All Hallows’ Eve: The Irish Origins of a Sacred Night

Long before carved pumpkins and trick-or-treaters, All Hallows’ Eve—the night we now call Halloween—was born in Ireland. What began as a Celtic festival marking the boundary between seasons would, through time and faith, become one of Christianity’s most sacred observances: All Saints’ Day.

In ancient Ireland, the Celts celebrated Samhain (Sow-in) beginning at sunset on October 31. It marked the end of harvest and the beginning of winter, a season of darkness and mystery. On this night, they believed, the veil between the living and the dead grew thin. The departed could return to their homes, while wandering spirits or fairies might cause harm if not shown respect.

To protect themselves and honor the unseen, the Irish lit great fires, offered food and drink, and wore disguises to confuse malevolent beings. Samhain was a night of reverence and renewal—a recognition that life and death, light and darkness, are intertwined.

When Christianity reached Ireland in the 5th century, led by St. Patrick and his followers, the Church found a people already deeply spiritual and keenly aware of the nearness of the invisible world. Rather than abolish Samhain, early missionaries infused it with Christian meaning, linking the remembrance of ancestors to the veneration of saints and martyrs.

The very word “Hallow” means “holy one” or “saint.” Thus All Hallows’ Day literally means “All Saints’ Day,” and All Hallows’ Eve—the evening before—became a vigil of preparation and prayer.

By the 8th century, Pope Gregory III formally established November 1 as the Feast of All Saints, uniting the Church in honoring every saint, known and unknown. Many historians note that this date was chosen in part because of the Irish custom of honoring saints and the departed on the day following Samhain. In Ireland, Christians already gathered on November 1 to celebrate those who had lived holy lives—a natural bridge between the ancient festival of the dead and the Christian celebration of eternal life.

As Irish monks and missionaries carried their faith across Britain and the Continent, they also carried this merged observance of Samhain and All Hallows. The Irish reverence for both the saints in heaven and the souls of the departed inspired similar practices elsewhere. In England, people baked “soul cakes” and went “souling,” offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food. In France and Germany, families lit candles and visited graves on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. In Spain and Italy, processions and Masses filled towns with light and remembrance.

In Poland, on the evening of October 31, the night before All Saints’ Day, people visit cemeteries to honor their departed loved ones. Families clean graves and decorate them with flowers—especially chrysanthemums—and candles called znicze. As night falls, cemeteries glow with thousands of flickering lights, creating a peaceful sea of remembrance. The candles symbolize hope, eternal life, and love that endures beyond death. Unlike Halloween elsewhere, this night in Poland is one of reverence and quiet beauty, leading into the solemn celebrations of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Though modern Halloween bears little resemblance to the ancient vigil that inspired it, echoes remain. The idea that October 31 is a night when heaven and earth draw near—when the living remember the holy dead—still lingers beneath the festivities. Each candle, each flicker in the dark, recalls the bonfires once kindled on Irish hillsides to guide souls home.

All Hallows’ Eve, born of Ireland’s deep spiritual imagination, continues to whisper an old truth: that death does not end love, and that the saints and faithful departed still walk with us in the light of God’s eternal fire.