Hallowe'en

Next: Sunday 31 October 2027

31 October, the eve of All Saints’ Day: lanterns, guising and trick or treating, with punkie nights and souling around it.

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The year ahead

Thursday 28 October

Thu 28 Oct from 18:00
Custom

Punkie Night

St George’s Hall, Hinton St George, Somerset

Sunday 31 October

Sun 31 Oct from 17:30
Custom

Samhain Fire at Athboy

Sets off from Fair Green, Athboy, County Meath

Sun 31 Oct 18:30 22:30
Custom

Samhuinn Fire Festival

Sets off from Calton Hill, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Sun 31 Oct from 19:00
Custom

Derry Halloween Carnival Parade

Sets off from Guildhall Square, Derry, County Londonderry
- Procession
- Hallowe'en

Folklore from the old calendars

Ale for Shony No longer kept Outer HebridesAt Hallowtide the people of Lewis met at the church of St Mulvay, each family bringing malt that was brewed into ale.
Apple and candle on Halle e’en No longer kept Northern EnglandOn Halloween young people in the North ducked for apples or snapped at one fixed to the end of a hanging beam with a lighted candle on the other end.
Born on Hallowe’en Lore and belief ScotlandIt was popularly believed that a child born on Hallowe'en had strange gifts.
Burning the Nuts Lore and belief England, Ireland, ScotlandOn Hallowe'en a pair of nuts was named for a lad and a lass and laid in the fire.
Cake Night at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on the eve of All Saints the good wives made a cake for everyone in the family, so the evening was generally called Cake Night.
Coel Coeth No longer kept North WalesOn All Saints' Eve every family in North Wales lit a large bonfire, called Coel Coeth, in the most prominent spot near the house.
Cynddilig’s cock against the hooping-cough No longer kept CardiganshireIn the parish of Llanrhystud in Cardiganshire, from midday to midnight on the eve of the first of November, people were allowed to offer a cock to St Cynddilig as a guard against whooping-cough.
Cyniver No longer kept WalesAmong the Hallowe'en customs he gathered, Hone gave a Welsh game from Owen's Welsh Dictionary.
Fathoming the Stack No longer kept ScotlandAnother Scottish Hallowe'en charm from Burns was to slip out unnoticed to a stack of barley, called a bear stack, and measure round it three times with outstretched arms.
Fire and red low No longer kept EnglandDugdale noted in one of his almanacs of 1658 that on All Hallow Even the master of the family used anciently to carry a bunch of lighted straw about his corn.
Grass from under the holly on All Hallows’ Eve Lore and belief WalesOn All Hallows' Eve a Welsh girl walked backwards to a holly tree, pulled a handful of grass from under it and carried it to the light, where she would find hairs of her true love among the blades.
Hallow-fair at Fordyce No longer kept BanffshireFordyce's yearly market was called Hallow-fair, and its charter of 1592 set it at All Hallows, to run for eight days.
Hallowe’en fires in the White Cart at Paisley No longer kept RenfrewshireOn Hallowe'en the boys of Paisley built round hearths of clay walled with stones and sods out in the shallows of the river White Cart and lit bonfires on them.
Hemp-seed round the church at midnight Lore and belief WalesOn All Hallows Eve in Wales a person would sow hemp-seed while walking round the church a little before midnight.
Hey-how for Hallowe’en Lore and belief Northern EnglandHallowe'en was the night when all the witches could be seen, and a rhyme hailed it as such.
Iolo ap Hugh’s fiddle on Hallowe’en Lore and belief Denbighshire, ShropshireA cave said to run from Morda to Chirk Castle drew in anyone who went near it, and on Hallowe'en the wandering fiddler Iolo ap Hugh went in with bread, cheese, candles and his fiddle and was never seen again.
Lamb’s-wool on Holy Eve No longer kept IrelandA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine said that no merry-making on Holy Eve in Ireland was without lamb's-wool, made by bruising roasted apples into ale or sometimes milk; in better houses white wine had once been used instead.
Lating the Witches No longer kept LancashireOn Hallowe'en a party led by an old woman went round the bigger houses near Longridge Fell asking for lating candles, one for each person in the household.
Names of the dead at the church door Lore and belief WalesOn All Hallows Eve some in Wales listened at the great door of the church to hear the names of those who would die in the coming year.
New hearth fire from Tlachtga No longer kept Ireland, LeinsterOn the eve of the first of November every household in Ireland was said to put out its fire and fetch a portion of the Arch-druid's consecrated fire from Tlachtga in Meath to kindle the hearth anew.
No wheat sown after Hallowmas Eve Lore and belief EnglandWheat sowing was to be over by Hallowmas Eve.
Nutcrack Night Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England Hallowe'en was called Nutcrack Night, from the nuts cracked, eaten and thrown on the fire.
Oidhche Shamhna No longer kept IrelandOn the eve of Samhain, according to General Vallancey, Irish country people went from house to house carrying sticks and clubs, collecting money, bread, butter, cheese and eggs for the feast and reciting verses.
