Highland Village Celebrates a Gaelic Halloween
The Great Night of Ghosts will soon chill the air at Highland Village Museum in Iona.
The museum is presenting Oidhche Shamhna or a Gaelic Halloween over three evenings, Thursday, Oct. 23, Friday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 25 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The village will observe the customs and stories of Halloween with a series of special activities titled Oidhche Mhór nam Bòcan or The Great Night of Ghosts.
Known in English as All Souls Eve, or Halloween, in ancient times people speaking Celtic languages marked winter's beginning and the time of darkness, with Oidhche Shamhna, a night when spirits walk in the world of mortals. Gaels in Cape Breton have kept this night of seasonal change alive with customs brought to the island from the Scottish Highlands and Islands two centuries ago.
For three nights, the Highland Village site and its buildings will become the haunt of Halloween visitors and strange happenings as a torchlight tour takes guests to the black house, log cabin, 1820s centre chimney house, the Malagawatch Church, 1865 centre hallway house, country store and 1900s farmhouse. Each historic building offers a re-enactment from Cape Breton's Gaelic tradition that will thrill and chill with eerie incidents.
The walk will end with storytelling and a céilidh in the Village Tuning Room with traditional fuarag, which is oatmeal, cream and sugar, on-hand to taste. Eating fuarag on Halloween night is an ancient practice and well-known throughout Gaelic Nova Scotia. Light refreshments and oatcakes will also be served.
The conclusion of Oidhche Mhór nam Bòcan will give guests an opportunity to tell their own stories, along with special storytellers, in a friendly Halloween atmosphere. Fiddle music and Gaelic songs will round out the evening.
Admission for adults is ten dollars and five dollars for students. A twenty dollar rate for three or more family members is also available. For a memorable Halloween occasion, make Highland Village your gruesome destination.
The Oidhche Mhór nam Bòcan tour can only accommodate a limited number of people. Please pre-register to ensure your place by calling Highland Village at 902-725-2272 in advance.