Halloween

The season of trick or treat with its pagan origins and spooky, ghostly folklore has a significant place in the Irish calendar dating back to Celtic times.

Irish youngsters and adults celebrate Hallowe'en - or Hallow Eve as some people call it - on October 31 and they dress up in costumes, go door to door collecting nuts, fruit and sweets , have parties and play festive games like snap apple.

There are delicious Hallowe'en culinary traditions such as eating Colcannon , a yummy mix of mashed potato, curly kale (a member of the cabbage family) and raw chopped onions with a big knob of butter added to the centre.

When it comes to fruity barnbrack, your choice of slice on Hallowe'en is crucial because it could signal your destiny. If you choose the slice containing a piece of rag, then your financial future does not look happy while the slice with the coin means wealth is looming.

In Ireland there are all sorts of old beliefs and customs associated with Hallowe'en or Oiche Shamhna as it is called in gaelic, the native Irish language. So ghosts apart, how did all the Hallowe'en fuss begin ?

The origins of celebrating Hallowe'en in Ireland date back to Celtic times. In Christian Ireland today, November the first is remembered as All Saints Day but if you lived in pagan Celtic Ireland , November 1 marked the first day of winter and it was marked by Samhain, one of the four fire festivals during their year. Hallowe'en arrived in North America courtesy of the Irish and Scottish emigrants who brought stories of Celtic charms , spells , tales of hobgoblins, evil spirits and the dark and sullen Puca (phooka) fairy.

           
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