The Origins of Halloween Traditions: A Journey through Time and Place
It’s Halloween (Nos Calan Gaeaf) 2023 time on the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast, and that can only mean one thing – spooky specials and surprise guests!
Halloween Folklore of Wales
On episode 129 (available from October 12, 2023), Mark Rees is joined by fellow cultural writer Chris Carra (Planet Health) to explore the Halloween folklore of Wales and the world.
Nos Calan Gaeaf, as Halloween is known in the Welsh language, has long been a time for tradition and festivities. But how did Victorian celebrations differ from modern-day parties?
By teaming up and delving back into their own childhoods – from dressing up as the Ghostbusters in the 1980s to living in Canada – Mark and Chris offer a unique perspective on Halloween celebrations that contrast and complement North American traditions. with those in Wales.
They also look at how the holiday has evolved for a new generation, how costumes became part of the Halloween experience, and the history of Halloween games involving apples and candles.
They discover the surprising connection between Welsh folklore and modern trick-or-treating, which might have evolved from begging for bread on All Souls’ Day into a fun tradition.
And of course, no Halloween folklore episode would be complete without the centuries-old tradition of carving vegetables, including the Welsh swede, to create eerie jack-o’-lanterns, or the even creepier apparition that is the Welsh jac-y-lantern.
Halloween Ghost Hunt in Wales
On episode 130 (available from October 26, 2023) , Mark Rees is joined by some paranormal investigators and special guests for a ghost hunt in one of Wales’s “most haunted” places.
What will they find lurking in the haunted cellar? Tune in to find out!
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