Folklorist Michael Fortune argues in a column for RTE.ie that despite decades of promoting the Irish connection to Hallowe’en, Ireland did not actually invent the holiday. Folklorist Michael Fortune examines centuries-old European traditions, local mumming customs, and family archives to explore the true origins of the Hallowe’en festival.
The Real Roots of Hallowe’en Traditions
- Michael Fortune notes that modern Hallowe’en experiences are shared closely with neighbours in Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, and mainland Europe, tied in part to St. Martin’s Eve traditions.
- The author splits the Irish Hallowe’en experience into four distinct elements: Food/Harvest, Mumming/Disguise, The Dead/Light, and Tricks/Devilment.
- Local Guising practices—such as ‘Vizzarding Night’ in north Wexford—were historically concentrated in Leinster and Ulster rather than being uniformly practiced across all of Ireland.
Unravelling the Celtic Twilight and Guising History
Fortune challenges the contemporary narrative that modern Hallowe’en practices trace directly back to the ancient mists of time through what he terms the “Celtic Twilight/Samhain Fog Machine.” Instead, he writes that current celebrations represent centuries-old layers and tangles of regional habits, interpretations, and shared European customs. Alongside Scottish, Manx, Welsh, and English neighbours, mainland European communities observed similar traditions tied to St. Martin’s Eve on November 11, historically known by some as ‘Old Hallowe’en.’
Focusing specifically on the mumming and disguise element, Fortune details how the practice functioned in north Wexford where he grew up. Known variously as ‘All Holland’, ‘Vizzarding Night’, ‘Blackmen Night’, or ‘Collicking Night’, the custom involved callers disguising themselves completely. Women often dressed as men and men as women, utilizing pillows, straw bundles, and socks or gloves to hide identifying features. Granular precautions—such as tying bags around shoes to avoid recognition by neighbors—were standard practice.
Mapping the Spread of Irish House-Calling Customs
While a general narrative suggests house-calling and dressing up occurred across all of Ireland, Fortune points out that the historical record shows otherwise. Citing Limerick folklorist Kevin Danagher’s 1940s mapping on Guising in Ireland, Fortune notes that the practice was primarily concentrated in Leinster and Ulster, with only sparse pockets in Munster and Connaught, before becoming widespread in the 1950s and 1960s.
| Region / Location | Historical Term for Hallowe’en Night | Documented Practice |
|---|---|---|
| North East Wexford | Vizzarding Night / Blackmen Night | Adults and youth dressing in disguise, house-calling for money/food |
| Newfoundland | Colcannon Night | Mumming traditions brought over by south-east Irish communities |
| Mayo and Sligo (1930s-40s) | Unspecified in youth | Older residents recording no memory of dressing up until the 1970s |
This localized regional distribution mirrors the Newfoundland mumming tradition, which was carried across the Atlantic by south-east Irish communities and persists around Christmas and St. Stephen’s Day. Fortune suggests the dressing-up aspect of Hallowe’en is likely only a couple of centuries old or even less, operating as part of a wider European house-calling tradition to secure food, drink, or money for local dances.
Capturing the Final Chapter of a Family Tradition
Between 2005 and 2014, Fortune recorded annual footage in his family home in rural County Wexford for a film series titled We Invented Halloween. The footage documented his late mother, Ann Fortune, continuing a decades-old practice of disguising herself and calling to her mother’s house next door to act the fool and secure an offering.
On October 31, 2014, prior to his grandmother’s passing three months later, Fortune revealed the identity of the masked visitor during a hospital visit in Wexford. When told that her daughter had been the masked caller for 35 years, his grandmother responded simply before her death in early 2015, closing a deeply private, generation-spanning local Hallowe’en tradition.
