerel" or “white old woman of the night.”  Because the Celtic owl was most often associated with the Crone aspect of the Celtic Hag Goddess “Cailleach”. The owl is often a guide to and through the Underworld, a creature of keen sight in darkness, and a silent and swift hunter. Celtic folklore says the wise owl can give you wisdom by helping unmask those who would deceive you or take advantage of you. “Hoo” knew?

Celtic Cat Pendant by The Irish Jewelry Company

The Legend of the Celtic Cat

In Celtic folklore there is a magical set of cats or "fairy cats". In Scotland they are known as the cait sith. In Ireland they are called cait sidhe. Whether Gaelic or Scotch Gaelic they are both pronounced as “caught shee”. The cait sidhe aren't your ordinary felines, they are thought as fairies, even witches, and as spirit creatures that merely take the form of a cat or Celtic cat. Those that have seen them describe them as being unusually large, all black cats with a spot of white fur on their chest. Generally, the cait sidhe is viewed as fearsome and was used as a symbol by Celtic warriors.