In this season of ghosts, monsters, and carved pumpkins, there is scarcely a turnip in sight absent the ones that are in the kitchen awaiting their ultimate fate. What’s this about turnips? Why would I mention turnips in a post about Halloween? Some of my ancestors are of Irish descent, and while I have not yet traced them back as far as the Celts it is interesting to earn about Celtic history and tradition. The Celts used to carve monster faces into turnips to keep evil spirits away. They placed the turnips on their doorsteps with lit candles inside, just like we do with our pumpkins. The Celts were the originators of not only the jack o’ lantern, but other Halloween traditions as well.
October 31 was the eve of the Celtic New Year, so that is how the date of the celebration came about. That day, Samhain, was a day when the spirits of the deceased would return to haunt the living. People would take to the streets and make a lot of loud noise each Halloween to drive the spirits out of their villages and back to their homes in the Otherworld. Sometimes, the Celts had to defend themselves from those pesky spiritual visitors from the Otherworld. People would wear ugly masks in an attempt to confuse the visiting spirits of the dead so that the spirits could not identify people that they did not like and harm them. Fortunately, dressing up for Halloween is no longer a defense against evil spirits. We can enjoy it nowadays as a fun time to express our creativity and impress our neighbors while we have a little fun. Whether you have Irish ancestors or not, it is fun to learn how the holiday that we all know as Halloween began and how it transitioned from a day of dodging evil spirits to a day of costumed festivities, tricks, and treats.
Photo by hotblack on morguefile.com.