Why hello there my beautiful friends. Oíche Shamhna daoibh!
Or should I say happy Halloween?
I'm going to teach you a bit of Irish and tell you how we pronounce that in the south
e • hah how • nah!
I'm sure not all of you celebrate Halloween but here in Ireland it is a big event for everyone!
What is Halloween?
Halloween is thought to be associated with the Celtic festival Samhain (s • ow • in) - which means summer - when ghosts and spirits were believed to be abroad.
We have many traditions in Ireland and I would like to share some with you today!
Pumpkin carving
Or jack-o-lanterns as some people would call them. Here is a pumpkin I carved for Halloween!
Jack-o-lanterns are supposed to keep away wandering spirits. 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 Devill for some light. He was given a burning coal which burnt into a turnip that he had hollowed out. Some Irish believe that hanging a lantern in their front window would keep Jack’s wandering soul away.
Bonfires
Now these are actually not allowed because if the fire hazard but people do it anyway!
Bonfires are lit to ward off bad fortunes in the coming year and any evil spirits.
Costumes and trick-or-treating
In my opinion you are never too old for either of these but it's usually mostly kids who do it!
The idea was that the evil spirits would be scared off by the fires but if the spirits happened to be wandering the earth they would mistake the human for another spirit because if the disguise and let them go free. This is where that tradition comes from but these days it's just for fun! We aren't as superstitious as we used to be.
I really enjoy Halloween because it brings back the traditions and I love the costumes and everything involved.
You don't have to be Christian to celebrate Halloween! It is so much fun.
I hope you enjoyed this post x
Post your own spooky story below to win anything up to 25sd from the new Tingeling Halloween Couture store or Bod Mod! All you have to do is write the short story (It can be very short! A few lines will do) with #spookystorycomp for a chance to win! One entry per person. You have until 12 AM tonight. It must be your own writing and can be true or fiction. It will be featured on Sundays post.
Ps. There was a mix up in the poll yesterday so please vote again today! All votes yesterday are not being counted. You can look at the pictures in the previous post. Remember, you can only vote once so choose carefully!
You can vote here >
Love Sarah
