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Halloween Stories: The Celtic Samhain and how it became the modern Halloween

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Bonfires to ward off evil and leaving food for the ghost; the Celtic pagan celebration of Samhain slowly morphed into what is now the modern Halloween with the Trick or Treat, horror movies and costume parties. But how was the celebration done in the olden days, really?

Samhain, pronounced “sow-win”, is a festival that originated in ancient Celtic culture throughout Europe, and is the precursor to the modern Halloween. Celebrated on the night of October 31st, Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter, a time traditionally associated with darkness and death. The Celts believed that during this liminal period, the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to return to the world of the living.

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

But what happened to this ancient celebration, and just how much of the modern Halloween tradition is really rooted in the pagan holiday?

Samhain Bonfire: Neo pagans celebrating Samhain in Ireland.// Source: Wikimedia

The Ancient Celtic Context of Samhain

The festival of Samhain was not merely a celebration; it was a deeply spiritual time for the Celts, who inhabited regions that are now part of Ireland, Scotland since pagan times. It was at least a part of the Gaelic Celts. Although something similar would be celebrated by the Brittonic Celts in Wales as Calan Gaeaf.

The Celtic people were a big and diverse group of people settled throughout Europe in the Iron and Bronze age, as far as Turkey at one time. In the 3rd century BC they were more or less absorbed into the Roman Empire, and most of the remains of the Celtic culture exists in the northernmost parts of Europe in the west. 

Ancient records indicate that Samhain was one of the four major Gaelic festivals, alongside Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. These festivals were pivotal in marking the changing seasons and agricultural cycles, providing a connection to the earth and the spirits that inhabited it.

Some believe that this was the Celtic New Years, but it is a much disputed theory. Samhain signified the beginning of the darker half of the year, end of the harvest, a time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the hardships of winter. According to the Celtic calendar, the Celtic days started and ended on sunsets, so that the evening of 31. October to 1. November. 

This day was believed to have the veil between our world and the Otherworld be extra thin and the portals or the sídhe were open. We were much closer to the supernatural beings called aos sí and ghosts than the rest of the year. And in contrast to its summer counterpart, Beltane which was a feast for the living, this was supposed to be a feast for the dead.

Although the festival itself was not recorded in detail until the modern era, the way history remembers it is from the fragments of the living culture and traditions still alive today. 

Samhain Human Sacrifices

It is often considered a rather sinister holiday, but just how dark could the Samhain celebration be? In pagan times, Samhain is believed to be connected to the Irish Crom Cruach who was given human sacrifice and was some sort of fertility God or a solar deity. It was claimed that a first born child had to be sacrificed at the stone idol in Magh Slécht, today the plains around the south-eastern part of the Parish of Templeport.

Also the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, corn and milt to the Fomori monsters. The Nemed people were thought to be a third group of Irish settlers from the Caspian Sea, before dying of the plague and the Fomorians. 

Fomorians: There are many variants of the scary tales about the Fomorians. They were often considered sea creatures, even pirates as the threat from the vikings came from the sea. Here is John Duncan’s interpretation of the sea gods of Irish mythology.

How much of the Nemed people that are true though, is up for debate. But their dark and grim legends certainly fit right into the mystical and dark Halloween legends where evil is at play.

Samhain Monsters

It wasn’t only the Fomori monster that was connected with Samhain. It was everything. The Pukah that receives the harvest from the field, the headless ghost of The Lady Gwyn in her white dress chasing the children. There is also the Dullahan, small imps or headless men on their red eyed horses carrying their heads, a deadly omen. 

The Headless Horseman: A staple of Halloween lore, even today. The story of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving really cemented it in American culture, like many of the Scottish and Irish stories did.

The Sluagh or the fairies were also said to kidnap people on Samhain, transporting them to the Otherworld they perhaps never would escape from. 

The Otherworld: In many fairytales there is a story about people being spirited away by the fairies to the Otherworld. The Otherworld is usually called Annwn in Welsh mythology and Avalon in Arthurian legend. In Irish mythology it’s called Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell and Emain Ablach. Here from The ‘Land of the Ever Young’ depicted by Arthur Rackham in Irish Fairy Tales (1920).

As the pagan religion passed over to the Christian one, the monsters we saw changed. From fairies and pagan creatures, the devil, witches and other demons took their place. One could perhaps wonder in our more secular societies, how the Halloween costume tradition still reflects the monsters lurking in the dark. 

The Samhain Bonfires Warding off Evil

The Celts honored their ancestors and the spirits of the dead by lighting bonfires, often known as Samghnagans. They were believed to provide protection and guidance. In ancient Celtic times with the druid priest in holy places, and later in the local communities. Through the middle ages, the fires were lit up closer to the farms to protect them and their harvest.

In Ireland there are many places that are still linked to Samhain, you have the Cave of Oweynagat in Country Roscommon where a being from the Otherworld would come from and host the festivities. The Hill of Ward in County Meath was also a place where people gathered to light the bonfires. The Mound of the Hostages at Tara Hill in County Wexford is a 5,000-year-old Neolithic passage tomb. There, the rising sun illuminates the inner chamber at both Samhain and Imbolc. These were often the places the Celts would gather to light up their bonfires.

Bonfires: Neopagans celebrating Samhain as they have tried to recreate the bonfire traditions that were more important in pagan times.

These special fires with special protective and cleansing power as the sun itself, and were a focal point for gatherings, where communities would come together to celebrate, feast, and partake in rituals designed to appease both the living and the dead.

Today, the act of lighting up fires isn’t connected to the Samhain celebrations as it used to. Instead the Jack-o-lantern tradition can perhaps be seen as the modern version to keep the evil at bay with the help of light. 

