Samhain

[Jimmy O'Connell]

Samhain*

From house to house frantically we’d run,
borrowing scissors and stumpy crayons
which would fashion us primeval masks,
sketched into the fierce faces of our
dervish nightmares. Wild hag-hairs ribboned
in crepe-paper, sulphur-red and tar

black; streaming wantonly, bewitching
the hoary frost breath, hung gossamer
fingered over yellow lined streetlamps,
over our Pleiades of the laneways,
and onwards into the Green where we
jousted in football and war...

Samhain marched us out from door to door,
dressed as the spook-spectres of Cromm,**
unleashing demons buried into
the necro-recesses of our
haunted innocence. We bagged our
way, scrounging from door to door in
an orgy of lime-green Grannysmiths,
our fists brim-filled with monkey nuts
and maybe a lucky Mars Bar...

The macabre brimstone spit of flames
war-danced as we huddled together
and crunched into the sour tangy core
of apples, and hammer-smashed into
shell-fortressed nuts, feeding our soul’s
necessity: the hunger for pagan
moonspells and ritual memory.

* Hallowe'en
**Cromm
The chief idol of Eirin (Ireland). This huge object stood on the plain of Mag Sleact (the plain of adoration or prostration) in County Cavan in Ulster. Situated around him were twelve smaller idols made of stone while his was of gold. To him the early Irish sacrificed one third of their children on Samain (November 1) in return for milk and corn and the good weather that insured the fertility of cattle and crops. The god was held in horror for his terrible exactions; it was even dangerous to worship him, for the worshippers themselves often perished in the act of worship.

[Joney]

All we ever got was a 15p plastic mask that really made our faces sweat! Duffle coats and 15p masks. Holloween was fun in Ireland though, I believe it has gone all American and 'trick or treat' now. And as you said, no sweets, just apples and nuts and if we were lucky some ricekrispie cakes.

[lizzytysh]

Have you also gotten the needles and straight pins stuck into candy and apples?


~ Lizzy

[Joney]

Lizzy! How evil, must try that one.

[lizzytysh]

You may have better luck over there. They've learned to first look for them here.


~ Lizzy

[Joney]

Seriously?!!

[lizzytysh]

Yes... not sure which it is you're "Seriously?!!"ing ~ their doing it in the first place, or the parents now checking for them first.

Either you thought I was kidding the first time around, or you're still doing it, suggesting you'll have to become more clever with your plan .

If it's on my original comment, however, yes seriously.


~ Lizzy

[Jimmy O'Connell]

15p Joney!!!!!
Plastic masks!!!
You're showing your age!!!

I remember card board masks... that looked like Japanese Noh masks...

How about dunking apples in a basin of water... following someone who had a snottery nose!!! yyyyyeeeeeeeuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!
Beat that!!!!

Dim were the innocent days...

[Joney]

Lizzy, I thought you were joking and getting into an evil Holloween frame of mind. The mind boggles that people would actually do that to kids!

Jimmy, how old would you say I am then?
Yeah Holloween was great when I was a kid, very innocent and the door greeting was "any apples or nuts" quite strange really when I think about it now. How many monkey nuts and apples can a poor kid eat without chronic indigestion! For the teenagers there were bonfires and ghost stories; great times. When I first came to England nobody celebrated it here but now it seems to have become popular here too but people don't seem to like kids knocking at their doors, mind you the whole trick or treat concept never existed for Holloween celebrations in Ireland. Yeah, I remember the snotty basin of water, it was quite horrific.

[lizzytysh]

Well, since it seemed you were joking from that evil position, I carried on with it... however, yes, it's very true... and more. Every year, the list gets longer and it's published in the local papers as to what parents need to look and check for before letting their child dive into their candy, like they did in days of yore here. Like, breaking a candy bar in quarters, etc., as needles can be pushed through the wrappers without tearing them or the pinhole being noticeable. The warnings should start soon. I'll bring some here to give you an idea as to the horrific [good word] nature of it. Very sick.

We [my brother and I... upon instruction from my parents] just yelled, "TREEEEEEAT!!!" No tricks allowed. Ewwwwww on the bobbing for apples. We did that, too, at parties... but maybe the kid with the cold was made to stay home?? Cuz that never even occurred to me until now ~ thanks a lot, Jimmy .

To him the early Irish sacrificed one third of their children on Samain (November 1) in return for milk and corn and the good weather that insured the fertility of cattle and crops. The god was held in horror for his terrible exactions; it was even dangerous to worship him, for the worshippers themselves often perished in the act of worship.

So, is this the Irish version of Halloween, Jimmy ? Your milk and corn are pretty pricey.


~ Lizzy

[jimbo]

How about this..... Old man goes to the pub everyday,his name is Paddy,on his Donkey and cart,
the donkey knows its way home.and his name is Jack.Well when they arrive home Paddy ties Jack to a post
and goes to bed.
well some halloween pranxters .dismantle jacks cart and rebuild it inside a small out house
then reconnect jack to the cart....................
so when Paddy wakes in the morning ready for his cure .hes met by jack face on.
and shouts loudly at the Donkey"Well you got your fucking self in there you smart Ass.
you can Blooy well get your fucking self out.
and he walked to the pub.

poor jack or was it Paddy???

[Jimmy O'Connell]

Liz,
We actually never went around "trick or treatin'". At least that was not what we called it. We used to go around the houses saying things like:
"D'ya have any nuts...?"
"A Mars Bar would go down well, there missus..."
Or if we didn't get anything from a neighbour: "Jays, that wan wouldn't give ya the smell of her p**s!!!"

Our milk and corn may be pricey, but just look at the quality!!!
And our winters are getting milder... now whether that's down to Cromm or Climate Change I'm not able to say, but in the Spirit of Cromm and all the gods of Fertility, I reckon, a few romps in the leaba does the world a lot of good!!!

Jimmy

[MFL]

Thanks Jimmy,
that was a lovely poem that has brought back some wonderful memories, I fit in somewhere between the paper homemade masks and those sweaty plastic ones, I hated those. We went from door to door knowing “the good houses “the ones that had sweets. As it was a country childhood I had, this may have meant walking many miles. It was worth it. I also played the apple game and ugh.. Had never thought about runny noses.

[Jimmy O'Connell]

To all the posters and thread readers:

Have a mighty and scary Hallowe'en...

And watch out for the one who dunks before you... you never know..... you just never know...

And if you do go out trik'n'treet'n... remember... BE Careful Out There!!!!


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