Halloween was born in Puglia, and ended in America

We all think that Halloween is an American holiday. Yet, digging and searching, investigating, we discover that everything originates elsewhere. Where? Many say in Ireland.

In fact, the story seems to have begun in County Meath, a historic outpost of Ireland’s spiritual and political power less than 50 kilometers from Dublin. In Hill of Ward, a place near Athboy, the remains of fires dating back to the pre-Christian era that were lit for the festival of Samhain have been found. For the Celts, this festival, which began at sunset on October 31 and lasted until sunset on November 1, represented an important rite that marked the passage from light to darkness, coinciding with the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.

Believe it or not, in Orsara di Puglia, a town near Troia, every year between the 1st and 2nd of November, a celebration takes place whose main feature is the lighting of fires in all the streets of the town.

These are dozens and dozens of fires of varying sizes, lit close to the houses and looked after by the family who collects the wood (mainly from broom trees) and manages the fire throughout the night.

In the local dialect it is called Fucacoste and Cocce Priatorje. It is a true reenactment of the dead, with bonfires around the town and pumpkins that evoke Celtic traditions that mysteriously reappeared in this location while elsewhere they were disappearing.

Many people wonder how this Celtic celebration survived in a town in the north of Puglia. There are different theories, but the thesis of Prof. Mario Cocca stands out above all others, who identifies the celebrations of Fucacoste as the legacy of ancient Celtic celebrations.

In fact, according to the professor's thesis, the Celts lit fires to coincide with the equinoxes and solstices, and according to the principle of imitative magic, the fires reproduced on earth the light and heat of the sun and its beneficial effects.

According to the purification theory, however, the fires had a purifying intent, burning and dispersing all negative influences for man.

According to the scholar, these aspects correspond to the agro-pastoral fabric of Orsara and can be traced in the ways in which the festival itself is carried out.

Other elements that support this thesis are the various Orsara customs that all refer to a Celtic origin. For example, the basin that is used to place next to the entrance of one's home. According to the Celts, water is an element of communication with other dimensions. And the basin served to reflect the presence of spirits and communicate their possible presence in the home.

Furthermore, the presence of surnames of Celtic origin, such as Loffredo or Martino. This element would also corroborate the professor's thesis.

Another peculiarity of the festival is the presence of pumpkins lit by candles, which symbolize the souls themselves (cocce priatorjie) which are thus allowed to revisit the places of their earthly existence, while the bonfires (fucacoste) indicate the path to heaven.

The street lights are turned off around 7 pm, and the signal is given by the ringing of all the bells. Each family then lights its own bonfire. A few hours before, the youngest had been involved in cutting firewood, looking for the greenest branches of broom that, placed on the top, crackle creating the so-called scattelle (noisy sparks that scare away the souls of sinners) and then the munacielli (the falling ash).

People gather around the pyres to consume meals that once consisted of potatoes, onions, eggs, boiled wheat seasoned with cooked must, and today are replaced by sausages, steaks and chestnuts. Trays filled with sweets and wine are left at the corners of the streets so that even the deceased can refresh themselves.

In any case, when the food is cooked, everyone is invited to feast. The tourists present on the night of the Fucacoste find themselves learning the best Orsara gastronomic customs in sharing with the natives.

What is the possible origin of this extravagant Apulian celebration? Returning to Professor Mario Cocca, the scholar argues that the Celtic rites, which disappeared with the Roman conquest of southern Italy, resurfaced in an irregular and clandestine way through Roman garrisons present especially in the territories of Daunia.

It seems that the prize for the bravest soldiers was a plot of land in the fertile and flat territory of the Tavoliere delle Puglie. Many of these soldiers came from former Celtic territories and, fighting loyally for the Romans, found themselves spending the mature years of their lives especially in the territories of northern Puglia. This would have allowed an unexpected return of rites that were believed to be extinct.

The ritual of bonfires and pumpkins retreats into the silence of midnight in a procession of hooded men. The visual impact is very strong, beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The brotherhood prepares to cross the streets of the town in a slow walk of prayer, supported by the dim light of candles, the smell of embers and the shadows that stand out along the entire path.