Read Also: Halloween Stories: The Legend of Stingy Jack and the origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern

Divination and Fortune Telling

Queen Meave and the Druid

The bonfires were also used for divination, like the 18th-century tradition in Ochtertyre in Scotland. A ring of stones were laid around the fire and people ran around the fire with a torch. The stones were checked on the next day, and if some of them were misplaced, the person it represented would die the following year. This particular divination you also find in the Welsh Celtic, Calan Gaeaf. This is a later interpetation of divination by the bonfire that perhaps have traces dating back to the pagan Celts.

Read More: Halloween Stories: Calan Gaeaf — When Spirits Roam In Wales

Among the customs observed during Samhain were various divination practices intended to foretell the future, often with nuts and apples. The Celts would engage in scrying with different practices, and nights like Samhain with the veil between the two worlds thinning was a perfect time it.

In the beginning it was most likely the priests or designated seers that did it in religious ceremonies to gain insight from the pagan Gods. Most likely heavily on different drugs and herbs.

Throughout the years it became a more common thing that people did among themselves, perhaps mostly for fun. This practice was especially prevalent among the young, who sought knowledge about potential suitors and marriage prospects in the coming year.

Mirror Magic: Many types of fortune telling persisted up until recent years, or perhaps even practice today. Many of them was about young women and girls trying to foretell their future husband.

Guising for the Fairies

Another thing the Celts most likely did was the guising and mumming that eventually would turn into the modern Trick or Treat. They would dress up, most likely as the aos sí or the pagan Gods and go door to door, often performing or singing for food and drink. 

Read Also: Halloween Stories: The Ancient Origins of Trick-or-Treat  

Food and drink offerings played a crucial role during Samhain. Some documents say that they drank for six days in some places. Families would leave out treats and meals to appease the wandering spirits, ensuring that their ancestors were satisfied and would protect the home.

This was often called dumb supper, where dumb in this context means in silence and often in connection in that women ate certain types of food to fortell their husbands.

This tradition probably stems from the fact that the spirits and the aos sí were remnants from the pagan God and revered as such. Some left windows and doors to let their ancestors enter their home for the night, some shut it to keep the spirits out. It was also customary for people to wear costumes made of animal skins or disguises to confuse the spirits, preventing them from causing harm.

The Transformation into Halloween

With the arrival of Christianity in the Celtic lands, many traditional pagan celebrations began to intertwine with Christian beliefs already in 609, by Pope Boniface IV. To replace the pagan festival, the Church moved All Saints’ Day from May to November 1st, followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2nd in the 9th century by Pope Gregory. The night before All Saints’ Day, known as All Hallows’ Eve, retained much of the Samhain traditions, including bonfires and the practice of wearing costumes.

As these Christian holidays spread, so did the customs associated with Samhain. The name “Halloween” is derived from “All Hallows’ Eve,” marking the transition from a pagan to a Christian celebration. The idea of honoring the dead was preserved, albeit within a different context. Some could even argue that the Samhain traditions we know of today were also inspired by the All Saint’s Day. 

The Influence of Irish and Scottish Immigration

In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their customs to North America, further evolving Samhain into what we now recognize as Halloween. 

As the years passed, Halloween became more secular, and the emphasis shifted from honoring the dead to celebrating with costumes, parties, and playful spookiness. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, initially a practice using turnips in Ireland, became popular in America due to the abundance of pumpkins. The bright orange fruits symbolized harvest and autumn while also echoing the ancient practice of lighting fires to ward off spirits.

But is this really just a dead holiday today, has it been swallowed completely by Halloween? As the highly commercialized and secular holiday took form, another branch of Samhain took form in the 19th and 20th century. Celtic Neopagans and Wiccans have taken Samhain as their own, trying to celebrate it as a religious holiday instead. 

Halloween is a far cry from its Samhain origins, having transformed into a celebration of fun, fright, and community. Yet, the echoes of its ancient past linger in the traditions of dressing up, honoring the dead, and embracing the supernatural and reminding us that the veil between our world and the other, can be very thin. 

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References:

Samhain Celebrations:

Samhain – Wikipedia 

Hill of Ward – Wikipedia

Rathcroghan – Wikipedia

Samhain ‑ Traditions, Halloween, Wicca | HISTORY 

BBC – Religions – Paganism: Samhain

Celtic Culture and Pagan Gods:

Crom Cruach – Wikipedia 

Magh Slécht – Wikipedia 

Nemed – Wikipedia

Celtic religion | Druidism, Mythology & Rituals | Britannica

Halloween Tradition

When ‘Dumb Suppers’ Were a Halloween Love Ritual – Gastro Obscura 

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Halloween Stories: Calan Gaeaf — When Spirits Roam In Wales

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Before the modern Halloween came back to the British Isles, there were celebrations like the Welsh Calan Gaeaf. The first day of winter. The night before this day was when the veil was thinnest and the spirits roamed the land. 

Home, home, at once
The tailless black sow shall snatch the last one.
– Welsh rhyme from Nos Calan Gaeaf

As the winds of autumn grow colder and the days shorter, the people of Wales prepare for Calan Gaeaf, a festival steeped in ancient tradition and eerie folklore. Celebrated on the night of October 31st, this Celtic holiday marks the transition into winter—when the veil between the living and the dead thins, allowing spirits to walk freely among the living.

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

Much like its more famous counterpart, Halloween, Calan Gaeaf is a time when ghostly apparitions and supernatural forces are said to roam the earth. But in Wales, the night is uniquely filled with tales of terrifying spirits, haunted crossroads, and ominous signs of death. It’s a night where even the bravest avoid stepping outside after dark.

The Origins of Calan Gaeaf Festivities

Harvest: The Calan Gaeaf is a harvest festival as well, and things like apple bobbing and telling fortune of apple skin were some of the activities.

