All true.
The Museum of Ireland happens to have a plaster cast of an old carved Halloween turnip, which is truly the stubby-toothed, squint-eyed stuff of nightmares.
This terrifying vegetable tradition was part of Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival that marked the end of summer. Samhain actually means “summer’s end” in Gaelic, and it was celebrated around the end of October/beginning of November all over the British Isles.
During this season of waning sunlight, the Celts believed that the veil between the seen and unseen worlds was at its thinnest. This meant that spirits, beasts, fae, and other possibly malevolent haunts were free to roam whithersoever they willed. This paved the way for all sorts of trickery—in both the seen and unseen realms. For one, people began to dress up in costumes and wander the village in disguise, visiting and cavorting. The belief was, if they were frightening enough, perhaps the fae and evil spirits would leave them alone.
Folks also began carving faces into turnips, potatoes, radishes, and beets to ward off wicked beings. (In Scotland, they called these carved vegetables ‘nips, which is the best thing I’ve heard in ages.) Much like the Jack-O-lanterns of today, these little root veggies were lit from within to provide a comforting glow in the ever-growing darkness.
Eventually, as early immigrants migrated to the United States, it became more common to use local produce—like squash and pumpkins—to keep the ghouls at bay. Thus, the contemporary Jack-O-lantern was born.
I think I prefer the turnip, if I’m honest.
Happy Halloween, my ghouls. I hope you carved up some veg for the occasion, or at least treated yourself to some coziness amidst all the heartbreak of the world. It’s a truly terrifying thing to be alive, so it’s best to hold each other close and fend off the demons in any way you can.
Turnips may just be our answer.
With love and veggies,
🎃Becca Lee, Haunted Librarian🎃