Halloween's Irish Roots

Samhain - Halloween IrelandTo celebrate Halloween we are running a special offer with 15% off all wall stickers by using the coupon code October2015 when you spend over €14.95. As Ireland's largest wall sticker company we are now also stocking special Halloween wall stickers for you to decorate your house with over the spooky season.
Did you know Halloween has Irish roots? The scariest night of the year stems from the Celtic festival Samhain. The Celts believed that the veil between the world of the living and the Otherworld at its thinnest during Samhain, meaning that all sorts of ghosts and spirits could cross the divide to our realm.
During this time, the dead were thought to revisit their former homes seeking hospitality. A place was even set at dinner tables for them to occupy. Not all people were so welcoming to the deceased however. Those that didn't wish to be visited carved a hideous face into a pumpkin to scare them away...which is where jack-o-lanterns originated from.
Spooky costumes were worn by many in public as a way to disguise oneself from the spirits roaming the land. Large bonfires were also set on hills around Ireland. The logic behind this was by utilizing the power of the Sun (ie fire), the "powers of growth" would hold back the decay and darkness of the winter and the dead.
Once Irish paganism died out and Christianity arrived in Ireland, Samhain's importance reduced and it eventually merged with All Saints Day and All Hallow's Eve to become the modern Halloween as we know it.
As well as providing the inspiration for Halloween, Ireland is also responsible for mythical creatures like leprechauns and banshees
In Britain, Guy Fawkes day or Bonfire Night is celebrated on the 5th of November every year although Halloween is becoming more and more prominent with each passing year.
Make sure to check our our range of cool Halloween wall stickers here at Wall Decals, Ireland's largest wall sticker company.