Calan Gaeaf, translating to “the first day of winter” in Welsh, has roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. For the Celts, this night represented the end of the harvest season and the start of the dark half of the year, when the world was gripped by cold and the dead returned to walk among the living. Or is it really a tradition for all Celts? There are those who claim there really is no evidence that Samhain was ever celebrated in Wales, making some think it is more a Gaelic custom rather than Celtic. 

But how far does this celebration date back though? The word, Galan or Calan is actually from the latin, calends “first day of winter.” 

What is Celtic though is the dating of the day. The night before the day is called the Nos Galan Gaef, and this is when the spirits from the otherworld, or Annwn, are said to come out to play. The Celts counted the days to begin on the evening before, not the morning off. 

The same term is in the Cornish language called Kalan Gwav, or Allantide as it is mostly called now. In Breton language in modern day France it is called Kalan Goañv.

Wales, with its rich Celtic heritage, embraced these ancient beliefs, and Calan Gaeaf became a night filled with both celebration and fear. Fires were lit in villages to keep the malevolent spirits at bay, and families gathered indoors to share stories of ghosts and ghouls, all while keeping a wary eye on the night outside.

The Haunting Presence of Hwch Ddu Gwta

Among the many eerie figures associated with Calan Gaeaf, none is more feared than Hwch Ddu Gwta, a fearsome black sow with no tail. Legend says that Hwch Ddu Gwta roams the Welsh countryside on Calan Gaeaf, accompanied by a headless woman, the Y Ladi Wen, stalking those who dare to venture outside after sunset. Anyone unlucky enough to encounter this spectral beast would surely be doomed, dragged away into the darkness or even to the underworld itself.

Y Ladi Wen: The Lady in White is a Welsh legend, known as Y Ladi Wen or Y Ddynes Mewn Gwyn. She appears dressed in white, especially during Hollantide and Calan Gaeaf, and is featured in Welsh oral tradition to warn children against misbehavior. Y Ladi Wen can be seen as a scary ghost who might seek help or offer treasure. She is linked to the villages of Ogmore, Ewenny, and St Athan. In Ogmore, a spirit was said to roam until a brave man approached her, discovering a cauldron of gold under a stone in Ogmore Castle. He took some treasure but later returned for more, angering the spirit, who attacked him in revenge. He fell ill and died after confessing his greed, leading to the belief that “Y Ladi Wen’s revenge” would affect anyone who died without revealing hidden treasure. //Source: pduncaza/Deviantart

To avoid Hwch Ddu Gwta and other restless spirits, people would rush home before nightfall, locking their doors tightly. The idea of being caught outside was a terror for many, as it was believed the spirits could claim anyone out in the open on this haunted night.

Hwch Ddu Gwta a Ladi Wen heb ddim pen
Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola’
Hwch Ddu Gwta nos G’langaea
Lladron yn dwad tan weu sana.

The black sow and headless white lady,
Will try and catch the last to leave,
Thieves abound knitting stockings,
Beware the tail-less black sow on winter’s eve.

A game played by the bonfire was also that one of the men would wear a pig skin and chase the children to keep the fear and legend alive. 

Divination and Dark Omens During Nos Galan Gaeaf

Aside from the lurking spirits, Calan Gaeaf is a night filled with ancient customs and rituals. One of the most unnerving traditions was a form of divination—an attempt to peer into the future and learn of one’s fate, particularly regarding death. People would gather around bonfires (coelcerth) and throw stones into the flames, each person marking their stone with a special symbol or name. After the fire had burned down, the stones were retrieved. It was said that anyone whose stone was missing in the morning would die before the next Calan Gaeaf. You could also see the people who would die if you ran around the church three times and peered into the keyhole of the church door. 

Another dark tradition involved staring into a mirror at midnight on Calan Gaeaf, with the belief that the face of your future spouse—or, chillingly, a skull—would appear behind you. If you saw the skull, you would never marry, and die within a year. 

Boys would cut ten leaves of ivy, throw one away and put the rest under the pillow. This would help them see the future, and if they touched the ivy, they would see witches, or gwrachod, as they slept. The men would also dress in women’s clothing mimicking the Gwrachod and go from door to door for treats. This was thought to repel the evil spirits. 

The girls grew roses in hoops they could go through. They then cut the rose and put it under their pillows to see their future. Peeled apple skin was also thrown over the shoulders to spell the first letter of the future husband. 

Bonfire Night: Central to the Nos Calan Gaeaf is the bonfire, or the coelcerth as it is in Welsh.

The Modern Halloween Celebration in Wales

Though today, many of these old customs have faded, the fear of spirits abroad on Calan Gaeaf still lingers in the corners of Welsh folklore. The old ways of celebrating seem like it’s being swallowed by the highly commercialized American Halloween.

On this eerie night, even the skeptics can’t help but feel a shiver down their spine as the wind howls through the hills and the night closes in. After all, as the old tales warn—if you’re out too late on Calan Gaeaf, you might just find yourself face-to-face with something that doesn’t belong in this world.

So when October 31st comes around in Wales, beware of wandering too far from home. Hwch Ddu Gwta might be watching, and the spirits may be closer than you think.

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References:

Calan Gaeaf – Wikipedia 

Nos Galan Gaeaf: the traditional Welsh celebration being eclipsed by modern Halloween

Spooky Wales – Noson Calan Gaeaf – BBC Bitesize 

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Halloween Stories: The Ancient Origins of Trick-or-Treat

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Trick-or-Treat is now an integral part of the Halloween celebration. It is often seen as an American tradition, but history tells us that this custom has deep roots to even pre-christian times with much darker and supernatural reasons.  

Trick-or-treating, a beloved Halloween tradition, is now synonymous with costumed children going door-to-door in search of candy. But the history of this custom stretches back centuries and is steeped in eerie folklore, ancient rituals, and dark traditions that were once far more sinister than a friendly request for sweets.

