The
season of trick or treat with its pagan origins
and spooky, ghostly folklore has a significant
place in the Irish calendar dating back to
Celtic times.
Irish
youngsters and adults celebrate Hallowe'en
- or Hallow Eve as some people call it - on
October 31 and they dress up in costumes,
go door to door collecting nuts, fruit and
sweets , have parties and play festive games
like snap apple.
There
are delicious Hallowe'en culinary traditions such
as eating Colcannon , a yummy mix of mashed potato,
curly kale (a member of the cabbage family) and
raw chopped onions with a big knob of butter added
to the centre.
When
it comes to fruity barnbrack, your choice of slice
on Hallowe'en is crucial because it could signal
your destiny. If you choose the slice containing
a piece of rag, then your financial future does
not look happy while the slice with the coin means
wealth is looming.
In
Ireland there are all sorts of old beliefs and customs
associated with Hallowe'en or Oiche Shamhna as it
is called in gaelic, the native Irish language.
So ghosts apart, how did all the Hallowe'en fuss
begin ?
The origins of celebrating Hallowe'en in Ireland
date back to Celtic times. In Christian Ireland
today, November the first is remembered as All Saints
Day but if you lived in pagan Celtic Ireland , November
1 marked the first day of winter and it was marked
by Samhain, one of the four fire festivals during
their year.
Hallowe'en arrived in North America courtesy of
the Irish and Scottish emigrants who brought stories
of Celtic charms , spells , tales of hobgoblins,
evil spirits and the dark and sullen Puca (phooka)
fairy.
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