The original Halloween was a Pagan festival called “Samhain”  which began in Ireland in about 1000 AD.  The Celts believed that  the veil between the mortal world and the spirit  world dissipated and spirits, good and bad, were abroad.   Samhain was  the end of one and the beginning of another year.  The original costumes were elaborate animal skins and heads so that spirits wandering the earth who encountered a Celt they might be fooled by the disguise into thinking the human was a spirit and let them go free. The fires were lit  to ward off the spirits and  also any bad fortune for the coming year. Quite different to the modern North American partying though traditions have been bowdlerized and adapted.

     This feeling of spookiness was still there in my childhood. It was always a dramatic night- Northern winter darkness only added to the ghostliness of it all.. The jack-0-lantern  allegedly ( I say allegedly because we Irish will never let a fact interfere with some good lore) dates back to the 18th century. It is named after an Irish blacksmith, called Jack, who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry into Heaven. Jack was condemned to walk the earth for eternity but asked the Devil for some light for his miserable path. He was given a burning coal which burnt into a turnip that he had hollowed out. Some Irish hang a lantern in the front window to keep Jack’s wandering soul away. The Scots-Irish brought the tradition to North America and the turnip became a pumpkin.

My last Irish Halloween was the year my father died in late October; his casket was taken to the Church on Hallowe’en and as we walked behind it, both sides sides of the road had bonfires and children dressed as ghouls and goblins. A theatrical end to his life which he would have fully appreciated.

When I was a kid in Dublin my brother and sisters and I dressed up in homemade costumes and walked to the nearby and  very elegant Shelbourne Hotel where begowned and bejewelled ladies and gentlemen met to celebrate. Our cry was not Trick or Treat but Help the Halloween Party and we were given money which we could then spend as we wanted.
The Shelbourne Hotel.

The festival came with special foods before  an evening of fun and mischief.  Colcannon  is a simple dish made with boiled potatoes, curly kale  and raw onions. and is still a favourite with my North American kids.

COLCANNON
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups chopped kale
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped onions or green onions

Method:

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain, reserve water.
Place the hot potatoes in a large bowl.
Add the kale to the reserved potato water. Cook 6-8 minutes or until tender.
Mash potates & add the onions and kale
Add milk, butter,salt and pepper and beat until fluffy.
(Should turn a lovely shade of celadon green.)

Traditionally coins were wrapped in paper and slipped into children’s colcannon.   A ring in the colcannon. meant whomever found it  would be married within the year.

COLCANNON

 

A Cake is mandatory for a party and this humble offering was ours.

BARMBRACK       (From the Irish  Bairín Breac)

Again to delight the children treats were added to the cake. A coin for a prosperous year, a ring  for impending romance or continued happiness or a thimble which signified a bachelor or old maid future. Scrambling to get the piece you wanted was part of the game.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chopped dried mixed fruit
1 1/2 cups hot brewed tea
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon marmalade
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Method

Soak the dried fruit in the hot tea for 2 hours, then drain and gently squeeze out excess tea.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch  pan. Stir together the flour cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda; set aside.
Beat the egg, sugar, marmalade, orange zest, and tea-soaked fruit until well combined. Gently fold in the flour until just combined, then pour into the prepared  pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed.  Cool in the pan for 2 hours before removing to a wire rack.Press the objects of choice into the cake through the bottom before serving.

BARMBRACK

Telling ghost stories was always popular in Ireland, it didn’t have to be Halloween.  That night though added a special chill to childish imagination.

SNAPAPPLE

There are many games that are played on Halloween night and snap apple or bobbing for apples is one of them.

An apple is suspended from a string and  The first child to get a  bite  of the apple gets a prize. Bobbing for apples is  a variation on the theme.

A Apples are associated with love and fertility. It is said that whoever gets the first bite will be first to marry. It was also thought that if the girls put the apple they bit, while bobbing, under their pillow that night, they would dream of their future lover.

MAY YOU HAVE RICH AND FERTILE DREAMS THIS HALLOWE’EN AND MAY THE BEST OF THEM COME TRUE.