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

The act of going from house to house for food or treats in the fall and winter part of the year has had countless variants throughout Europe. On the Greek Island, Rhodes, children dressed up as swallows and sang a song as they went door to door in search of treats. If the house owners refused, they pranked them. In northern parts of Europe there was the Scandinavian Julebukk, or the German St. Martin’s day or Rummelpott for instance that are much closer to winter and Christmas. In southern Europe we have more traditions of the Catholic version and in Portugal children go out on All Hallow’s Day for Pão-por-Deus (bread for God’s sake) from their neighbors. 

Today, the tradition has become more global and capitalized. It is estimated that $3 billion is spent on Halloween costumes annually in North America. But for the sake of tracing it back to the modern Trick-or-Treat, we will mainly focus on the Celtic traditions.

The Celtic Roots: Samhain and the Spirit World

The origins of trick-or-treating trace back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated over 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the UK, and northern France. For the Celts, Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, a time of seasonal transitions when the boundary between the world of the living and the dead blurred. 

On the night of October 31, spirits of the dead were believed to return to Earth, roaming the land and causing chaos. This was also the case for the fairies or the Aos Si. 

To appease these wandering spirits and avoid harm, people would leave out food and drink as offerings. Disguises were also worn—animal skins and masks—to blend in with the spirits or confuse malevolent ones who might wish to do harm. 

It is also said that people dressed up and went door to door to impersonate the spirits and receive the offering on their behalf. Dressing up as them was also seen as a way to protect themselves from them. These early costumes, used as a form of protection, laid the foundation for the Halloween costumes we see today.

Neopagan Samhain Still Alive: Although the tradition of Samhain is mostly died out and replaced with various Halloween tradition, there are still those who celebrate it how they think their ancestors did it with bonfires, dressing up and offerings. Here, a neopagan is celebrating Samhain. //Source: Matt Cardy/wikimedia

Medieval Europe: “Souling” and “Guising”

As Christianity spread across Europe, pagan traditions like Samhain were absorbed and transformed by the Church. By the Middle Ages, the practice of leaving offerings for the dead evolved into a custom known as souling. On All Hallows’ Eve (October 31) and All Souls’ Day (November 2), the poor would go door-to-door offering prayers for the souls of the dead in exchange for food, often a type of small cake known as a “soul cake.” 

This practice, called “souling,” was common in parts of Britain and Ireland, where people also carried lanterns made from hollowed-out turnips, a precursor to today’s jack-o’-lanterns.

Souling: An English custom with origins in the medieval era and is still practised to a minor extent in Sheffield and parts of Cheshire during Allhallowtide. The rich gave soul cakes to the poor on Halloween who prayed for their souls. It became so popular that small companies went door to door on Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this: “Soul, soul, for a soul-cake: Pray you, good mistress, a soul-cake!”‘

At the same time, a tradition known as guising emerged in Scotland and Ireland, at least as far back as the 16th century. It’s a play on the word, disguise. Children would dress in costumes or disguises—often as ghosts, witches, or demons—and go house to house, offering songs, poems, or jokes in exchange for food, coins, or other small treats. Guising allowed people to celebrate the liminal nature of Halloween, when the world of spirits and the living briefly intertwined, while also warding off evil with their clever disguises.

Guising: There were many local variants of guising. The Outer Hebrides and Shetland have a blend of Celtic and Norse traditions that created the straw Skekler costume, a custom that died out around 100 years ago. They would go door to door and perform for money or food. Until the householder guessed their names, they couldn’t show their faces. Here from Oidhche Shamhna, a South Uist Halloween,1932.// Source: Margaret Fay Shaw Photographic Collection/ Canna House, the National Trust for Scotland.

The American Evolution: Mischief and Sweets

When European immigrants, particularly from Ireland and Scotland, brought these customs to America in the 19th century, they began to blend with other cultural traditions. The first recorded time guising was recorded in America was in 1911 in Ontario, Canada when a news reporter wrote about it. The first time it was said Trick-or-Treat was in 1917 in the same place. It is of course possible it was done before as well. 

Late 1800s childrens’ costumes

By the early 20th century, Halloween had evolved into a community-centered holiday with parties, parades, and festive gatherings. But trick-or-treating had not yet become widespread. It wasn’t until the 1920s and 1930s, during the Great Depression, that trick-or-treating as we know it began to take shape in the U.S. 

Some claim that the trick-or-treating was invented by adults to change the Mischief Night vandalism that was mostly about pranks and crime. Halloween was often a night of mischief and pranks—sometimes harmless, sometimes destructive. Young people, especially in cities, would engage in acts of vandalism or play tricks on their neighbors, from tipping over outhouses to egging homes. To curb this mischief, communities and neighborhoods began organizing more structured Halloween activities. The history tells otherwise though, and it has been a children’s activity for centuries.

After World War II, with the baby boom in full swing and sugar rationing over, Halloween trick-or-treating exploded in popularity. Candy companies seized the opportunity, marketing small, individually wrapped candies specifically for Halloween. By the 1950s, the phrase “Trick-or-Treat” became widely used across America, and the once-mischievous demand for candy evolved into the fun, family-friendly event it is today.

The Haunting Tradition Lives On

Today, millions of children across the world take to the streets each Halloween, dressed in everything from spooky monsters to superheroes, eager to collect candy. The modern tradition from America has spread back to Europe and beyond, echoing the ancient rites. It was not until the early 2000 that children started saying Trick-or-Treat in Scotland and Ireland, but the tradition has seemingly taken a full circle back, although perhaps taken over the more localized versions that used to exist.

Pop Culture Influence: Trick-or-treating originated in Britain and Ireland in the form of souling and guising but the use of the term “Trick-or-Treat” at the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s and later with its popularization of the tradition through movies like E.T and other.

But beneath this lighthearted tradition lies a history of ancient fears and beliefs. The disguises, the begging for offerings, and even the lingering notion of “tricks” all harken back to a time when Halloween was not just a night of fun, but a night when the spirits of the dead walked among the living.

