Samhain and Halloween rituals in Ireland: between Celtic and folklore

27/10/2023

If we look for information about the Celtic rituals celebrated on the night of Samhain (which in Gaelic could mean "end of summer" or "first month", depending on the etymology preferred by linguists), we will find a mixture of historical studies and neopagan rites, such as Wicca or neo-druidism. We know that it was related to spirits and the deceased, because in some places in Scotland and Ireland burials aligned with the position of the sun on this date have been found. The great traditions of Halloween, such as dressing up or preparing lanterns with turnips, now pumpkins, come from the Irish celebration, brought to the United States by immigrants from the Emerald Isle. That is why it seems strange that other regional rituals and celebrations have practically fallen into oblivion outside their territory. That is why we propose to make a brief review of the celebration in Ireland, to make it known outside the island.

The most Celtic aspects that have been attempted to be recovered in current tourist and pagan celebrations are the terrifying costumes, the dances and the enormous bonfires of Tlachtga, the victory of light, as well as giving voice again to some traditional legends related to apparitions and spirits.

The Irish city of Athboy is today one of the meeting places for the Samhain festivals, since several ancient manuscripts reveal that Tlachtga (named after a goddess or druidess), currently Ward Hill, was an important Celtic meeting center. Specifically, it was considered that from Ward Hill, the first rays of light of the new year emanated, and on Halloween it would be the place to see the last dying rays, or one of the doors to that other world. On this hill there are historical records of the lighting of traditional bonfires.

On the other hand, although we already know that they are not Celtic but prehistoric, the megalithic complexes of Brú na Boínne are very attractive because of their relationship with the solstices. The date of Samhain, in addition to the harvest, also marked the time of hunting, before the cold winter.

Legends are also remembered such as that of King Donn, an invading king who, disobeying the advice of the druids, embarked and drowned. He was buried on the island of Skellig, and shortly after his tomb was imagined as the entrance to the underworld, which is why Donn became the Celtic god of the dead. Coincidentally, not far away is the island of Valentia, where the sun god Mog Ruith lived (father, in some versions, of Tlachtga).

In other Celtic legends, heroes carry out specific acts at Samhain, so that they are mentioned and made known, with Tara being the place where great figures such as the god Lugh or Fionn MacCumhail appeared, a warrior who died in battle and who had obtained supreme knowledge by mistake, since his master asked him to cook a magic fish for him, and Fionn, by mistake, burns himself when he touches it and sucks his finger, not knowing that he has eaten a scale that had stuck to his skin. Because of this knowledge, the legends say that he did not die, and that he is asleep waiting for his hunting horn to sound.

Samhain was a time of change when the Púca (or Pooka) could appear, a creature feared even by the other spirits, who appeared at night and destroyed the crops in its path. Perhaps for this reason, a more abundant harvest was made at Samhain, to save it. The Púca could also take on other human or animal forms, and would knock on doors in the middle of the night, but would say the name of the person inside. The door must not be answered or opened, or the person would be taken away by the Púca, never to return. Legend, in its friendlier guise, presents it as a dark-furred little creature who has a fondness for scaring drunks who stayed up all night.

Naturally, on that night it was preferable to stay at home. Much of the tradition revolves around the dinner that day.

Colcannon is an Irish dish consisting of mashed potatoes, kale and leeks, with large doses of butter. It is, of course, a dish of the peasant and working people, a kind of reward for the harvest, in which some traditional rituals were also performed, such as picking cabbages blindfolded, from the root, and then analyzing the heart of the vegetable to look for the characteristics of the future partner (big or small heart, sweet or bitter, etc.). The roots also spoke of the height and strength of the future lover. Since potatoes and cabbage are crops introduced from the 16th century, we deduce that they are not really Celtic traditions, but rather simple adaptations of other rituals at harvest time. Oats and potatoes had to be collected in their entirety before Samhain, and it was preferable to take apples and other wild fruits before, since on Samhain night the Púca and other evil spirits would spit or defecate on them. Turnips were the main vegetable used to make lanterns, probably even before the legend of Jack O'Lantern.

Returning to the Colcannon, various amulets were placed inside it, which, when distributed on the plates, predicted the future of each diner. A coin predicted fortune, a button predicted success in study or work, a ring announced a wedding, a thimble, that one would still have to wait for marriage. This is also done on Samhain and other holidays with another typical dessert, Barmbrack, a cake with yeast and fruit, in which objects with meaning for whoever found it are also placed.

But the deceased and spirits must also be honored. Deceased relatives could be reserved a seat at the Halloween dinner table, including a full plate for them. Candles on doors, in windows and also in cemeteries, helped the spirits make the journey from the cemetery to their old homes and return when the sun rose.

