What's the Connection between Halloween and Ireland?

With Halloween soon to be here I thought it would interesting to share a bit about this fun holiday and explore it's Irish roots. 

Many believe that Halloween is rooted in the Irish folk lore of Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival (pronounced "SAH-win or "SOW-win") which was a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer. People would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. It also marks the transition from the light of harvest to the darkness of winter, symbolizing the thin veil between the living and the spirit world. Celtic people believed that during the festival, spirits walked the Earth. 

After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth.

Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death.

There was also a military aspect to Samhain in Ireland, with holiday thrones prepared for commanders of soldiers. Anyone who committed a crime or used their weapons during the celebration faced a death sentence.

Later on, Christian missionaries introduced All Souls Day on November 2 which perpetuated the idea of the living coming into contact with the dead at the same time of year.

Jack O' Lanterns are also part of the Irish folklore that we have incorporated into modern day Halloween celebrations. 

Legend is that a man named Stingy Jack who repeatedly trapped the Devil, only to let him go on condition that Jack would never go to Hell. When Jack died, he learned that Heaven didn't want his soul so he was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost for eternity. The Devil gave Jack a burning lump of coal in a carved out turnip to light his way. Locals started to carve scary faces into their own turnips to frighten away evil spirits.  

One of the most popular Samhain stories told during the festival was of “The Second Battle of Mag Tuired,” which portrays the final conflict between the Celtic pantheon known as the Tuatha de Danann and evil oppressors known as the Fomor. The myths state that the battle unfolded over the period of Samhain.

One of the most famous Samhain-related stories is “The Adventures of Nera,” in which the hero Nera encounters a corpse and fairies, and enters into the Otherworld.

Samhain figured into the adventures of mythological Celtic hero Fionn mac Cumhaill when he faced the fire-breathing underworld dweller Aillen, who would burn down the Hall of Tara every Samhain.

Samhain also figures into another Fionn mac Cumhaill legend, where the hero is sent to the Land Beneath the Wave. As well as taking place on Samhain, it features descriptions of the hero’s holiday gatherings.

As Christianity gained a foothold in pagan communities, church leaders attempted to reframe Samhain as a Christian celebration.

The first attempt was by Pope Boniface in the 5th century. He moved the celebration to May 13 and specified it as a day celebrating saints and martyrs. The fire festivals of October and November, however, did not end with this decree.

In the 9th century, Pope Gregory moved the celebration back to the time of the fire festivals, but declared it All Saints’ Day, on November 1. All Souls’ Day would follow on November 2.

Neither new holiday did away with the pagan aspects of the celebration. October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, and contained much of the traditional pagan practices before being adopted in 19th-century America through Irish immigrants bringing their traditions across the ocean.

Trick-or-treating is said to have been derived from ancient Irish and Scottish practices in the nights leading up to Samhain. In Ireland, mumming was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. Cakes were given as payment.

Halloween pranks also have a tradition in Samhain, though in the ancient celebration, tricks were typically blamed on fairies.

 Just think, all of these wonderful traditions came from the mystical island of Ireland. Ready for more? Join me in a trip to the Emerald Isle in September of 2025! More information on the tour can be found on the website, www.tripalongtravel.com, or on Trip Along Travel's facebook page. There is a link to a short video about the tour. Or you can find more information here: 

https://tripalongtravel.com/mbg/2025-fall-ireland-escape/

Happy Hauntings!