School: Cloonarrow (roll number 8376)
- Location:
- Cloonarragh, Co. Roscommon
- Teacher: Eibhlín Ní Mhaidín
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0242, Page 516
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- XML “Old Customs on Halloween”
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- In ancient Ireland November Eve, at Halloween, was one of the most important and in many respects, one of the most sacred dates of the year. Druids performed their most sacred rites then. Druid deities permitted spirits, sprites and ghosts to return to earth on that night, and whether as messengers of gladness or imps of evil these were always feared. Communion with the dead was thought possible on that night. Christianity did not wholly condemn the idea, but of course a more religious influence now obtains, and the superstition of the past has given way to the vigil of to-day.
In olden times lovers peered, as it were, into the future. Girls plucked at random heads of cabbage the shape of which resembled the head of their future husbands,- the cabbage unlike the future husband had its heart in its head. A straight well-flavoured cabbage indicated a good sweet(continues on next page)
