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Although Halloween as we know it today is American and based more on Irish customs we do have our own version.
The welsh Halloween is called "Noson Galan Gaeaf" which translates as "Winters Eve". Other Celtic languages have similar words "Kalan Gway" (Cornwall) and Kalan "Goañv"(Brittany). The other term used by other Celts like the Irish is Samhain meaning summers end.
The welsh use the same word for both autumn and October "Hydref" which means "stags cry" because it's rutting season and horny stags bellow a lot. (there's few deer in Wales these day). November is Mis Tachwedd which translates as "month of slaughter."
This isn't because we have a month long "Purge" but rather because it's when you slaughtered your older livestock. It doesn't take a genius to work out if you've suddenly got load of meat and your lighting big fires to keep the cold out people are going to have a feast.
ALONG COME THE ROMANS
Calan gaeaf blended with the Roman festivals of Feralia and Pomona because it was all just an excuse to feast and get drunk. Pomona was the roman goddess of apple trees and they introduced them to Britain, hence why bobbin for apples is linked to be Halloween. I'm sure she enjoyed a toffee apple too. (As a sidenote the king Arthur's Avalon means isle of apples)
THE WELSH INVENTED CHRISTIANITY
(well sort of)
When you look up the history of Halloween you'll often read how Pope Gregory in the 8th century came up with the idea of All Saints Day in order to convert the pagan celts to Christianity by adapting the Samhain.
This is total racist bollocks and here's the proof. St Patrick was born in 386 AD followed St David not long after. In fact the 4th and 5th centuries are known as the "age of Saints" because the Celts were churning them out by the hundreds down the west coast of Britain and Ireland.
The simple truth is it was the celts that kept Christianity alive in Europe long after the Romans left. It was the celts that were the educated civilized religious ones and not the invading Vikings, and Saxons to the east.
Western Tribes retained a Romanised culture long after the Romans pulled out in 410 up until around 600AD. It was during this period they kinda overdid the whole Christianity thing in an attempt to hold on to their culture.
If we fast forward to 920 AD onwards we get the first written mention of calan gaeaf by the Welsh Christian King Hywel Dda (Howell the Good). By then relationships between Welsh and Saxon were on more friendly terms.
Now the Welsh hadn't just learned to write
The literature of Wales is one of the oldest continuous literary traditions in Europe dating back to at least the 6th century. But my point is even after Pope Gregory introduced Halloween the old name Calan Gaeaf was still in use and still is.
DEMONISATION OF THE CELTS.
Today we think of the UK as having a North-South divide but for a long time, it was more East-West. The word Welsh/Wales comes from a Germanic phrase meaning Roman Celt. On the other hand even today the Welsh word for English is Sais/Saeson meaning Saxon. Eventually, the Normans took over England in 1066 but the Welsh took a lot longer to conquer resulting in one of the highest number of castles in Europe.
The problem is English became the dominant language of the UK and America and those troublesome Celts had to be turned into savages. Even today if you see movies portraying people from Ireland, Wales, or Cornwall they are nearly always shown as slow and simpleminded. Even in America, I think it's fair to say the church's anti-Halloween stance is rooted in racism against the Irish.
ARE THE OLD WAYS THAT BAD?
Comparisons between Halloween and the Mexican Day of the Dead are often made. We know from 9th-century Irish writings people visited tombs to clean, decorate and leave offerings and so this is held up as evidence of pagan beliefs. However, the Welsh have long had a tradition of visiting graves on Palm Sunday at Easter so I think it's fair to view it in a similar light.
If we look at medieval Europe people were always dressing up in costumes, feasting and getting drunk to celebrate various Saints days. I think Halloween in it's various forms was just the same an excuse to party and nothing more.
WELSH Halloween TRADITIONS
In the North the big baddy was "Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta" (all together now - yr hook thee goota) or the tailess black sow. It was a big ghost pig that liked to chase and eat children. As the bonfires died down some guy would drape a pig skin over himself and run around chasing kids. The last child to make it home that night would be eaten. It was a way of getting the kids home to bed and teaching them its dangerous to be out late alone. You might find old people who remember it but now Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta is largely consigned to bedtime stories and Halloween merchandise.
The boar artwork you see throughout Wales references "twrch trwyth" a boar chased by king Arthur to retrive scissors and a comb so his cousin can get and not yr hwch ddu gwta
The south preferred Y ladi wen (the white lady) who was either there to guard graveyards from evil or to pray on men out late depending on who you ask. Some versions have her pairing up with her piggy friend Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta
Gwrach/gwrachod. This is one of the old forms of trick or treat. Men would dress in rags and masks going door to door collecting nuts and fruits plus small change before going to the pub to get pissed. The name means hag or witch and is also where you get the English word "wrasse" from as in the colourful rock fish . Not to be confused with gwraig meaning wife or she'll get upset
Another traditional game for kids is to write your name on a stone and throw it in a bonfire. The next day if your stones missing it means your going to die very soon. Obviously with modern medicine childhood mortality rates are low these days so kids are likely to be disappointed.
So there you have it, stuff to bore your kids with this Halloween.
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