While the tradition of trick-or-treating has transformed into a celebration of candy and costumes, the eerie undertones remain—reminders of a time when the veil between worlds was thin, and a knock on the door might just have been from something otherworldly.

Despite the concept of trick-or-treating originating in Britain and Ireland in the form of souling and guising, the use of the term “Trick-or-Treat” at the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s, with its popularisation in part through the release of the film E.T.

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References:

How Trick‑or‑Treating Became a Halloween Tradition | HISTORY

Halloween: Origins, Meaning & Traditions | HISTORY 

The history of trick-or-treating, and how it became a Halloween tradition 

Why Do We Trick Or Treat? – Farmers’ Almanac 

The Celtic Origins of Trick-or-Treating | Smithsonian 

The History of ‘Trick or Treat’ | Merriam-Webster

Trick-or-treating – Wikipedia

Pão por Deus – Wikipedia

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Halloween Stories: The Legend of Stingy Jack and the origin of the Jack-o’-Lantern

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The carved pumpkin is perhaps the global symbol of the modern Halloween celebration. But where did this custom come from and what does the Jack-o’-Lantern really represent?

The eerie glow of a carved pumpkin, flickering from a toothy grin, has become an iconic symbol of Halloween on a global scale. Known as the “jack-o’-lantern,” this tradition has its roots deep in ancient folklore where they celebrated Samhain, blending tales of wandering spirits, old-world customs, and the haunting specter of Stingy Jack.

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

The Jack-o’-lantern is carved mostly from pumpkins these days as the Americans started doing their own versions of the carving tradition brought over by the Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celtic cultures. But also other root vegetables like mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip have been used over the years. 

The carved faces in the vegetables used to be a way of warding off spirits during the old festivals like Samhain when the door between the living and the dead was especially thin as the summer passed over to winter. The lanterns also helped guide the people doing the Samhain ritual of going house to house for food and drink, the prelude to the modern Trick and Treat. 

The Old Tradition of Jack-o’-Lantern: Image from The Book of Hallowe’en. Caption “No Hallowe’en without a Jack-o’-Lantern.” This picture is from around 1919. // Source

The Art of Carving Vegetable

Although the tradition of pumpkin carving as we know it today dates perhaps a couple of centuries back, the act of cutting out faces in fruits and vegetables dates back millennials, and is a thing around the world. In the northern European Celtic cultures, some speculate that it was a way to symbolize the severed head of your enemies before its connection to Samhain. 

It is worth noting as well, the making of the lanterns was also a practical and cheap way of making use of what you had to shield the lights you lit up in the dark nights. And the faces were a practical and decorative way to make the light shine through, sort of what we do today as well. 

Ghost Turnip: This old carved turnip can be found in the National Museum of Ireland. In 1943 a schoolteacher, Rois Ní Braonáin,teaching near Fintown, Co. Donegal. According to here, they always made them like this around 1900. This plaster-cast model was created and painted by the museum artist, Eileen Barnes. Candles were placed inside the turnips and they were used to frighten people on the night of 31 October. // Source

The Magical Lights of the Will-o’-the-wisps

There are many origin stories about the Jack-o’-lantern as a more supernatural item. Perhaps the oldest ones are connected with the will-o’-the-wisps lights with a lot of legends attached to it. The will-o’-the-wisp, also known as ignis fatuus (foolish fire), is one of the most enduring and mysterious legends across cultures. These eerie, flickering lights appear in marshes, forests, and other desolate places, often just out of reach, luring travelers into danger.

In European folklore, will-o’-the-wisps are ghostly lights that hover just above the ground, often leading those who follow them astray. The name itself comes from “Will of the wisp,” referring to a man named Will or Jack who carried a flickering torch, or wisp, through the night. According to some tales, these lights are the souls of those denied entry to both Heaven and Hell, doomed to wander the Earth in limbo. Their ethereal glow lures the unsuspecting traveler deeper into treacherous bogs and dark woods, where they lose their way or meet their demise.

In England, the will-o’-the-wisp is thought to be a malevolent fairy or spirit, delighting in leading travelers off the safe path and into the depths of the wild. In other versions, the lights are said to be the souls of the dead, restless spirits who died untimely deaths and now seek company in the living. Many old English tales speak of people following the lights, only to end up stranded in dangerous swamps or falling into unseen pits.

Will-o-the-wisp and Snake: A painting from 1823 by Hermann Hendrich (31 October 1854 in Heringen, Thuringia – 18 July 1931), a German painter. The legend of the ignis fatuus lights have spurred many legends, one of them leading up to the Halloween pumpkin lantern.

Other cultures have their own interpretations of these haunting lights. In Scandinavia, they’re called irrbloss, believed to be the spirits of unbaptized children or the souls of treasure guardians trying to protect their hoards. In Japan, the hitodama are floating flames representing the souls of the recently deceased, drifting away from the body.

In scientific terms, the phenomenon may be explained by the combustion of gasses such as methane and phosphine released by decaying organic matter in marshes. These gasses can spontaneously ignite, producing the flickering lights that have inspired such widespread fear and fascination.

The Story of Stingy Jack

The will-o’-the-wisps soon merged with the story of the lantern, but so did another one that gave its name. The story of the jack-o’-lantern also originates from Irish myth from the mid 18th century. He has also been called Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack and Flakey Jack But who was Jack? In the 17th century, it was common to call men you didn’t know, Jack, in Britain. So a man working at night as a watchman would be known as Jack-of-the-lantern for instance. 

According to legend, a man known as Stingy Jack was a trickster who managed to deceive the Devil himself. Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him, but when it came time to pay, Jack convinced the Devil to turn into a coin to cover the cost. Instead of using the coin to pay, Jack pocketed it next to a silver cross, trapping the Devil. In exchange for his release, Jack made the Devil promise not to take his soul for ten years.

