Remembrance Gifts from Ireland                                                 

 Everybody is talking about what the Deathly Hallows are but seem to be thinking only in modern terms. If you dip back into Celtic and Irish tradition it becomes clear where Rowling is getting her inspiration. Hallowe'en was originally called Samhain – the Celtic/Irish New Year feast celebrated on November 1

On October 31st the gates to the otherworld would open. Spirits both deathly and well meaning would roam across the land. Great purifying bonfires were lit and through these cattle and sheep were drive in order to drive out any malignant spirits.

  The day after Halloween was a day(Hallow's day) when the spirits were still likely to abroad and as a result extra care was required least you be brought across to the other side. As this was such an important day in the calendar it, like so many other days, was transposed to a Christian event. That day became All Hallows day or else the feast of all saints. The Feast of All Saints was first celebrated on May 13, 610 A.D., when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon as a gift from the Emperor Phocas and dedicated it in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs.

 Over a century later Gregory III changed the date to November 1 as its anniversary. It was Gregory IV (827-844) who extended the celebration on November 1 to the entire Church. There are differences between the Irish and Christian festival obviously. Samhain was an occasion to guard against evil spirits whereas All Hallows is a day to remember the dead and the saints.

Read more about the links between the Celtic religion in Ireland and Christianity.