As for the spirits, outside or inside the houses, part of the food enjoyed that night was left for them. It was not leftovers, but a generous portion, inviting them and asking at the same time not to be disturbed. In particular, Donegal (the typical oatcakes) was prepared for elves and fairies. In some places it is recorded that these were cut in the shape of a triangle. They were careful not to have salt, since salt was reserved for evil spirits. However, carrying one of these oatcakes on one's person, as was done with the little ones, was considered protective against these beings.

Other games and divinations were also performed with the Colcannon puree. For example, a yarrow wand was used to bless and enchant this dish so that it would bring wealth and love; Stockings were filled with the puree and hung on doors, like mistletoe, to enchant and enamour young people who passed through them. Spoonfuls of the puree were also left on either side of the bed to dream of the future loved one.

It is curious to see that Halloween is the date on which most questions are asked about love. We find various ways of dreaming about the loved one or the person destined for marriage in Irish history, especially on this date. Some are clearly aimed at the female gender, such as guessing the husband's face in a wet cloth or throwing woollen balls out of the windows. But there are others, for example, eating salted herring before going to sleep, or sleeping with women's clothes on their chests, in the case of men. At midnight, women would brush their hair while eating an apple, while waiting for a portrait of their future lover to appear in the mirror. There was the danger that the devil would appear in the mirror.

Burning pairs of logs or nuts in the fireplace was done to check if both people "burned" equally for each other. Likewise, apples were thrown into bowls or barrels filled with water, and according to their movements, the people whose names had been written on the skin were paired. Apples were sometimes replaced by beans. You could also find out the initial of the future partner's name by peeling an apple without breaking the strip of skin, letting it fall to the ground and forming an initial letter.

To divine things other than love, there were curious methods, all of them related to water: let's not forget that water was an element of connection with the world of the dead in Celtic culture, from which many of these non-Christian rituals probably come. One of them is the method of touch. In the dark (or with the eyes covered) a plate or flat container was filled with water, and the attempt was made to interpret everything that was felt when passing the fingers over the different parts of the plate (texture, cracks, softness, etc.), and by the movements of the water. The same was done by blindly drinking different sauces and liquids, each with a meaning.

That night, each member of the house places a perfect ivy leaf in a glass of water and the next morning, if the leaf is still perfect and has not developed any spots, that person will be guaranteed 12 months of health until the following Halloween, but if it has spots, depending on the quantity and size of these, the severity and duration of the illnesses of that year was considered.

In another ritual, halfway between a game and a test of courage, a person had to put five beans in their mouth along with a glass of water, and hold them in their mouth while they went to listen to something through a neighbour's wall. Supposedly, the beans would react to the eavesdropping, and would also transmit a message. It was also a test of courage to go to the cemetery at night and walk around a grave three times, hoping that the spirit of the deceased would speak about his life, or tell something about the future.

As you will have seen, it is not only about water, but also about food. It is the reward for the harvest and also the prelude to a time of scarcity. Samhain remains a day when death and the dead are closer than ever. To scare away evil spirits, groups of young men and men dressed in terrible outfits walked through the streets with torches, bells and rattles, singing at the top of their voices, to scare them away. Some people think that they would knock on doors to offer their "protection" services, and that they were rewarded with sweets or boxty (potato cake), which is where trick-or-treating came from. Younger children were given oatcakes with a hole in them, which they had to hang around their necks or crush on their heads, as protection against spirits.

The rest of the town would also dress up as spirits and evil beings so that real ghosts and magical beings would not attack them. Of course, Irish turnips (larger than in the rest of Europe) were also carved, and later pumpkins in the United States, with terrifying faces, to remember the legend of Jack O'Lantern and how he tricked the devil, despite being punished to wander eternally with a hollow turnip as his only light.

Although we have already mentioned that several of these rituals were probably pagan survivals and transformations, another part arose from Christianity. The vast majority of traditional recipes are vegetarian in relation to abstaining from meat on special dates, such as the eve of All Souls' Day. Also lighting candles for the dead, or the legend of Jack O'Lantern itself, which has a Christian mythology. Other rituals with a Christian basis can be attending midnight mass and sitting on the porches when leaving waiting to see signs of those who have already died or those who will die in the following year. The figure of the witch did not exist among the Celts, it is a later Anglo-Saxon concept, however, the idea of the Christian devil and of people who take advantage of this night to invoke him and do evil deeds was more widespread. There was talk of rituals that allowed the devil to enter the dead body that had been splashed with blood.

All this may seem too foreign to those who have grown up with a standardized Halloween environment. That is why in the modern festivals that are celebrated in Ireland (whose name is usually Púca), other modern monsters make an appearance, and of course, Count Dracula, to remember that Bram Stoker, his creator, was Irish.

Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada – pietrocarracedo@gmail.com