Oíche Shamna

[MarieDeGournay]

I hope you've all had colcannon for your dinner and have the apples and nuts ready for the evening's fun and games

Altogether now! -

I'm all set with apples and sweets for the little callers, I used to enjoy Halloween so much as a kid I like to make a fuss of the little 'trick and treaters' .
Even though the Americanisation of the old Celtic festival grates, it should be 'Any apples or nuts?' not 'Trick or treat'!

Good article in the Irish Times about the kind of Halloween that was replaced by zombies and witches and spiders webs😕
The original Irish Halloween menu: ‘Put down the plastic and pull up a cabbage’ – The Irish Times

Have a good Samhain, it's a time of reflection between the light and dark parts of the year, and if the Otherworld is closer and the departed walk among us tonight, may they do so as dear visitors, not scary apparitions.

Tá siad ag teacht anois! They'd be dismayed if we gave them apples or nuts 😆

We sang Halloween Knock in Antrim. And got cold hard cash. We dressed with sheets over our heads and, if your parents were okay with the occassional loss of a thumb, carried craved turnip lanterns Then two days of mass.

Living in a town with a lot of free presbyterians (Paisley's lot) sometimes you got chased or even water thrown on you for being devil worshippers.

But £8 or £9 was a lot of money in the 70s. Worth the risk.

Ah god love the wee frees. Did they really chain the swings in the park on Sundays? My Scottish friend said they weren't allowed a crib at Christmas because it's not in the Bible. But I was never sure if he was winding me up!

Tá a- lán milseán agam 😁

I heard they did but never saw it in person. Sunday was a lockdown. Papershop opened for about an hour for us Catholics and stray protestants ( CofI and the other less strict ones) to get a paper. Then the town went dead

We had Paisley drive around during elections and preach through a loudspeaker. Don't know why he bothered as everyone voted for him anyway.

I had loads of sweeties ready for the weeuns around here, and there were some very nice costumes on display, but I do miss the old games and traditions from my childhood. Barmbrack and apple tart with coins and rings in them were probably a bit of a health and safety risk though lol.

Anybody else grow up calling them 'false faces' rather than 'masks'? Or was it my part of the country only 🤔

Fidil masks round here @UtopiaPlanitia . But that used to be a thing on Brigid's Day more iirc. Cork