Irish Halloween

Halloween did not grow out of evil practices but from the ancient Celtic fire festival called "Samhain". The festival was the feast of the dead in Pagan and Christian times, signaling the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season.
 
 The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1800s by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine.
 
 During medieval times, this night was believed to be the night where elves, fairies, and witches were most likely to travel and gather together.
 
 The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated from the ninth-century European custom of souling when on November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for soul cakes, made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors.
 
 The tradition of witches riding broomsticks comes from the fact that it is symbolic of the magical powers of females since it is employed in the cleansing of ritual places.

 The Jack-o-Lantern originated with an Irishman named Jack who loved to play pranks on the Devil. Legend is that he was made to wander the world carrying a lantern to show him the way, going to neither heaven nor hell. Hollowed out pumpkins with candles lighted inside were supposed to scare evil spirits away.
 
 Jack-o-Lanterns were first carved from turnips by the Irish. When Irish immigrants came to the United States they found pumpkins more available.
 
 It is estimated that between the 15th and 18th centuries, approximately two million people were executed for witchcraft, 80% of them were women.
 
 It is an old Halloween tradition for females to peel an apple in front of a candlelit mirror. If an unbroken rind is achieved then the image of their future spouse is supposed to appear in the mirror.

           
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