School: Cluain Uaithne Beag
- Location:
- Shannon Harbour, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Winifred Molloy
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0816, Page 350
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- (continued from previous page)prevailing note.
ALL SOULS' NIGHTThere is another side to the festival of Hallowe'en, a deeply religious one. The Irish people are never very far removed from their dead, and on the feast of All Souls (November 2) prayers are offered in every Catholic home in Ireland for those who are gone before.Masses are offered, and candles lighted in the Churches, and in country parts a wax candle is lighted in the home of each departed soul belonging to it. It is believed that the Holy Souls are released from Purgatory on this night, and are accorded the privilege of seeing their friends, themselves unseen.Thus do our joys and our sorrows "BLEND LIKE THE RAINBOW THAT HANGS IN OUR SKIES", and thus do we honour our past and our present by remembering the ancients customs and beliefs, which are part and parcel of the Celtic temperament.
