This weekend Halloween will be celebrated around the world with trick or treating and pumpkin carving. However, few people are aware how the festival began.
While many believe Halloween is an American invention that originated in America, it really has its roots much closer to home.
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Halloween actually originated from the Samhain festival in Ireland and the Irish took it over to America with them, where it is now celebrated throughout the country.
Samhain’s elements are responsible for most of our Halloween traditions. They are still observed each October.
Firstly, fancy dress comes as a result of a mischievous Celtic folklore character named Púca, who was said to appear around this time of year.
The story goes that if Púca appeared at your house and said your name, you’d never be seen again because Púca would make you disappear.
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To avoid being recognized by the creature, people would put on different costumes to disguise themselves.
Although the Halloween fancy dress idea has evolved a lot since then, it is still a popular tradition associated with the festival.
Another of those traditions is trick or treat, which also came from Ireland, but has much sadder beginnings than the fun associated with it today.
Children were not sent out to find sweets; it was the poor who used to begging at doors during the festival.
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Instead of dressing up in scary costumes, children were required to dance or sing in order to be rewarded, which could often be money rather than sweets.
It was considered very wrong to turn away poor children on Samhain. Money is sometimes still given out at certain locations instead of sweets.
People who know the history of trick-or-treat will still donate to charities for children as a way to keep the tradition alive.
Another tradition associated with Halloween is pumpkin carving or making Jack o’Lanterns. It’s a common practice across the Atlantic.
However, the name may suggest that it was also an Irish invention and not an American one.
It wasn’t pumpkins; it was turnips with evil faces to repel evil spirits.
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As well as Púca, other supernatural beings and the souls of the dead were also believed to roam the earth during the Samhain festival period and the lanterns were a way of keeping them away from your home.
While pumpkin carving has evolved to include more than scary faces in the pumpkins’ faces, many people will stick to the original spooky theme.
While America is often regarded as the country that celebrates Halloween most, there are still large celebrations in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Europe’s largest halloween festival is actually held in Derry and it runs from October 28-31 inside the city walls.
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Over 90,000 people visited Derry for Samhain Festival. The celebrations included street performances, light shows and food and drink.
Púca also gets a festival of his own in a place called Trim in County Meath.
This celebration includes live music, comedy and story telling throughout the Halloween period.
Ireland is also home to another Halloween legend, the vampire Dracula. This character was created by Bram Stoker.
This year marks Stoker’s 125th anniversary. However, many people do not realize that Dracula was written by Dracula during Stoker’s time in Dublin.
2022 will be the 10th year of the Bram Stoker festival held in Dublin during Halloween weekend. It has previously been celebrated with outdoor installations and spectacles.
These are the best Halloween costumes in 2022.
Here’s how to save money this Halloween.
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