Whether in Galicia, Asturias, Ireland , Brittany or Wales, All Saints’ Day also evokes the Halloween Festival. Nothing more normal since this festival draws its origins from Celtic traditions.
At the heart of this Irish legend is the famous jack-o’-lantern . It is a hollowed -out pumpkin, carved into a frightening shape. The candle placed inside glows softly and its flame flickers ominously when night falls. Bbrrrrrrr…
The legend of Jack is associated with Irish folklore throughout the world.
It all comes from an Irish legend, which spread throughout the world (especially to the United States) during the waves of Irish emigration* in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Jack was a farmer , rather lazy and disreputable. One evening, drunk, he sold vietnam email list his soul to the devil. But, by a stratagem, he obtained the promise that his soul would not go to hell.
When he died, Jack did not go to Hell … but Paradise was also refused to him! Normal given the many sins he had committed during his life.
Here then is the infamous Jack, condemned to wander, always in search of rest Irish Legend: , and holding where to go during the easter holidays in his hand as a lantern a simple hollowed-out turnip (or a beetroot) in which burn a few embers of hell, offered by the devil himself…
The Irish legend of the Halloween lanterns was born! Irish immigrants discovered the school email list pumpkin in the United States and found it more suitable for carving. So today they are at the heart of the festivities. Today cities like Oxford** (in the United States) light thousands of jack-o’-lanterns in spectacular shows.
* Since 1840, a diaspora of 60 million people of Irish descent has spread throughout the world, most living in the United States or Canada.
** “The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular” has been held since 1998 in Oxford, Massachusetts in 1988.
The legend of Ireland, the festival of Samhain and Halloween sweets
The tradition of giving sweets to children dates back to the “Samhain”* offerings. This festival in the Celtic calendar falls on October 31, the last day of the year. This date was important because it marked the entry into the “other world”. The Celts believed that the gods and spirits came to visit them. To ward off evil spirits and honor their dead, the tradition of disguises and offerings developed. The offerings were then food (cakes, apples).