Top ten Irish traditions for Halloween – SEE PHOTOS

Traditions to make your Halloween just that little bit more Irish

SEE PHOTOS - Top Irish Halloween traditions - click here

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The celebration of Halloween began in Ireland in about 1000 AD so its no wonder that there are so many Irish Halloween traditions that continue around the world every year.
 
 Back then Halloween was pagan festival called “Samhain” meaning “end of summer”. The Celts believed that on the eve of Halloween dead spirits would visit the mortal world. They lit bonfires to keep evil spirits away and dressed in disguises.
 
Although our Halloween is less about dead spirits and more about having fun and dressing up there are some traditional aspects of an Irish Halloween that we have keep going. 
 
Here’s list of some ancient and some more recent traditions from Ireland that have stuck over the years:

The bonfire

Samhain was seen as the end of summer but also the beginning of another year. It was also the one day of the year when spirits could walk the earth. The community would gather together and light huge fires to ward off bad fortune for the coming year and any evil spirits.

Some believe that people extinguished their fires at 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 during the year.
 
It was also traditionally believed that the bonfire encourages dreams especially of your future husband or wife. It was said that if you drop a cutting of your hair into the embers of the fire the identity of your first husband would be revealed.

Jack-o-lantern

There are two schools of thought on why the Irish carried Jack-o-lantern. One is that the tradition 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.

The other version is a little more spooky. The other story is that Jack-o-lanterns date back to the 18th century. It is named after an Irish blacksmith, called Jack, who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry into Heaven. Jack was condemned to walk the earth for eternity but asked the Devill for some light. He was given a burning coal which burnt into a turnip that he had hollowed out. Some Irish believe that hanging a lantern in their front window would keep Jack’s wandering soul away.
 
When the Scot-Irish emigrated to America in they adapted the tradition and used a pumpkin instead as it is more difficult to find turnips.

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