Articles

 

Veterans Day Parade

It's time for the Tallahassee Irish Society to once again show support for our veterans by joining in the Veterans Day Parade through downtown Tallahassee on November 11.

Not just a parade this year, there's also a festival and a 5k run prior to the parade. Food and craft vendors, children's activities and military displays will be on hand. More information is available at the official website.

If you'd like to participate in the parade please email Jack Madden at maddenjack@embarqmail.com.

 

Hurling Comes To Tallahassee

Hurling, a game woven deeply into the social fabric of the Irish people, and sometimes described as "field hockey in the air", has come to Tallahassee.

Young or old, male or female, all are welcome to come and play or just watch the fastest field game in the world. Instructions and equipment are provided free of charge for all participants willing to try hitting the sliotar around.

Practices are currently held on Saturday mornings at 10 am.

For more information, contact tallahasseehurling@gmail.com or follow Tallahassee Hurling Club on Facebook.

See you out on the pitch!

 

All Hallow's Eve
-Paul Burns

At the end of October, all the kiddies dress up in costumes and go “trick or treating.” In windows or on porches they see hollowed-out pumpkins with candlelight shining through a scary face. Those practices all stem from the ancient Celtic feast day of Samhain, and from prehistoric druidic rites practiced on that day.

Samhain (pronounced sow’-en), which fell on November first, was the day that the old year ended and the new year began. It was a day for important meetings, and a day to celebrate the end of the harvest. All crops had to be in by then. If not, the evil, supernatural pucca would defile anything left in the fields or on the trees.

But Samhain also was the day when the world of the living and the world of the dead came closest together. For 24 hours, spirits of the dead, ghosts, fairies, whatever, could pass freely between the two worlds. And they did. Dead relatives were welcomed,  people put out food for them,  and extra benches were placed around the hearth. Inside, people celebrated the end of the harvest with food and drink, while they bobbed for apples, and perhaps hollowed out a gourd or turnip to place at the door. Celebrations were indoors or close to home around a bonfire in the yard. People did not wander far afield on that particular night, especially not close to a graveyard. There were too many unfriendly spirits loose, and heaven forbid that you would encounter a black cat (puccas usually appeared in the guise of an animal) on that night.

Does some of this sound familiar? Sure– we now call it Halloween. The bonfires originally were druidic ceremonies in which human sacrifices were burned (bonfire is a contraction of “bone-fire”). A circle of human skulls faced outwards around the bonfire to ward off evil spirits.  In Ireland these evolved into a gourd or turnip with a scary face hung on the front door or gate-post to ward off unfriendly ghosts, and in the United States they became jack o’ lanterns made from pumpkins. Bobbing for apples began as a primitive form of Celtic baptism.

Just as the souls of the dead and other spirits wandered around freely that night seeking food and comfort, people began emulating them by dressing as ghosts, witches, and other supernatural beings (Superman and Batman costumes came later), and by calling at homes to ask for food. The mischievous spirits who played pranks on people have been transformed into “trick or treaters.”

This is all nonsense of course, but just in case, I stay home on All Hallow's Eve.