Seems a bit odd this time of year, as we gather together costumes, carve pumpkins, collect tinder for bonfires, and hang images of goblins, ghouls and witches about our surroundings, doesn’t it? Yet if you had lived in Ireland many centuries ago, this would have been your New Year celebration!

The Celts considered time to be cyclical or circular rather than linear, with eight ‘stations’ of the year marking the passing seasons. These important dates were marked with specific rituals and customs, among them fire-festivals. The two most important fire festivals were Beltane, on May 1^st, marking the beginning of summer, and Samhain, on Novermber 1^st, signifying the arrival of winter. Several lesser festivals marked the passage of time in between these two calendrical polarities.

Like many autumn festivals around the world, Samhain has its origins in the harvest season. To the Celts, an agricultural people, paying homage to the cycles of the earth and the spirits they believed inhabited the land was particularly important. With the harvest completed and the days shortening into winter, this ritual marked the beginning of a ‘still’ time, when warfare, crop cultivation, and the bustle of summer activity came to a halt. It was logical to associate this transition with symbolic ‘death’ – the death of the land’s fertility, the usual busy activity of the clan, and most importantly, the ‘death’ of the sun. It is important to consider that in the context of the Celt’s belief in time as a cyclical entity, death was not an ending to be feared; rather, it was the pathway to regeneration. Unlike many other cultures, to the Celts the origin of life was to be found in darkness, the moon, and night.

At this time of year, the crops would have been harvested and provisions made for the long, dark winter months ahead. Once Samhain came, all fruit still left upon the trees was considered taboo for humans, as it now belonged to the spirit world. Animals not kept as breeding stock were slaughtered as sacrifices and then made into food to sustain the clan through the dark period of the year. It was a time for taking stock of the past year, honoring the great cycle of life that perpetuated the race, and welcoming in the New Year. Tara, the seat of Irish kingship, was the site of great celebrations, markets, and fairs on Samhain.

On these significant days – Beltane and Samhain – it was believed that the forces of chaos reigned and the barriers between the spirit world and human world were considerably thinned and navigable, allowing for intermingling between the living and the dead. The Celts prepared for the return of the dead, often setting out food and wine to greet the spirits that might come to visit. They also thought this the most advantageous time to practice divination of their own, since the world of the unseen was exceptionally more ‘open’ to their communications. The Celts did not fear or abhor death the way the modern world does, and so the presence of the dead was welcomed rather than dreaded. However, along with the spirits of the ancestors, it was also thought that mischievous or malevolent ghosts were present as well, so caution was to be taken. It was for these forces that food and wine was also set out, though the intent was placatory rather than hospitable. Bonfires were also lit at this time to appease the spirits of the dead, make offerings and sacrifices, and cast spells, giving rise to the modern Irish practice of lighting large bonfires on Halloween night.

As the influence of Christianity came to Ireland and blended with Celtic culture, familiar Samhain imagery and tradition fused with Christian influence to create a hybrid holiday. Centuries later, Irish emigrants to the New World brought many of these customs with them, creating the widely-known secular holiday, Halloween, that we know so well!

Go to Part 2: Halloween