Samhain: The Ancient Celtic Origins of Halloween | Turnips, Ghosts & Celtic Mythology

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, dear listeners, and welcome to the Strange History Podcast,

0:03 Speaker 1: where history is terrifying, occasionally hilarious, and usually running around

0:09 Speaker 1: in a badly carved vegetable mask. I'm your host, Amy,

0:13 Speaker 1: and today we're venturing back into the ancient Celtic festival

0:17 Speaker 1: of Sowen, the original Halloween. This was the night when

0:21 Speaker 1: spirits walked, fairies kidnapped people, druids lit bonfires the size

0:26 Speaker 1: of Walmart parking lots, and turnips were carved into the

0:30 Speaker 1: most horrifying lanterns you've ever seen in your life. Forget

0:34 Speaker 1: candy corn. This is the true story of why Halloween exists.

0:38 Speaker 1: But first Tonight's episode is brought to you by turn

0:43 Speaker 1: up lanterns. Forget those soft, cuddly pumpkins. Real horror is

0:48 Speaker 1: when you spend six hours chiseling a face into a

0:51 Speaker 1: root vegetable, only to have it wrought overnight into a

0:54 Speaker 1: demon potato. Turn up lanterns guaranteed to terrify your neighbors,

1:00 Speaker 1: confuse your pets, and possibly summon an angry Celtic deity.

1:05 Speaker 1: Available now wherever vegetables fear to grow.

1:09 Speaker 2: The harsh reality of iron Age Winter.

1:13 Speaker 1: Two thousand years ago Ireland in October was no pumpkin

1:17 Speaker 1: spiced paradise. It was cold, it was damp. It was

1:21 Speaker 1: basically the original Game of Thrones winter, except without dragons

1:25 Speaker 1: to warm you up. Sam Hein marked the end of harvest.

1:29 Speaker 1: The Celts were like, hope you stored enough grain, because

1:32 Speaker 1: if not, you're about to invent intermittent fasting the hard way.

1:36 Speaker 1: This was also when animals were slaughtered, not just because

1:40 Speaker 1: everyone loves a good steak, but because it was better

1:42 Speaker 1: to eat the cows than let them eat you out

1:45 Speaker 1: of winter supplies. Plus, some of those cows ended up

1:49 Speaker 1: sacrificed in great fire pits because nothing says please don't

1:54 Speaker 1: kill us gods quite like throwing a perfectly good cow

1:57 Speaker 1: on the grill.

1:59 Speaker 2: The Druidds and fire magic.

2:02 Speaker 1: The Druids, those mystical Iron Age influencers, ran the se

2:06 Speaker 1: In show. They lit massive bonfires, declared prophecies, and probably

2:12 Speaker 1: smelled strongly of smoke and goat. Every family extinguished their

2:16 Speaker 1: hearth fire, then ReLit it from the communal blaze. It

2:20 Speaker 1: wasn't just about fire safety. It was a way to

2:23 Speaker 1: spiritually reset the household. Basically, new year, new me, new fire,

2:29 Speaker 1: and the druids. They may have practiced divination by staring

2:33 Speaker 1: into flames. Try it sometime. Sit in front of your stove,

2:37 Speaker 1: stare at the gas burner and wait until you see

2:40 Speaker 1: your future spoiler. Your future is probably calling the fire department.

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2:57 Speaker 1: ancestors and repel unwonted fairy available in SnSe charred Goat,

3:03 Speaker 1: mystic bog, and everyone's favorite sacrificial brisket. The Veil fins

3:10 Speaker 1: at So and the Celts believe the veil between worlds

3:13 Speaker 1: grew thin. Ancestors could visit, Fairies could snatch you, Ghosts

3:18 Speaker 1: could spit blood on you. Yes, really, ask poor Nara

3:22 Speaker 1: from the myths? How did people cope? Offerings? Bread, nuts,

3:27 Speaker 1: milk basically ghost door dash disguises, wear animal skins and

3:33 Speaker 1: masks to trick the spirits. Nothing says don't eat me

3:37 Speaker 1: like a teenager in a dead cow costume. Turnip lanterns

3:41 Speaker 1: ah Yes. The piece de resistance terrifying little veggie heads

3:46 Speaker 1: carved with jagged teeth and empty eyes let me be clear,

3:50 Speaker 1: Celtic turnip lanterns make modern pumpkins look like Disney characters.