Ten years later, the Devil returned for Jack, but the cunning man tricked him once again, this time by asking the Devil to climb a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While the Devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the bark, once again trapping him. In exchange for his freedom, the Devil promised never to take Jack’s soul.

However, when Jack eventually died, Heaven refused him entry due to his sinful life, and the Devil, true to his word, wouldn’t claim him either. Left to wander the Earth as a lost soul, Jack was given only a single ember by the Devil to light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed-out turnip, using it as a makeshift lantern as he roamed the afterlife.

In Ireland, people began carving their own turnips and placing candles inside them to ward off Jack’s wandering spirit and other evil entities, Seán na Gealaí’ as it jack-o’-lanterns are called in Irish. This practice, brought to America by Irish immigrants in the 19th century, evolved as the native pumpkin—larger and easier to carve—became the preferred choice for jack-o’-lanterns.

The Jack-o’-Lantern Lights Today

With the rise of electric lights, the tales of Stingy Jack and what happened in the darkness started to fade as the imagination of it was lit up. The custom of cutting out Jack-o’-Lantern for Halloween still persist though. Today, the eerie glow of jack-o’-lanterns is a familiar sight during Halloween, their carved faces a reminder of Stingy Jack’s eternal punishment. Each flickering light serves as a beacon, keeping the spirits at bay while honoring a haunting tale that stretches back through the centuries.

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References:

The Jack-O-Lantern’s Origins 

How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth | HISTORY

The twisted transatlantic tale of American jack-o’-lanterns

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Halloween Stories: The Apples for Allantide in Cornwall

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The first day of winter is called Kalan Gwav in Cornish and their version of Halloween. The celebration is called Allantide and the main focus is the big Allan Apple and trying to predict the future. 

Allantide, known as “Kalan Gwav” in Cornish, is the traditional Cornish celebration of Halloween, which marks the end of summer and the beginning of winter. Cornwall is one of the Celtic nations in South West England from the Atlantic Ocean to Devon and the English Channel.

Taking place on October 31, it shares similarities with Samhain and other Celtic festivals like the Welsh Calan Gaeaf or the Hop-tu-Naa on the Isle of Man of it being a beginning of winter festival. But one thing that differs is how much they focus on the dead, the spooky, the otherworld and ghosts. Allantide is much more harvest focused than what we think of Halloween today, although it has some of the same games and customs as its more spooky counterparts. 

Read Also: Halloween Traditions Across the World

The Christian name, Allantide or Feast of St Allan comes from the bishop of Quimper in modern day France, in the sixth century, if he ever existed at all. He is venerated in Brittany and his name lives on in this holiday, although for obscure reasons. This has also made the celebration very christian as an important part of the festival is ringing the church bells. 

Apple Harvest for Allantide: The apples are said to have been brought to the British Isles by the Romans, and soon, celts cultivated them on their own. Traditionally they have been seen as a sign of love and fertility as well as symbols for the gods and goddesses of the otherworld.

The Allan Apples From Harvest

A notable feature of Allantide is the gifting of large, bright apples called “Allan apples,” which symbolize good luck for the coming winter. In this sense, this version of “Halloween”, as it were, is a much brighter version with focus on apples, harvests and predicting the future. Other Halloween versions have often had a more supernatural and spooky atmosphere with ghosts, witches and monsters coming at night. 

In the days leading up to Allantide, Allan Markets were held to buy the big apples. These apples were often used in games of divination, predicting future romances or fortunes. Women would place the apples under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husband. 

Snap Apple: A cross with four candles were put on and Allan apples would hang down was a game they played. The goal was to catch the apples in your mouth. The hot wax from the candles was penalty when it fell down on you.

Bonfires and Jack-o-lanterns

In the past, families would light bonfires, gather together, and use various forms of divination to foresee the winter ahead. The most popular future was of course to do with your love life. If you threw walnuts into the fire you could predict how faithful your partner was. 

Stories told during these gatherings often involved ancestors and spirits, emphasizing the thinning of the veil between worlds. As with the other Celtic celebration, this was the time the dead and passed loved ones were closest to the living. 

Melting of metal was also a way to predict the future. They melted it down to a liquid before throwing it in cold water and reading the shape of it, showing future partners or the future husband’s job. 

There were also jack-o-lanterns made, but of the local turnip growing there. Although if it had the same spooky connotation 

The End of Allantide Festivities

Today, Allantide has largely merged with modern Halloween celebrations, and the traditional Allan markets are gone. But traces of its ancient customs remain alive in Cornwall, where the gifting of the apples is still a central thing to the celebration and bonfires are lit to create community.

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References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allantide

Alain of Quimper – Wikipedia

Allantide | Cornwall For Ever! 

Allantide Cornwall 2023 

Halloween in Cornwall: Allantide and Allan Apples | The Regency Redingote 

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Halloween Stories: Hop-tu-Naa and Jinny the Witch from Isle of Man

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The ancient Halloween celebration of Hop-tu-Naa on the Isle of Man has a lot of the old celtic traditions. They also sing about Jinny the Witch, a woman tried for witchcraft centuries ago.

Around the world there are many versions of celebrating the day of the dead and on the British Isles you’ll find many versions stemming from the Celtic Samhain celebrations that turned into the modern Halloween. One the remote Isle of Man, one of them is the Hop-tu-Naa.

Hop-tu-Naa is the traditional Celtic festival celebrated on the Isle of Man every October 31st, marking the beginning of winter and believed to be the oldest unbroken tradition on the island. Rooted in the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, Hop-tu-Naa was originally a time when people believed the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest, allowing spirits to roam. 

