Samhain

Ancient Halloween traditions celebrated in Co Meath

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As darkness fell this evening, Athboy in Co Meath lit up to celebrate Sámhain.

By Laura Hogan

As darkness fell this evening, Athboy in Co Meath lit up to celebrate Sámhain.

“An Lasadh Suas” is the closing ceremony this Halloween night, on the fifth day of the Púca Festival in Co Meath.

A ceremonial fire was lit at Tlachtga, or the Hill of Ward in Athboy, and a procession lead to the Fair Green in the town.

Tlachtga is said to be the location where the ancient Irish lit a fire from which all fires in Ireland were rekindled.

In the Fair Green, four fire sculptures representing the hills of Tara, Loughcrew, Tailteann and Uisneach were set alight.

For the last number of days, people have been leaving messages for their ancestors in the fire installation “An Lasadh Suas”, which also went up in flames during the ceremony this evening.

Storytelling and sean nós singing provided the soundtrack for the cermony in Athboy, where people gathered from around 5pm.

Performances from Kíla and the Pyro Collective closed the event, which has attracted thousands of visitors over the five day event.

Fáilte Ireland says the festival was devised to promote Ireland as the “home of Halloween”, and attract tourism at a time of the year that might be quiet otherwise.

The origins of the Halloween we know today are rooted here in Ireland and the ancient Celtic tradition of Sámhain.

Meath is among the places said to be home of some these, marking the end of Harvest Season and the start of Winter.

The tour of the Porchie Fields

Earlier today in Trim, “mortal guide” Cynthia Simonet guided visitors through this world and an “other world”, with help from her “immortal” colleagues.

The tour in the Porchie Fields boasts views over Trim Castle and the River Boyne, as people learned about the tradition of wearing costumes and masks to protect themselves from the magical creatures who were said to enter this world on Sámhain.

Kilene Cass from Florida in the United States was among those on the walking tour overlooking Trim today. She said she had done some research on Sámhain before coming here.

Erin Tweed from Colorado had been on holidays in Ireland already, but extended her trip to celebrate Halloween and attend the Púca Festival.

In Athboy, a “harvest market” was in full swing. Among the activities, an axe throwing stand.

Benny Ennis said that while we don’t know if our ancestors participated in Axe throwing, there would have been a tradition of champions showing off their strength and skill at large gatherings.

Just after 6pm this evening, the ceremonial fire arrived at the Fair Green in Athboy, before a crowd of hundreds witnessed “An Lasadh Suas”.

Last year, the Púca festival generated €3 million for the local economy and organisers say that that figure has already been surpassed.

Source: Ancient Halloween traditions celebrated in Co Meath

Samhain Rituals & Traditions

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On or around the 31st October in the northern hemisphere, 1st May in the southern, Samhain is the festival of the dead, a festival of remembrance and honouring of our dear departed friends and relations.

Origins

The word Samhain is pronounced Sow(as in Cow)Inn, and is sometimes written in the Old Scottish Gaelic form as ‘Samhuinn’. It is said that at this special time of Samhain the veil that separates the worlds is at its thinnest. So our world, the world of Faerie, and that of the dead, blend as one. It is no wonder then that this night has become so wrapped in superstition. It is a night of wonder and magic. On this night the Cailleach (the Crone) comes to strip the leaves from the trees, to quicken the decay of the flesh of the year, so that it may feed the new life to come. We can also ask Her to take the unwanted aspects of our personal year away, so that these too might be transformed. Yet even on the darkest night of Samhain, whilst our minds ponder our mortality, if we listen carefully, we can hear the sound of a new-born child crying for its Mother’s breast, for soon it will be Alban Arthan, the Winter solstice, and the Wheel will turn once more.

Deeper Into Samhain / Samhuinn

by Susa Morgan Black (Druid, FSA Scot)

To the ancient Celts, the year had two “hinges”. These were Beltaine (the first of May) and Samhain, or Samhuinn, (the first of November), which is also the traditional Celtic New Year. And these two days were the most magical, and often frightening times of the whole year.

The Celtic people were in superstitious awe of times and places “in between”. Holy sites were any border places – the shore between land and water (seas, lakes, and rivers), bridges, boundaries between territories (especially when marked by bodies of water), crossroads, thresholds, etc. Holy times were also border times – twilight and dawn marking the transitions of night and day; Beltaine and Samhain marking the transitions of summer and winter. Read your myths and fairytales – many of the stories occur in such places, and at such times.

At Samhain (which corresponds to modern Halloween), time lost all meaning and the past, present, and future were one. The dead, and the denizens of the Other World, walked among the living. It was a time of fairies, ghosts, demons, and witches. Winter itself was the Season of Ghosts, and Samhain is the night of their release from the Underworld. Many people lit bonfires to keep the evil spirits at bay. Often a torch was lit and carried around the boundaries of the home and farm, to protect the property and residents against the spirits throughout the winter.

