Where does Halloween come from?
Samhain was a Gaelic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter. For the Celts, it was also New Year’s Eve. Old Irish manuscripts tell us that big Samhain gatherings took place at Tlachtga, which we now call the Hill of Ward, near Athboy in Co Meath. Fires were lit there to welcome in the new year.
What happened on Samhain night?
With the nights getting longer and darker, people believed that on Samhain the line between our world and the otherworld got blurry. Spirits could wander through, from the fairy folk to the púca, a mischievous shape-shifter from Irish folklore. Loved ones who had passed away were thought to come home for the night too, so families kept the fire going and left food out for them. To stay safe from the less friendly visitors, some people wore masks and costumes so the spirits wouldn’t recognise them.
And the jack-o’-lantern? In Ireland, it started with a turnip. People hollowed them out, carved scary faces into them and put a glowing ember inside to keep the spirits away. If you’ve ever seen a carved turnip, you’ll know they’re a lot creepier than any pumpkin!
As for the name, it comes from an old Irish folktale about Stingy Jack, a trickster who fooled the devil one too many times. When he died, he was left to wander the earth with nothing but a burning coal inside a carved turnip to light his way. The word itself was already around, too: in 17th-century Britain, a man carrying a lantern at night could be called a jack-o’-lantern.
How did Halloween reach America?
In the 1800s, millions of Irish people left for America, many of them during and after the Great Famine, and they brought their Samhain traditions with them. Over there they discovered the pumpkin, which was much bigger and a lot easier to carve than a turnip. It soon took over, and Halloween slowly grew into the huge celebration we know today.
How is Halloween celebrated in Ireland now?
In Ireland, Halloween still goes by its Irish name, Oíche Shamhna. Kids dress up, families get together, and there are still plenty of fires and spooky stories to go around.
Ireland is also starting to reclaim its title as the home of Halloween. Here in Kilkenny, we have the Toil & Trouble festival and this year runs from 29 October to 1 November, with storytelling, ghost stories at Kyteler’s Inn and a street spectacle by Macnas through the city on Halloween.
We spend our days helping brands tell their story, so we can’t help admiring one that’s lasted over 2,000 years. Happy Halloween, or should we say… Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh from all of us at Threesixty!