Hop-tu-naa turnip: Intricate designs of carved turnips have become an essential part of the celebration. //Source: Wikimedia

The Celtic Legacy on the Isle of Man

The Manx name for the holiday is Oie Houney. The Manx people is the Gaelic ethnic group from the Isle of Man that once ruled the Norse-Gaelic The Kingdom of the Isles and the Gaelic Dál Riata on the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland and Isle of Man is considered one of the six Celtic Kingdoms. 

The term Hop-tu-naa is from one of the songs they sing during the festival. The term is pure nonsense, and just meant to rhyme. 

Traditions of the Hop-tu-naa

As mentioned, this celebration is singing central, coming from the tradition when waist or mummers went from house to house to perform for gifts, much like the modern Trick or Treating. There is also a traditional Manx Hop-tu-Naa dance, a sort of simple processional dance. 

One of the traditional songs that children sing references Jinny the Witch, a local figure in Manx folklore, adding a unique touch of spooky folklore to the festival. According to Hampton Creer, Jinny’s real name was Joney Lowney from Braddan. She was a poor woman who used to beg her neighbors for food. According to the locals, bad luck followed those who refused her because of her proficiency in black magic. 

She was tried at Bishop’s Court for witchcraft in 1715 and 1716 where her “crime” was stopping the Ballaughton Corn Mill because she was furious about the poor quality of the grain and told the miller. After she had yelled at him, it is said that his machinery mysteriously stopped working. 

The locals thought she had cursed the mill and she was put on trial for witchcraft. She was sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment, fined £3 and made to stand at the four market crosses dressed in sackcloth. 

In Scotland she may very well have been burn at the stake, but here she lived on for years. One of the many variations of her song goes like this:

Hop-tu-Naa
My mother’s gone away
And she won’t be back until the morning
Jinnie the Witch flew over the house
To fetch the stick to lather the mouse
Hop-tu-Naa
My mother’s gone away
And she won’t be back until the morning
Hop-tu-Naa, Traa-la-laa

Turnip Lanterns

You also had the jack-o-lanterns, or moots, a tradition of putting light inside of carved turnips for the performers and to ward off evil spirits. Although much of the tradition dates back centuries, it seems this tradition dates back to the early 1900s.

The modern version of Hop-tu-Naa has children dressing up, carrying these lanterns and going from house to house for sweets. Now the focus is on how they carve the turnips, but in the past the children would bring the stumps and batter the doors of those who didn’t want to give them money or sweets. 

There’s also a strong focus on seasonal foods, with dishes like “mrastyr,” a mixture of potatoes, parsnips, and fish, traditionally prepared for the night. Any remaining left overs were left outside for the fairies as offerings. They would also set fire to gorse to ward off bad faeries

Power of Divination on Hollantide

As with many of the first day of winter festivals from the British Isles, another central part of the celebration is divination and predicting the future for the coming year. This was because the veil between the worlds was thinnest this night. One tradition involved smoothing out fireplace ashes before bed to see the imprint of a foot in the morning—if the footprint pointed outward, it foretold death, but if inward, it indicated a birth.

Another ritual involved making a “Dumb Cake” (Soddag Valloo) in silence, with young women participating. They would bake the cake on the hearth, eat it quietly, and go to bed walking backwards, hoping to dream of their future husband, who would offer them water in the vision.

Other forms of divination included stealing and roasting a salt herring in silence or holding water and salt while listening to a neighbor’s conversation to divine a future spouse’s name. Some also thought stealing the neighbors herring would tell the future.

Today, Hop-tu-Naa is still celebrated on the Isle of Man with a mixture of ancient customs, turnip carving, and an eerie blend of folklore, continuing to connect modern Manx culture to its deep Celtic roots. The festival’s mysterious and supernatural elements, combined with its long-standing traditions, make it a hauntingly unique way to mark the arrival of winter.

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References:

Manx people – Wikipedia

Hop-tu-Naa (dance) – Wikipedia

Hop-tu-Naa – Wikipedia 

Hop-Tu-Naa: The Celtic festival celebrated every Halloween on the Isle of Man | Sky HISTORY TV Channel

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Halloween Traditions Across the World

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In this wide world we have countless customs, holidays and traditions. But the tradition of honoring, and at times, fearing the dead around the dark autumn time, seems to be something we do in all corners of the earth.

Through the modern media we have all grown accustomed to this specific type of Halloween traditions. Carving pumpkins, go trick or treating and dressing up is now a global phenomenon. But the concept of celebrating the dead, souls and spirits during the harvest season has always been something people have done, and probably will continue to do for a while. But although the American style Halloween have monopolised a lot of the celebration, there are still both old and local variation of celebrating this kind of festivity. Here are some of them:

Samhain — Britain

Samhain: Bonfires, offerings to fairies and feasts for the dead was a tradition in the old Samhain celebrations.

The Samhain celebration is probably were the modern Halloween traditions has borrowed most customs and ideas from. It is a Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. it was usually celebrated from 31. October to 1. November. It was celebrated all throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, with many similar festivals held around the same time around the rest of the Celtic Islands.

According to tradition, bonfires were lit as they were seen to have protective and cleansing power. Offerings to the Aois Sí, the spirits and fairies was made to give them a good harvest and making them last through the winter. There was also held feasts where they made place for the dead at the table, as it was believed that the souls of the dead would visit.

The festival was held because the time was seen as a liminal time, were the boundary between the living and dead were minimal and the crossing between this world and the otherworld were more easily done. A part of the festival also included people dressing up in costume to recite verses for food, called mummers play, or mumming.

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All Saints Day — Catholic Church

All Saints Day: This Christian holiday is celebrated many places were there is a Roman catholic or Anglican church.

Within the Catholic Church the celebration of All Saints’ Day or All Souls’ Day is marked November the first and second. It is also called Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and Day of the Dead. The All Saints Day is a day for celebrating all Saints and Martyrs in the Christian Church. The All Souls Day is mostly for the people still in purgatory to atone for their sins before entering heaven.

