Halloween & the Druids

The Druids were the "wise men" of the pagan Celtic society. Little is known of them with certainty, however it is thought that they played the roles of priests in the Celtic religion.

An Arch Druid in His Judicial Habit
Smith, Charles Hamilton
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Halloween - sometimes called Holloween - derived from the Celtic festval of Samhain. This was one of the great fire festivals and marked the beginning of winter. It was believed that on this night the gates between life and death were open - or at least poorly guarded. Part of the role of the Druid priests was to protect the people from the spirits who might cross over. Placating such spirits is thought to have been the origin of the trick or treat tradition.

Another variation of this idea is that the souls of sinners who had died during the year were held in torment. They could only be released and given peace if the gods were pleased by the Samhain offerings.

Since the barrier with the spirit world was thin on this day, Halloween was the perfect time for divination. The Druids have been said to have been called upon to predict everything from next year's harvest to an individual's marriage prospects.

Some people condemn the Druids for "human sacrifices". In fact there is little evidence of this. Animals were certainly sacrificed and it's likely that this took place around the Halloween/Samhain bonfires. However the evidence for human sacrifice comes from not from the Irish texts but from the writings of the Greeks and Romans. It's likely that these were tall tales, exaggerated to stress the "barbarian" nature of the Celts.

As said at the outset, litle is known for certain about the Druids. There are only a few contemporaneous textual references - the Celtic religion and myths were mainly handed down through oral tradition. Most of our modern image of the Druid is probably Romantic myth.

But at Halloween of all times we can be forgiven for indulging our imaginations.