The Celtic Roots of Halloween

Photo Credit: Robert F. Bukatay

It’s that time of year again. With the disappearance of the summer sun, the leaves from the trees and the increasingly shorter days, the deep and long Canadian winter is just around the corner. And for many of us, that transition of seasons is marked by the arrival of Halloween. Like many holidays now in North America, Halloween has become increasingly commercialised over the last few years. Every year kids try to ‘one-up’ each other by having their school’s best costume, their parents vie for the best decorated house on the block, while others search endlessly for that perfectly round, deep orange, locally grown pumpkin to meticulously carve to perfection. Gone are my old childhood days of wagon wheels and raisins as trick-or-treat staples, which have been now replaced by brand name mini chocolate bars or crisp packets. (I think I was born too early!) Yet, the traditions surrounding Halloween remain the same.

Have you ever wondered why we see so many witch, black cat, and ghost imagery on Halloween? Is it true that Halloween was created as a ritual of human sacrifice? And where did this custom of dressing up and receiving candy come from? Is it just another result of the commercialisation of this night? As we will find out, these traditions have roots that go back 2,000 years to the British Isles and the north of France. 

There are a number of theories about the origins of Halloween. The first is a Christian holiday created by the Catholic Church. In 610, Pope Boniface IV created a feast to celebrate the Virgin Mary and all Christian Martyrs called All Saints Day which was celebrated on November 1^st every year. This celebration has also been referred to as All Hallows or Hallomas because a hallowed person is considered a saintly one. In 1556, the first reference to All Hallow’s Eve appeared in Scotland to celebrate the evening before All Saints Day. Eventually, All Hallow’s Eve was shortened to Halloween by the 18^th century. However, the October 31^st holiday has origins that go back much further than Pope Boniface IV’s feast of Saints.

Before the arrival of the Romans and Christianity to the British Isles, the Celts dominated. The traditional Celtic people were found in six major areas: Ireland, Wales, The Isle of Man, Scotland, Cornwall, and Brittany in France, with a few minor groups located in northern Spain and reaching into Europe as far east as Constantinople. In ancient Celtic times, the end of the summer growing season also marked the end of their calendar year and was thought to have been celebrated on October 31^st. This festival, called Samhain (pronounced ‘SOW-en’) was celebrated over the course of two days. During this festival the Druids, or the Celtic religious leaders, would lead their people in thanks and prayers for a successful growing season and to prepare for the long, dark winter ahead. The Samhain festival was kicked off October 31^st with a feast and celebration to honour the dead whom the Celts believed guided them and protected them from the other side. It was believed that on this night, the ghosts of the dead joined their descendants on a kind of “spirit walk” throughout the night.

Photo Credit: Yvonne Willensen

Many of the nightly celebrations began in the local Celtic cemeteries where the Druids would ask the departed spirits to join them and assist in protecting the living from the evil spirits who would try to do them harm. Bonfires were set up in the cemeteries and gifts of food, ale, and small items were left on the graves of loved ones passed. From here, the group would travel the country roads dressed in costumes and the only light to guide their way came from turnips or beets that had been hollowed out and lit with small candles. The faces carved into the turnips or beets represented dead loved ones or, in some cases, scary images to ward off the devil who may try to sneak up on the travelling group. The group would stop at houses along the way seeking gifts of food for the dead. The traditional food passed out was a small fruitcake called barnbrack, which can still be found in many Irish, Welsh and some Scottish shops today around the end of October. The more cakes the Celtic Druids and their followers could collect, the more prayers they would have to protect them for the following year. The end of the night was celebrated with a feast at dawn that would last the whole next day. Then, the beginning of the new year meant Celtic families would fortify their shelters and prepare for winter by tending to their livestock.

Photo Credit: jacksparrow

The original Samhain festival was a peaceful celebration and did not include human sacrifice or the celebration of evil spirits as is commonly believed. These perceptions were injected first by the Romans during their attempts to conquer the British Isles and later by the Christians in order to eradicate all pagan religions. Any religion at the time which was not Christian was viewed as being evil and in need of being civilised through Christian teachings. Therefore, many false perceptions of Celtic spiritualism were conjured up to frighten people into abandoning these old customs. And in many cases, this fear led to persecution. The creation of All Saints Day for November 1 was actually one attempt to stop the Celts from celebrating Samhain. Christian leaders at the time considered contacting the dead as a means to promote devil worship and secret sacrificial ceremonies. By the 8^th century, the idea that witches were associated with Halloween began to appear. It was believed by the Christians that witches were the earthly representative of the devil and would travel the night skies on broomsticks looking for souls to steal. The priests warned parents to keep their children indoors during this time as they believed that witches found the souls of children particularly easy to steal. Black cats were also to be avoided because they were the favoured pets of witches and if one got into your house at night, they would suck the breath from you and take it back to the witch, who would then place the stolen soul into a  jar and take it to the devil for damnation. The fear of black cats in the early middle ages was so rampant that in some parts the British Isles they were almost completely eradicated. The fear of cats was so strong that all cats in general were hunted down and killed. I read one theory by a British historian a few years ago that this might have been a reason why the Black Death was so devastating in the British Isles. Because the cat population had been reduced by up to 90% in some regions by the Middle Ages, it meant a dramatic increase in rats and mice as there were few cats available to keep these populations under control. Not only did the rats and mice start depleting grain stocks at an uncontrolled rate, it also meant there were more rats with fleas that carried diseases to the general populations. Though this is just a theory and hasn’t been officially proven, it is an interesting argument.

Photo Credit: scaryforkids.com

By the late sixteenth century, bonfires that the Celts originally used to guide the spirits of the dead back to join the living in the celebrations of Samhain were now being used to keep those spirits away. The full evil imagery of Halloween was now firmly entrenched in British society and those Celtic descendants had to practice their ancient rituals in secret. During the great Irish potato famine of the mid nineteenth century, Irish immigrants brought their ancient traditions of Halloween to North America. When Jacques Cartier was exploring Canada in 1584, he reported seeing large, orange “gros melons” that were being grown by the First Nations peoples. This term got translated into English as “pompions” which later became pumpkins. The Irish still traditionally carved beets, turnips or potatoes on Halloween in Ireland, but found the pumpkins were so plentiful in North America that the tradition of carving and lighting pumpkins began. The term “jackolantern” is Irish and the story refers to a crabby, pub owner named Jack who’s soul in death had been rejected by both God and the Devil. Jack of the Lantern was forced to live in purgatory with only a hollowed out turnip lit by a coal lump to forever light his way.

By the early twentieth century, various regions of Canada experienced their own variations of Halloween based upon cultural and religious influences. German, Italian, Caribbean, and Asian cultures brought their own influences and customs concerning the spirit worlds. Communities began celebrating Halloween in their own ways with barn dances, costume parties, and feasts. By the 1930s, Halloween became a holiday more for kids than adults as the idea of “trick-or-treating” began to take hold. Instead of seeking barnbrack cakes for prayers, children now seek sweet treats. In the last 25 years, extravagant costume parties for adults have begun to gain popularity, with two of the biggest events being held in New York City and Dublin each year.

Halloween is a popular event for everyone and now you know a little bit more about this ancient, spiritual tradition from Celtic folklore. Happy Halloween and have a safe night!

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