Reporter: Venera Nikolaeva
Fancy and spooky costumes, intricately carved pumpkins and lots of treats and tricks were the highlights of the past week, which marked one of the oldest holidays celebrated around the globe. While Halloween is nowadays a primarily commercial celebration used to fuel the economy, its roots can be traced back to the Celtic pagan traditions. Looking beyond the sparkling side of the holiday was the main objective of the Halloween workshop organized by Rebecca Hayes, an Irish Studies teacher at Memorial University. The event took place on October 29 in the recently renovated Signal Hills Campus, a stylish and modern addition to the university’s learning, living and working spaces.
The workshop started with some background information about the origins of Oiche Shamhna(Halloween in Irish, also called Samhain) provided by the presenter. It is a Gaelic festival celebrating the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter (usually taking place on October 31 and November 1). Celts believed that this was the time when dead spirits could walk the earth. It was the last day of the year and the souls of those departed the world could visit their former homes, sometimes accompanied by malevolent supernatural beings visible to people. Communities used to gather and light big fires to keep them at bay and to prevent bad fortune for the upcoming year.
The presenter also focused on the importance attached to superstitions in the ancient Irish culture. Celtic tales tend to abound in heroic warriors and mystical gods,their magical powers leaving a lasting impression in the imagination of people.The audience, composed of both people with Irish roots as well as people interested in learning more about the Irish culture and traditions, got to know more about the two types of fairy creatures: the so-called trooping fairies(generally friendly and possessing healing powers) and the lonely fairies,which performed mischievous acts and were easy to anger. Rebecca shared stories that she used to hear while growing up about the Puca, an evil spirit, which could take any shape and cause harm to people. Banshee, another malevolent fairy, was associated with impending death and the legend goes that it produced a horrifying eerie wail that would make even the bravest jump out of their skin.
A figure that also belongs to the group of frightening out-of-this world creatures is the leprechaun. While most people generally associate it with the funny little Simpson’s green man, it is believed to be one of the most dangerous and mischievous mystic fairies. The Jack-o-Lantern side of Halloween received its due attention by the presenter as well. The funny tradition of carving elaborate shapes on pumpkins has actually a dark history behind it. The story goes that an Irish blacksmith named Jack played tricks with the Devil and was denied entry into both heaven and hell. His punishment was to forever walk on earth but on farewell he asked for some light. The Devil gave him a burning coal placed in a hollow turnip. Placing a lantern in front of the window is thus believed to keep his wandering soul away from one’s home.
The fairy evening ended with reminiscences from both the presenter and members of the audience of childhood games associated with the holiday, such as ducking or bobbing for apples, which basically tests one’s ability to retrieve an apple from a bowl or hanging on a string without using one’s hands. It provided some people with the opportunity to revisit dear memories and sparked interest about Irish culture,legends and traditions in the rest. Everyone left the room a little less frightened and a little more enlightened about Halloween.