Father Seán Ó Dúinn explains the pagan origins of Hallowe'en and the links with Christianity.
Dr Seán Ó Dúinn OSB (Order of Saint Benedict) is a Benedictine monk at Glenstal Abbey. A Professor of Folklore at Mary Immaculate College of Education Limerick, he is a renowned Celtic scholar who has written several books on the subject of Celtic mythology and spirituality.
Hallowe'en, Oíche Shamhna in Irish, might be thought of as a purely pagan festival, but it has close links with Christianity. A very significant date in the Celtic calendar (the other being the feast of Bealtaine on 1 May), it was considered in pre-Christian times to be the end of one half of the year, and the beginning of another.
This explains the focus on predictions because people wanted to know what events were likely to happen during the year ahead. It also explains the origin of the traditional ring in the barmbrack, explains Fr Ó Dúinn,
In the báirín brack you have the ring, and whoever gets the ring will be married within the year.
Another tradition on this night is giving apples, nuts, sweets or money to children who go from house to house dressed in costumes or disguises and look for help for their Hallowe'en party.
The origins of this custom are linked to offerings made by ordinary people to the Tuatha Dé Danann, a supernatural tribe who dwell underground in hills and sacred places, and who were responsible for the fertility of the land.
On Óiche Shamhna the barriers between this world and the next were broken down and it was believed that the Tuatha Dé Danann were present. They were to be treated with due respect, so a knock at one’s door required the household had to be prepared, as according to Fr Ó Dúinn it could be,
The Tuatha Dé Danann coming back for the otherworld asking for their dues because they have given the harvest.
It was in the ninth century that the feast of All Saints on 1 November became a fixture in the Christian calendar, and the feast of All Souls on 2 November followed in the tenth century.
Irish emigrants took their customs with them when they left these shores, and the United States in particular embraced the Hallowe’en traditions, especially that of the jack o’lantern,
Originally of course in Ireland it was a turnip with a candle lighting inside it.
This episode of 'Would You Believe’ was broadcast on 31 October 1991. The presenter is Michael Ryan.
