ISHPEMING — Halloween is this weekend, and we’ve been telling you about all the fun holiday themed activities going on throughout the U.P., but this spooky holiday actually has ancient roots.

Halloween is actually the modern day version of the Gaelic Samhain (pronounced SA-win). It was celebrated around half way between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.

“They would slaughter the weaker animals and dry the meat and dry the bones and have ‘bone-fires,’ or bon-fires, which is where the bon-fire came from. They would hollow out turnips in the effigy of someone who had died and put a candle in it, which is where the jack-o-lantern tradition comes from. And because the spirits were out and rampant and flying all over the place, they would dress in costume and disguise to disguise their identity from the spirits,” said Aodh Ógótuama, one of the members of Four Shillings Short.

Four Shillings Short is a Gaelic Band that has been playing all over the country for the past 18 years. Their performances often center around the nearest Gaelic celebration, like Samhain. If you missed them Wednesday at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, you can catch them again at the Peter White Public Library at 7:00 P.M. tomorrow.