This together with Samhain turned into what we now call the modern Halloween with its traditions. Most often, the All Saints’ Day is celebrated within the western christianity, while in the eastern christianity they have celebrated somewhat the same in Saturday of Souls celebrations. It is mostly celebrated by Roman Catholics and Anglicans.

The feast itself is celebrated on November 1. and is mostly a day of prayer and remembering the souls of the dead. On the day there are many ways the practitioners remember the dead, and the traditions vary from church to church, but it generally include lighting candles and praying.

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Allantide — Wales

Allan Apples: Apples are important for Allantide as they are a token of good luck.

A Cornish version of Halloween traditions is the Allantide, or Kalan Gwaw, meaning the first day of winter. In the sixth century, Cornwall had a bishop named St Allan, and therefore it is also known as Allan Night and Allan Day. Traditionally it was celebrated on the night of October 31 and the day after.

A lot of common traits with Hollantide celebration in Wales and Isle of Man as well as Halloween itself. To celebrate they rung the church bell to comfort Christian souls on their journey to heaven. They made Jack’o lanterns from turnips. But the most important fruit this feast was red apples. Large, glossy Allan apples were polished and given to friends and family as gift for good luck.

Divination game to read the future was also a part of the festivities. They ere for example throwing walnuts in the fire to predict the fidelity of their partners, or poring molten lead in cold water to find out the job of their future husband. Also some parts of Cornwal, they lit ‘Tindle’ fires to the Coel Coth of Wales.

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Day of the Dead — Mexico

Día de Muertos: This day is often recognized for the costumes and makeup.

The Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos in Spanish is a Mexican holiday, well known for their distinctive costumes and face paint. Before the Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration was in the beginning of the summer in Mexico. But it became intertwined with the Christian church and European Halloween traditions and moved to the end of October and beginning of November.

It is a holiday, stretching over several days gathers families and friends to pray for their lost ones and help their way to heaven. According to the Mexican culture, the death is viewed as a naturally part of the human cycle and should therefor not be seen as a day of sadness, but a day of celebrations.

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Pchum Ben — Cambodia

Preparing to open the gates of hell: Monks praying and people gifting food and flowers to the ancestors.
Prayers during Pchum Ben. Credit: Maharaja45

The holiday is a fifteen day celebration on the 15th day of the tenth month in the Khmer calendar, at the end of the Buddhist Lent, Vassa. And would in the Gregorian calendar, mostly be in September and October. The translation of Pchum Ben is Ancestor Day, and its a time were many Cambodians pay their respect to the dead family and relatives up to seven generations.

Monks chant the sutta in Pali language without sleeping overnight to prepare the gates of hell opening. This occurs once a year and is a time were manes (spirits) of the ancestors come back. Therefore they put out food offerings that can help them end their time in purgatory.

People give foods like sweet sticky rice and beans wrapped in banana leaves, and visit temples to offer up baskets of flowers as a way to pay respect to their deceased ancestors. It’s also a time for people to celebrate the elderly.

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Pangangaluluwa — Philippines

After sundown: In Philippines they light candles and camp out in the cemeteries to honour the ancestors.
Photo by Alexandr Chukashev on Pexels.com

The name of the holiday is from the word kaluluwa, meaning soul or spirit. It is an event that lasts three days at the cemetery with food stands and pop-up stores around the cemetery as the people celebrating the festivities, camp out.

On the first of November people gather in cemetaries to light candles and put flowers on the grave to respect the ancestors. some places in the north they have this old tradition of lighting pinewood next to the graves. In the cemetery there is a priest walking through it to bless all the tombs.

Outside of the emetaries, there are carollers singing through the night, all draped in white blankets. The same tradition is for children as they go door to door and singing hymns to get money.

Today, the local tradition is slowly fading out, merging more and more with the modern Halloween traditions, but out in the provinces, mostly, the old practices is still upheld for now.

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Saint Andrew’s Day — Romania

Night of the Wolf: During this night wolves have special powers and can speak.
Photo by David Selbert on Pexels.com

This day is today connected to the Christian saint, but it also have some pagan origins with the Roman celebration of Saturn. In the Dacian Ney Year was an interval when time started up again. On the turn of the night, wolves were allowed to eat the animals they wanted and it was also believed that they spoke as well, although, if you heard it, it meant an early death.

Early on the day, the mothers went into the garden to get branches, especially from apple, pear, cherry trees and rose bush branches. They made a bunch of these branches for each family member, and if a branch bloomed by New Years day, it meant they would be lucky and healthy the following year.

There was also a tradition of girls hiding sweet basil under their pillow to have dreams about their wedding. It was also customary for girls to put 41 grains of wheat under their pillow, and if they dreamt someone stole them, it meant they were going to be wed the next year. This premonition was also done by bringing a candle to a fountain at midnight and ask Saint Andrew himself if he could give them a glimpse of their future husband.

This day was especially good for revealing the future husband by magic, a superstitious belief that was also in Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Russia as well as in Romania. This was also the day were vampiric activity was at large, all until Saint George’s Eve on the 22. of April.

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Dziady — Poland

Dziady: Cemetery on dziady night by Stanisław Bagieński from 1904.

The Dziady is a slavic feast to remember the ancestor long passed. It is sometimes translated to Forefathers Eve. It used to be celebrated both in the spring and in the autumn, but today, it is usually held in the end of October like .

In the feast they eat ritual meals to celebrate the living and the souls. It was either held at the house or at cemeteries, were poring directly on the grave was and still is a thing. In some areas the ancestors also had to bathe, and saunas was prepared for them. They also lit up candles and lights to guide the souls so they wouldn’t get lost and wander off.

There was also a special kind of begger, a beggars-dziady, people thought to be connected to the other words. They were given food and sometimes cash to make them pray for their loved lost ones.

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