31/10/2026
🎃 MYTH BUSTERS: 10 SPOOKY FACTS ABOUT HALLOWEEN
From ancient Samhain to the butcher’s block!
1. Halloween has Irish roots! Its traditions are closely linked to Samhain, an ancient Celtic seasonal festival celebrated over 2,000 years ago.
2. Samhain means summer’s end. It marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.
3. The dead were believed to walk among the living. People believed the boundary between this world and the spirit world became thinner around Samhain.
4. Bonfires were a big deal. Large communal fires were an important part of traditional Samhain celebrations.
5. The original Jack-o’-lantern wasn’t a pumpkin! In Ireland, people traditionally carved turnips. Irish emigrants helped popularise pumpkin lanterns in America.
6. Trick-or-treating has an old food connection. Medieval souling involved people going door to door asking for soul cakes in return for prayers for the dead.
7. Barmbrack was used for fortune-telling. Traditional Irish Halloween barmbrack contained hidden tokens believed to predict someone’s future.
8. Halloween was a time for disguises. Guising involved dressing up and performing a song, poem or joke in return for food or treats.
9. Here’s the butcher’s connection! Samhain marked the end of the harvest season. In some traditional farming communities, livestock were slaughtered around this seasonal transition.
10. Winter food preparation was serious business! Before modern refrigeration, preserving meat through salting, smoking and other traditional methods was important for helping families get through winter.
👻 From ancient Irish traditions to the history of food and butchery, there’s more to Halloween than meets the eye!
Happy Halloween from Murphy’s Craft Butchers!
MYTH BUSTERS
MEAT FACTS. NOT FICTION.
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