A hair shirt is a coarse garment that is generally made from the hide of an animal and worn so that the “hair” of that animal rides against the skin. The purpose of a hair shirt was not merely intended to be clothing, but was actually meant to create a kind of constant discomfort or irritation (“itchiness”) to the wearer; because wearing a hair shirt was usually viewed as being a type of self-imposed penance for sins and wrongdoings. The most common hair shirts were made from camel or goat skins and according to the gospels St. John the Baptist wore one: “Now John was clothed in camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist.” (Mark 1:6)
Sackcloth is often equated with hair shirts because these also were a type of coarse, shirt-like garment. However, instead of being made from animal skins, sackcloth was simply woven from the hair of camels or goats and very much resembled burlap. It, too, was meant to create discomfort to the wearer. There are numerous references to sackcloth through the Old and New Testament writings, and sackcloth garments were generally worn in times of mourning or as an act of self-imposed penitence.