Samhain Rituals

DUMB SUPPER

Many Irish and Scottish Celts appeased their dead with a traditional Dumb Supper. On Samhain Eve, supper was served in absolute silence, and one place was set at the head of the table “for the ancestors”. This place was served food and drink without looking directly at the seat, for to see the dead would bring misfortune. Afterwards, the untouched plate and cup were taken outside “for the pookas”, and left in the woods. In other traditions, this is the night to remember, honor, and toast our beloved departed, for the veil between the living and the dead is thin, and communication is possible on Samhain Eve

Animals and food supplies needed special protection during this time, too. Samhain marked the time cattle, on which the Scottish Highland economy depended, were brought in from their summer grazing to their winter fold. The Gods were petitioned to protect the cattle during the long, hard winter. By now, the winter store of food had been harvested and stored.

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Halloween in Scotland: 7 ancient Celtic traditions dating back to Samhain

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Here are some spooky Halloween traditions in Scotland, some of which have their roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain.

Here are some spooky Halloween traditions in Scotland, some of which have their roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain.

Old Hallow’s Eve has its roots in the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest season and the transition into winter.

Bonfires were lit to ward off evil and offerings were left for spirits as the boundary between the otherworld and ours was thought to be blurred.

This tradition has been brought back to life by the likes of the Samhuinn Fire Festival, a modern reimagining of the Celtic ritual with fire dancing and drumming spectacles by Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

It is a time which has always been associated with the supernatural, with mischief and with dispelling sinister forces.

And, as a result of these traditions, there are many things we Scots do differently at Halloween to the rest of the world. From neep lanterns to celebrating on a different day, here are the origins of some of the most ancient Scottish Halloween traditions.

Neep lanterns

 

Carving pumpkins for Halloween is an American import, which was most likely inspired by Scottish tradition.

In Scotland, for years faces have been carved into neeps (or turnips) which were then lit to ward off evil spirits before All Saints Day on November 1.

Admittedly these vegetables are much harder to scoop and carve, which probably explains the popularity of pumpkins replacing them.

Guising

The Scottish folkloric tradition of guising, or dressing as something else, dates back hundreds of years to when children’s faces would be painted to evoke evil spirits.

As All Hallow’s Eve was thought to bring malevolent spirits to the Earth, the idea was to disguise children as spirits so they would be left alone.

The treats of “trick or treat” are also thought to have been handed down over the years from people leaving offerings on their doorsteps during Samhain, so spirits would leave them alone.

It’s thought tricksters dressed as spirits would nab the goodies, traditionally fruit and nuts, and make off into the night.

In Shetland, children would dress in their Skekling costumes made from straw, which were derived from Norse and Celtic lore. These ‘Skeklers’ would perform tricks in their community.

This all eventually evolved to the trick or treating we know today.

The Scottish town that celebrates Halloween on a different day

For most people around the world, Halloween takes place on October 31 each year.

But in Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, the festivities are instead held on the last Friday of the month. So, in 2023, Halloween will be held on Friday, October 27.

The origins of this tradition, sometimes called ‘Killieween’, are hard to trace.

One local legend is that the tradition is connected to witches, accused of cursing villager’s cows, who were burned on the same day as the cattle market on the last Friday of October.

But this has been disputed by historians as there are no records of witch burnings in the town.

Instead, it’s thought the tradition could be linked to the last Friday of the month being payday, when people had more income to spend on sweets, apples, and Halloween treats.

Apple dookin’

An ancient Celtic tradition, apple dookin’ is a game which is still enjoyed by Scots at Halloween today.

A bowl is filled with water and apples and players must grab the bobbing fruit without using their hands.

Although the origins of the game are not entirely clear, some have argued it dates back to the Roman invasion of Britain when the conquerors merged their celebration to honour fruit tree goddess Pomona with traditional Celtic festivals.

Another theory is that dooking is connected to medieval times when witchers were “ducked” into water to determine whether they were “innocent” or “guilty”.

Treacle scones

Like apple dooking, treacle scones is a game which sees players try to pick up sticky, delicious treats without using their hands.

The origins of this tradition aren’t entirely clear, but scones have been around in Scotland for at least 500 years.

Nut burning

Robert Burns’ 1785 Halloween poem lists some of the many Scottish traditions of this festival, including nut burning.

The line: “Some merry, friendly, country-folks, Together did convene, To burn their nits, an’ pou their stocks, An’ haud their Hallowe’en”

The tradition goes that an engaged couple must each put a nut onto the fire. If the nuts burn quietly, the marriage will be a good one. But if the nuts spit, there could be trouble.

Equally a single woman would select a hazelnut to represent each of her potential love interests. If one burned to ashes, rather than popping, custom dictates that would be her future husband.

Kale pulling

Nowadays it may be seen as a hipster superfood, but kale pulling is another classic rite of Scottish Halloween.

The green vegetable would be pulled from the ground after dark to predict a person’s romantic destiny.

The idea is the length and shape of the stalk would resemble a future partner’s height and figure, and any soil left on the plant would indicate their wealth.

In Burns’ Halloween poem, the part “an’ pou their stocks” refers to this tradition.

In a similar vein, another tradition would see a woman walk backwards into a cabbage patch.

The stalk of the plant would give clues to a future partner – gnarled meant old, smooth meant young, and little or no stalk indicated no marriage at all.

Source: Halloween in Scotland: 7 ancient Celtic traditions dating back to Samhain