Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: October

14

Festivals / Folklore / October

Turnip Lanterns

Long before carving pumpkins became a staple of Halloween there was a tradition of carving turnips to create lanterns on the 31st of October. These lanterns were left overnight on gateposts, doorways and in windows in many parts of Britain.

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Festivals / October

Halloween / Samhain

31st October – The Samhain festival marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter in the Celtic calendar, and is one of the four Celtic fire festivals – the quarter points in the solar year. It marked the point in the year were a time of plenty gave way to more lean times, in all probability the reason for its association with dread and eeriness.

Festivals / October

Egremont Crab-Apple Fair

Held on the nearest Saturday to the 18th October, the festival was established in 1267 and involved the distribution of crab-apples amid fun, games and traditional Cumberland Wrestling.

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Festivals / October

Milk Of The Virgin Mary

11 October – In the past on this day supposed relics of the Milk of Mary were venerated in abbeys across England.  These were phials containing a drop of breast milk from the Virgin Mary.