Samhain at the Irish Cultural Centre's Cottage

200 New Boston Dr,,Canton MA 02021

30 October, 2022

Description

Refreshments served. Barm Brack & Tea. Bobbing for apples. Come dance the “Walls of Limerick”. Singalong with Maureen & Gerry McNally. Ghost stories & more... It will be a spine tingling night. Costumes Encouraged! Samhain Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker half" of the year. It begins on November 1st but celebrations begin on the eve of the feast known as Oiche Samhaina. The Celtic day began and ended at sunset. It was originally a pagan festival and later became Christianized with the onset of the Christian faith in Ireland. November 1st is now recognized as All Saints Day and November 2nd as all Souls Day. Marked by remembrance of loved ones. This is the night to remember, honor, and toast our beloved departed, for the veil between the living and the dead is thin, and communication is possible on Samhain Eve. Marks the end of life cycle and herald’s the darkness of winter. The people feared that the darkness would not go away and so they celebrated the end of the harvest. Oiche Samhaina or Halloween. Many of the traditions of Halloween derive from Pagan and Druid customs. It is a time of prophesies, of disguising oneself to avert evil and of performing rites of protection from the dead and Otherworldly spirits. The ancient Druid practice was to circle the Samhain bonfire with the skulls of their ancestors, believing that they would protect the tribe from demons that night. Celebrated with feasting and bonfires. (Bones of the slaughtered animals were piled on the fire….hence bonefire. People danced around the bonfire and drove their cattle through an opening in the fire for purification and protection. Oiche Samhaina is considered to be the scariest night of the year. Scooped out turnip with a candle in the middle was placed in the window or on door step. When the Irish moved to America, the turnip was replaced with Pumpkins due to abundance of pumpkins and easier to carve. Food for the feast included: Bairin Breac or Barn Brack, (If you got the ring in the brack it was a sign that you would be married before the end of the year) Colcannon (fancy mashed potatoes)