Pulling the Kail Stocks No longer kept ScotlandThe first rite of a Scottish Hallowe'en was to go out hand in hand, eyes shut, into the kailyard and each pull the first cabbage stalk they touched.
Saining the boats in Orkney No longer kept OrkneyJohn Brand, describing Orkney at the end of the seventeenth century, found that sick cattle were sprinkled with a charmed water called forespoken water, and so were boats that had no luck at the fishing.
Seven times round the church on All Hallows’ Eve Lore and belief MontgomeryshireA Montgomeryshire servant girl walked seven times round the church on All Hallows' Eve to raise the spirit of the man she would marry, and came home asking her mistress why the master had been sent out to frighten her.
Sowens for the Hallowe’en Supper No longer kept ScotlandSowens was a thin dish made by steeping oat husks and meal in water until it soured, and in many parts of Scotland it was the proper supper for Hallowe'en.
Sowing Hemp-seed No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandOn Hallowe'en a girl crept out unseen and sowed a handful of hemp-seed, dragging something behind her to harrow it in, and saying a rhyme over and over.
The Angelystor of Llangernyw Lore and belief DenbighshireAt Llangernyw it was said that on All Hallows' Eve a spirit called the Angelystor announced from the altar the names of everyone who would die in the parish that year.
The Apple and the Looking-Glass Lore and belief ScotlandA girl who wanted to see her future husband went alone with a candle to a looking-glass on Hallowe'en and ate an apple in front of it, some said while combing her hair.
The Black Short-tailed Sow No longer kept North WalesThe autumn fire lit in North Wales on the eve of 1 November came with a round of ceremonies, according to an account Hone quoted from Owen.
The Blue Clue No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandOne of the Hallowe'en spells Burns described among the country people of the west of Scotland had to be tried alone and in the dark.
The Buchan Hallow Fire No longer kept Aberdeenshire, MorayIn Buchan a Hallow Eve fire was lit on rising ground, and in Moray the eve of 1 November had been kept as a thanksgiving for the safe gathering of the harvest.
The Callander Stones No longer kept PerthshireAt Callander a bonfire was lit in every village on All Saints' Eve.
The death roll at Aberhafesp church Lore and belief MontgomeryshireTwo men sat in the porch of Aberhafesp church on All Hallows' Eve to learn whether anyone in the parish would die in the coming year, and at midnight one heard a voice inside call his sleeping companion's name.
The Eastwood woman rebuked for a Hallowe’en charm No longer kept RenfrewshireA woman of Eastwood was brought before the kirk session for using charms at Hallowe'en.
The Gyar-Carlins Lore and belief ScotlandRobert Heron, travelling through Scotland in the 1790s, found the fairies thought of as little beings, sometimes kind and sometimes spiteful.
The Leinster Hallowe’en Spell Lore and belief LeinsterChambers printed a story from a Leinster family of the eighteenth century.
The Logierait Faggots No longer kept PerthshireThe minister of Logierait in Perthshire described the chief ceremony of Hallowe'en, kept there on 31 October by the old style calendar.
The parish clerk leads the doomed at Sedbergh Lore and belief YorkshireAt Sedbergh it was believed that on All Saints' Eve the forms of all who would die that year paraded the churchyard, led by the parish clerk.
The Queen’s Hallowe’en at Balmoral No longer kept AberdeenshireAt Balmoral the estate people kept Hallowe'en with a torchlight procession of up to two hundred torch-bearers, and the torches were then heaped into a bonfire in view of the castle.
The St Kilda Hallowe’en Cake No longer kept Outer HebridesMartin's account of the Western Isles, quoted by Hone, recorded that the people of St Kilda baked a special cake on Hallowe'en.
The Three Luggies No longer kept ScotlandThree dishes, or luggies, were set on the hearth at Hallowe'en, one with clean water, one with foul water and one empty.
The Wet Sark Sleeve No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandIn the Scottish form of this Hallowe'en spell the seeker dipped the left shirt sleeve in a south-running burn where the lands of three lairds met.
The Whitbeck bull and the winter wind Lore and belief CumberlandAt Whitbeck in Cumberland it was said that whichever way a bull faced as he lay on Hallowe'en, the wind would blow from that quarter for most of the winter.
The yarn ladder on Hallowe’en Lore and belief WalesOn Hallowe'en two Welsh girls made a little ladder of yarn without breaking it from the ball and threw it out of the window.
Winnowing Three Wechts No longer kept ScotlandTo win three wechts of naething, a Scottish spell for Hallowe'en, the seeker went alone to the barn and opened both doors, taking them off their hinges if possible.

Thursday 28 October

Punkie Night

Sunday 31 October

Samhain Fire at Athboy

Samhuinn Fire Festival

Derry Halloween Carnival Parade

Folklore from the old calendars

Image credits