History for the Halloween Season

I might post this to some of the groups I'm in later, or I might not, we'll see as things progress

A bit of cultural info, for those not in the know, Halloween is derived from the celebration of All Hallows Eve, which is the Christianized version of the Celtic Holiday Samhain (pronounced Sah-Win). Samhain was the Celtic New Years' celebration, and many of the practices for the holiday we have today actually have roots in that ancient holiday.

The Celtic peoples believed the veil between the realms of the living and departed were at their weakest at the point where one year ended and another began, the celebration of that time was Samhain. In order to keep faeries and goblins from messing with the festivities several people, especially the children, would dress up as fey and goblins and dance about to distract the faeries and goblins; grand feasts were set out for the living and the spirits of those that have passed through the veil for a visit on that night, presumably there were places to eat that were apart from where the dead did so you could actually eat food that wouldn't potentially hurt you; people would wear scary masks to frighten away any fey or goblins that got passed the dancers or malicious spirits that passed through the veil for the night, some sources I came across even made mention of the masks being used to scare away other supernatural creatures as well (like demons, but this is likely the work of Christian scribes adding in their own religious contributions). Jack-o-Lanterns actually date back to an Old Irish tradition of carving Giant Beets, and possibly overly large Turnips, into lanterns. You can still get "giant" beets today, they're called Sugarbeets, so if you want to get a bit more historically authentic with your Jack-o-lanterns, you could go and get a few of those and try carving them into actual lanterns out of them. They even have an old Irish tale attached to them on how they got their name, it's called Jack of the Lantern.

Now, whether or not anyone decides to make use of this remains to be seen, but I think it would be seasonally appropriate. That said, I'm part Irish and I'm proud of my heritage. Ireland has a lot of interesting cultural components that aren't found in any other part of Europe, or the world. The Courts of the Fey are something wholely unique to Ireland, as far as I know, when looking at European faerie lore. The Brownie (pronounced Broo-Nee) is a faerie that is entirely Ireland's, they're described as being tricksters and pranksters, but they always seem to go out of their way to make sure the mortals they mess with don't inadvertently die or suffer potentially fatal wounds, they like to keep the game going with a single mortal for as long as they can, but if you manage to successfully catch one then the brownie is forced to be a servant in your house for the rest of your life and only requires payment of scraps from at least 2 meals from you every day. The Kelpie, in Irish lore (I heard it also has tales in Scottish lore but I don't really know much about the Scottish Kelpie beyond its color being white), is a bit more malicious and dangerous. In Irish lore, the Kelpie is a black horse that resides in the deep waters of rivers or ponds, usually rivers, and will do it's best to drive mortals into the water, sometimes carrying them personally, and drowning them so it can tear out their livers and feast upon them, but the black horse isn't its only form. According to the Irish tales of the Kelpie, this fey has the ability to take on the form of a big black dog and human (usually a man) dressed all in black, each form has different approaches and strategies for getting you to go in or near the deep waters that are its home. Then you have fey that aren't benign or malicious, they're more reflections of aspects of nature and life in a more cohesive form, like the Dullahan. The dullahan is another of those Ireland only faeries, and has been getting a lot of attention the past few years in anime and manga. The Dullahan is known by a few nicknames: The Night Rider, The Headless Horseman with a Headless Horse, The Coachman of the Dead. All are pretty accurate, for entirely different reasons. Dullahans aren't actually headless, their head just isn't attached their shoulders (some accounts even state the eyes glow and it uses its own head as a lantern), and its horse (or horses) is/are stated to be headless, I've never found any accounts of where the heads of their horses are kept. The Dullahan is called the "Night Rider" because it is known to only ride about at night. Some accounts say they are actually driving coach with 5 to 12 horses (all headless). But no matter which version you are talking about they all have one thing in common, they reap the souls of the dead and cart them off to the afterlife, the act is usually somewhat messy. It is said that if blood from the weapon of a dullahan strikes you then you are fated to be reaped by them the following night, it is for this reason people are told to keep off the road at night, as well as keep away from the doors and windows at night. As for their weapons, they are usually stated to have a sword made from the femur of a human or a whip made of a human's spine, which is pretty dark (and maybe a bit metal). And in the world of not-fey lore, we have the tale of the King of Birds. In Irish lore, it said the Wren is the King of Birds. Long story short, Irish lore says that the wren earned the title King of birds by sneakily riding upon the back of an eagle to the highest the eagle could go then jumped off its back and flow as high its wings and the air would allow, thus earning the title King of Birds because it managed to fly higher than any other bird. Now, wouldn't that be interesting to dive into? Sorry about that little rant, this season is the only time I feel is appropriate to really go off on Irish lore.