This fall, we didn't go apple picking. We couldn't get lost in the corn maze. Neither did we pick our own pumpkins in the field. Even the traditional Skeleton Park parade was missed. This year, for Halloween, we enjoyed a different experience. Halloween is the modern expression of an ancient Celtic festival called Samhaim, an old ritual marked by life and death and the extreme proximity of both worlds.
The neighbors, vampire Holly and 'Buzz Lightyear' Callum, called in for us to join them trick-or-treating around the Haydens Park estate, while Mammy Skeleton answered the door and giving out treats.
Very few houses had carved out pumpkins. It is a fairly recent thing to do in Ireland. They are even hard to find in shops. We recognized and snapped a picture of famous characters on these lanterns. In Ancient times, the Irish used a turnip to ward off harmful spirits. I can understand why. Our first pumpkins rotted within days...
What is also interesting is that parents plan different activities for their kids on Halloween day: bobbing for apples, bobbing for coins, apple on a string, searching for the gold ring in the barmbrack... great family craic!
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