Halloween: five popular traditions and customs from ancient times - from gifts for the dead to carving turnips
Halloween is celebrated across the world on 31 October and its customs go back centuries - some are still celebrated today and some aren’t
Today, Halloween is a fun holiday that people celebrate with their friends and family and, if you can hold your nerve, it’s a chance to scare yourself silly. But, if not it’s still a time to enjoy some delicious foodie treats, dress up and decorate your home.
We have many traditions associated with spooky season, including carving pumpkins, going trick or treating in our local community, and eating lots of sweet goodies like toffee apples, pumpkin pie and chocolate. But, these weren’t always the customs that people carried out.
A lot of ancient customs were started by Celts in Scotland and Ireland, and came from a time when Halloween was more about riding towns and homes of evil creatures and making sure the dead didn’t harm the living.
So, here are five Celtic traditions from ancient times. Some have been adapted for the modern day activities we know, and some haven’t quite lasted the test of time.
A lot of ancient customs were started by Celts in Scotland and Ireland, and came from a time when Halloween was more about riding towns and homes of evil creatures and making sure the dead didn’t harm the living.
5. Creepy disguises to ward off evil spirits
Nowadays, Hawlloween is a change to dress up, watch a horror film and enjoy time with loved ones. But, in ancient times Halloween was a link between the real world and the evil spirit world. People believed in demons and witches and Halloween was recognised as an important time to ward off such paranormal creatures before they could inflict damage on people or the land. To help with that, people wore disguises that were actually really creepy in an attempt to scare the creatures.