Traditions and customs of Halloween in Ireland
The modern celebration of Halloween or All Hallows’ Evening is widely credited as having originated with the Celts in Ireland. It is believed to have evolved from one of four pre-Christian Gaelic festivals, the pagan festival of Samhain, held every year in honour of the end of the harvest and the ushering in of winter on the night of October 31st.
Halloween is a big holiday, and Ireland has a rich history of spook-based traditions.
Here are the most notable Irish Halloween Traditions:
Bonfire
Samhain was seen as the one day of the year when spirits could walk the earth.
The community would gather together and lit huge fires to ward off bad fortune for the coming year and any evil spirits.
Some believe that people extinguished their fires in the hearth at home before they left and would reignite them using an ember from the bonfire, for good luck. The day after the bonfire the ashes were spread across the fields to further ward off bad luck for the farmers for the coming year.
Making Jack-o’-Lanterns
It is an ancient Celtic tradition. In order to carry home an ember from the communal bonfire, the people would hollow out a turnip so they could walk home with the fire still burning.
When the Scot-Irish emigrated to America, they adapted the tradition and used pumpkins instead as it is more difficult to find turnips.
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.
Trick or Treating
Trick or treat originated centuries ago. In Ireland, the poor would go from door to door at rich peoples homes and ask for food, kindling or money. They would then use what they collected for their celebrations on Halloween.
Dipping/Bobbing for Apples
There are many games that are played on Halloween night and snap apple or bobbing for apples is one of them.
An apple is suspended from a string and the children are blindfolded and their arms tied behind their backs. The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets a prize.
Bobbing for apples is when some apples are dropped into a basin of water and the children have to go in headfirst and try to get a bite.
Traditional halloween costumes
The custom of dressing up in costume comes from an old Celtic tradition when people used to dress in costumes that resembled evil spirits in order to placate them.
At Halloween when the veil between the living and the dead is at it thinnest men would have dressed in white and blackened their faces to resemble the dead to acknowledge them and so appease them that they might not visit the homes of the living or if you were to meet a spirit on your travels they would accept you as one of their own and not be tempted to carry you away in the morning.
What Are the Most Popular Halloween Costumes?
Typically, popular Halloween costumes are classics—like a witch, a skeleton, or a cat—but instead of keeping to tradition, we’re looking to what’s trending within pop culture.
Top 5 most popular Halloween costumes in UK
- Harley Quinn
- Witch
- Pumpkin
- Devil
- Spiderman
So, in addition to looking to your favorite subscription service, pay close attention to what you see as you scroll through Instagram and TikTok this month. By taking note of what everyone’s talking about this year, you can easily come up with a fun costume that’s bound to get plenty of compliments.
