+34
Explore how ancient Celtic customs, the legend of Stingy Jack, and root vegetable carving evolved from Irish heritage into the global Halloween celebration we know today.
Halloween is celebrated all over the world. Nowadays, the spooky season means pumpkin carving, scary decorations and dressing up. For kids, that’s usually a trip to school in their scariest ensemble or a night of trick-or-treating, while for the adults, it’s a reason to squeeze into some tiny piece of fabric excused as a costume and head straight to the club!
But while Halloween has become such a huge global event, underneath the pumpkins, sweets, costumes, mask wearing and plastic spiders lies many surviving old Irish traditions. So, before you start costume shopping and planning your Halloween night, here are some of the traditions you might not have realised came from Ireland. Originally known as the Celtic festival of Samhain, this was the day that marked the end of the harvest season and the dawn of winter.
It was celebrated on 31 October whenTo protect themselves and honour the dead, huge bonfires were lit, and people wore costumes and masks that concealed their identities. This is where the famous Halloween bonfire emerges.
Before the enormous orange pumpkin became the carved face of Halloween, people in Ireland carved grimacing faces into lanterns from root vegetables – particularly turnips, and in some cases potatoes, The exact origins are unclear, however Irish folk tale tells the story of Stingy Jack, a mischievous blacksmith who tricked the Devil and was later condemned to wander the Earth with only a carved turnip lantern for light. Jack placed the ember inside a hollowed-out turnip, earning him the name “Jack of the Lantern”, which eventually became Jack-o’-lantern.
When Irish customs travelled across the Atlantic, pumpkins were plentiful in North America and significantly easier to hollow out. They eventually became the perfect alternative. Lanterns with grotesque faces became associated with Halloween, and as unsettling as a carved-out turnip is, pumpkins can look jolly. Before Halloween costumes became an excuse to dress up as anything from a witch to your favourite movie character, disguises had a much more serious purpose.
As a method of protection from the dead on the Samhain night, people would disguise themselves using simple fabric masks, animal skins or pieces of cloth. The idea was that if a wandering spirit couldn’t recognise you as a human, it might mistake you for one of the dead and leave you unharmed.
So, in other words, dressing up wasn’t about winning the best costume competition – it was about making sure you didn’t attract the attention of anything supernatural while out and about. This tradition of disguising oneself eventually developed into the practice of guising, where people would dress up and go from house to house performing songs, rhymes or tricks in exchange for food. Fast-forward to today, where Halloween wouldn’t be the same without children knocking on doors begging for sweets.
But the tradition of trick-or-treating has much older roots than the packets of sweets might suggest. The tradition of trick or treating originated from the Samhain practice of leaving food out for spirits or impersonating them to receive offerings. Children and the poor would go from house to house, to offer prayers or songs for the souls of the dead in return for food – or soul cake.
This tradition was known asAs the Irish brought these customs overseas to North America, guising and souling evolved into the trick-or-treating tradition we know today. Halloween has long been associated with the supernatural, and Ireland certainly wasn’t short of stories to tell – banshees, púcas, fairies, restless spirits and haunted houses. These stories weren’t just told to scare people.
Folklore in Ireland helped communities make sense of the unknown and the frightening, while giving everyone a bit of entertainment on a long autumn night. Long before your Halloween classic horror films, there was a much more traditional way of getting a fright – gathering around the fire, telling a good story and letting your imagination do the rest. BÁIRÍN BREAC 🥮 This was a lunchbox staple for me growing up as a child in Ireland every October for Halloween.
Báirín Breac or ‘speckled bread’ isn’t just an ordinary tea cake, it’s able to tell your future. Hidden inside its rich, fruity layers are trinkets like a ring, a coin, and a rag. If you find a ring in your slice you’ll be wed by the end of the year, a coin means wealth and a rag warns of misfortune.
It’s a tradition tied to Samhain, the ancient Irish festival that gave birth to what we now know as Halloween, over 2,000 years ago. INGREDIENTS 180g sultanas 180g raisins 100g chopped dried dates 225 g self-raising flour 150g brown sugar 75g vegan butter 2tsp mixed spice 1.5tbsp orange marmalade A nip of whisky Flax egg: 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds mixed with 2.5 tbsp water 2tbsp maple syrup for glazing METHOD 1.
Prepare the night before: brew a cup of tea and let it steep. After 15 minutes remove the tea bag. 2. Rinse your dried fruits and chop the dates. Combine them in a bowl. 3.
Add the cooled tea to the fruit mixture, cover it, and let it soak overnight. 4. The next day: pre-heat your oven to 180°C and line your cake tin with parchment paper. 5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flaxseed and water. Leave it sit until it reaches a gloppy consistency, around 15 mins. 6.
Add the soaked fruit mixture to a large bowl along with the ‘flax egg’, sugar, spices, marmalade and whisky . Mix well with a wooden spoon. 7. Gradually add the flour and mix until fully combined. 8. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake tin, making sure to bury any trinkets you want to add in the batter. 9.
Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Check for doneness at 15-minute intervals after the first 30 minutes, by inserting a knife; it should come out clean when the cake is ready. Halloween in Ireland certainly would not be the same without picking up a bairín breac loaf from the shelves of the supermarket. Traditionally, tokens were baked into the bread, with each one said to predict the future of whoever found it in their slice.
Find a ring, and marriage was supposedly on the cards within the year. A coin meant money on your horizon, while finding a rag was a slightly less welcome prediction, signalling impendingFamilies still gather around the loaf at Halloween, turning the simple act of cutting a slice into an entertaining time of fortune-telling. Beyond the bairín breac, blindfold cabbage picking, apple bobbing and snap apple all have roots in old Irish Halloween traditions.
Apple bobbing involves floating apples in a basin of water, with the first person to bite one said to be the next to marry. In snap apple, an apple is suspended from a string, and players have to take a bite without using their hands.
Then there was the wonderfully chaotic game of eating treacle-covered bread from a string, again without using your hands. Treacle inevitably ended up everywhere – faces, hair and clothesLike so many Samhain traditions, these games weren’t just about entertaining – they were a playful way to ask the supernatural what might be waiting around the corner. Boyne, South & West: The Best Of Where To Go Around 3 Irish Regions
Halloween Irish Traditions Celtic Festival Samhain Jack-O-Lantern
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Irish Government and Public Sector Unions Deadlock Over New Pay DealIreland's government has accused public sector unions of refusing to negotiate while more than 100,000 civil and public servants began work-to-rule action. unions say members' pay has fallen behind inflation and want a new agreement to address living costs, while the government insists any deal must be affordable and sustainable.
Read more »
Irish Female Entrepreneurs: Leading the Way in Beauty, Fashion, and WellnessThis article highlights the achievements of female entrepreneurs in Ireland who are making their mark in the beauty, fashion, and wellness industries. From innovative bag designs and tanning solutions to advanced skin care and dental products, these women are driving creativity and sustainability in their fields. The text also covers the upcoming awards ceremony that celebrates their successes.
Read more »
Irish Female Entrepreneurs Honored for Sustainability and Innovation at Awards GalaAn expert panel recognized top Irish women in business, spotlighting companies like BiaSol, EcoKiny, VOYA, and a card-making brand for their contributions to fashion, technology, beauty, and lifestyle while promoting circular economies and sustainable practices.
Read more »
The Irish Times view on State spending: learning lessons from wasteful episodesThe Comptroller and Auditor General’s annual report carries important messages
Read more »