3:55 Speaker 1: These things belong in horror movies. Imagine walking home at

4:00 Speaker 1: night and seeing a glowing human faced root vegetable grinning

4:04 Speaker 1: at you. That's not festive, that's trauma.

4:07 Speaker 2: The Legends of Sowen, the myths.

4:10 Speaker 1: Tell us Soen was prime haunting time. Iilen the burner

4:14 Speaker 1: every sewin. He lulled people to sleep with harp music

4:17 Speaker 1: and then set Tara on fire. The insurance premiums must

4:20 Speaker 1: have been outrageous. Finally, Fion McCom hail killed him. Thank you,

4:26 Speaker 1: Irish Hercules.

4:28 Speaker 2: Nara's night Out.

4:29 Speaker 1: Nara accepted a dare to tie a twig around a

4:32 Speaker 1: corpse's ankle. The corpse came alive, asked for water, and

4:36 Speaker 1: then spit blood on people in their house. Lesson, never

4:41 Speaker 1: do dares on Halloween. They always end badly. The Morrigan,

4:46 Speaker 1: the terrifying goddess of war and fate who showed up

4:48 Speaker 1: at Sowen to predict death and doom. She was basically

4:52 Speaker 1: the Iron age Siri. If Siri also scared the absolute

4:55 Speaker 1: hell out of you. A word from our sponsor.

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5:08 Speaker 3: flat without losing your will to live pumpkins, because sometimes

5:13 Speaker 3: you want your Halloween decorations not to cause permanent psychological damage.

5:19 Speaker 2: The Church rebrand.

5:21 Speaker 1: The Church eventually stepped in with its favorite strategy, the

5:24 Speaker 1: Holy rebrand. By the ninth century, Pope Gregory was like,

5:29 Speaker 1: we see your Sowen and raise you all Saints Day.

5:34 Speaker 1: Sowen became all hallows Eve, then Halloween, but people kept

5:38 Speaker 1: their turnips, disguises and bonfires. Christianity just put a halo

5:43 Speaker 1: sticker on it and called it good.

5:46 Speaker 2: The Irish and the pumpkin upgrade.

5:49 Speaker 1: When the Irish immigrated to America, they found pumpkins soft, hollow,

5:55 Speaker 1: bright orange pumpkins compared to a rock hard turnip. Pumpkins

5:59 Speaker 1: were like carving through butter. Thus the American Jack o'

6:03 Speaker 1: lantern was born. Pumpkins became Halloween's poster child. But don't

6:08 Speaker 1: forget the pumpkin is just the intern. The turnip is

6:12 Speaker 1: the CEO of fear Swen. Today, modern Wickens and Pagans

6:17 Speaker 1: still celebrate Sowen. Honoring ancestors, practicing divination and lighting bonfires. Meanwhile,

6:25 Speaker 1: the rest of us buy twelve bags of candy for

6:27 Speaker 1: the kids and then eat them ourselves before Halloween even arrives.

6:32 Speaker 1: Either way, the spirit of Swen lives on. So there

6:36 Speaker 1: you have it, dear listeners, the History of Sowen, a

6:39 Speaker 1: festival of ghosts, gods, fire fairies, and the vegetable that

6:44 Speaker 1: could give you nightmares. Next time you light a pumpkin,

6:48 Speaker 1: remember you're participating in a tradition older than most empires,

6:54 Speaker 1: a holiday born not in candy isles, but in the cold,

6:58 Speaker 1: smoky nights of Iron Age, Ireland. This has been the

7:03 Speaker 1: Strange History Podcast. Until next time, Stay curious, stay spooky, and,

7:09 Speaker 1: for the love of the gods, carve a turnip once

7:12 Speaker 1: in your life. It builds character.