Old Halloween Traditions

Today we celebrate Halloween or Samhain (Samhain comes from Gaelic meaning Summer's End) Back in the time of the Celts, the New Year began on November 1st.  On the eve of the New Year (October 31st) it was believed that the physical world and the spirit world were closest allowing the spirits of the dead to roam the earth.  Because the veil between the worlds was thin, it was a good night  for divination.  Predicting the future was a way to get through the cold winter months and have hope for the spring.  One thing that many people (particularly young women) tried to predict was if, when or who they would marry. 
You can try some of these divination tools tonight if you're looking for information on your future love life:

Bobbing For Apples
Yes, this seemingly innocent game whereupon you nearly drown yourself to bite into and pull out an apple from a bucket of water was originally a way to predict the future.  A bushel of apples was dumped into a large tub of water and "players" would attempt to pull an apple out with their teeth.  The first to do this would be the first to marry out of the group.  If the apple was crisp and crunchy it was predicted to be a happy marriage and if it was rotten it would be a marriage of misery.

Bite The Apple
In Bite the Apple, a coin is inserted into the apple and the apple then hung from a string.  Players held their hands behind their backs and attempted to bite the apple.  The first to do so won the apple, the coin and the prediction of a prosperous life.  I actually remember playing this game as a child.  I'm pretty sure I remember cheating and using my hands.

Peel the Apple
This one isn't really a game.  Girls would peel an apple then throw the peel over their shoulder onto the floor or into a tub of water.  The letter formed by the apple peel was the first initial of the man they would marry.  I tried this once in my youth, but the dog always stole the peel before I could see the initial. I was once told by someone that if you recite the ABC's while twisting the stem on an apple, the letter you're on when the stem comes loose is the initial of the man you'll marry. 


Apple Paring Game

This one is slightly creepy.  A girl sits in a dark room in front of a mirror with only a candle as light and peels an apple while staring into a mirror. If she's to marry, the face of her future husband will appear.  But if she's destined to die before marriage, a skull will appear. Many teens play the "Bloody Mary" game where it's said that if you look into a mirror in a dark room and say Bloody Mary 3 times her ghost will appear in the mirror.  In the Maryland area,  there was the legend of Black Aggie.  If you said the name Black Aggie in the mirror three times in the dark at midnight, she was said to appear behind you and either stab you, cause you to lose your mind or transport you to hell – or all three at the same time.  I imagine that these games have some basis in the original game played with apples during Victorian times.

Dumb Supper
The celebration of Samhain is also a time to honor passed loved ones.  One interesting way to do this is by
hosting a Dumb Supper.  (Dumb in this sense refers to being silent.)    There are several different ways to host one, but here are the basics.  The menu should consist of foods that remind you of those who have passed (their favorite foods or a dish they enjoyed making, etc) or feature foods like apples, fall squash, fall greens, etc.  A place setting is put out at the head of the table for the departed.  Typically, the food is served backwards- that is you start with dessert, then entree, then appetizer.  The place settings are also supposed to be backwards.  Food is served to all the place settings, including ones set for ancestors.  The entire meal is silent.  No talking.  No communicating of any kind.  The only noise is music that is played in the memory of those who have passed.  After the dinner, guests share memories and stories about those who have passed on.  Guests are encouraged to bring photos of those who have departed.  Also, each guest is encouraged to stop at the chair at the head of the table before being seated.  In some suppers, when guests are finished dining, they each one by one take a note they've written for their loved one to the head of the table where they read the note silently then burn it.  They're really are many ways in which you can conduct a Dumb Supper- as long as you conduct it in silence. 

Happy Halloween!

Check out these other blog posts about Halloween and Ghosts
History of Halloween
Stories from my Great-Great-Grandmother
Haunted Haven Beach
Old House Woods

History of Halloween...

Halloween dates back to the time of the ancient Celts who celebrated their new year on November 1.  The new year signified the coming of the darker colder months of winter- a time when many fell ill and died.  The Celts believed that on the eve of their New Year (October 31), the physical world and the supernatural world were closest and allowed the spirits of the dead to roam the earth.  These ghosts were said to destroy crops and cause trouble, but it was also believed that their presence helped the Druids (Celtic priests) make predictions for the coming year. These predictions offered comfort during the hard winters, and so to commemorate the event, large bonfires were built.  The Celts often wore costumes, mainly animals skins and heads.  At the end of the celebration, the Celts would carry embers from the bonfire in a hallowed out turnip or rutabaga to their homes to light their hearth.  This "holiday" celebrated on October 31st is called Samhain (pronounced sow-in and derived from Old Irish Samuin meaning summer's end).

Through the centuries, Roman festivals were incorporated into the Celtic traditions.  One in particular, a day to honor Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees, is possibly the origin of the tradition of bobbing for apples.  Eventually, the Catholic church created All Saint's Day on November 1st and then All Soul's Day on November 2nd in an attempt to replace the Celtic holiday with one sanctioned by the church. On All Soul's Day, people celebrated by having big bonfires, parades and dressing in costume.  The name Halloween is derived from Middle English  Alholowmesse which means All Saint's Day.  The day before was termed All-hallows Eve and eventually became Halloween.

The celebration of Halloween was limited in colonial New England because of the strict views of the Puritans.  Halloween was most popular in Maryland and the southern colonies where different European ethnic groups and Native Americans meshed their beliefs.  Public events were held to celebrate the harvest and people gathered to to share stories of the dead, tell each others' fortunes and dance and sing.  When the millions of immigrants fleeing the potato famine of Ireland began hitting the shores, the celebration of Halloween began to become more popular.  People dressed in costume and went door to door begging for food or money which later became "trick-or-treating". 

In the late 1800's, people were encouraged to do away with the scarier aspect of the celebrations.  It was then that the holiday lost most of its religious and superstitious meaning.  In the 1900's, celebration moved more towards community events such as parades and parties.  By the mid 1900's, the tradition of trick-or-treating was revived as it was an inexpensive way for the community to share in the holiday (and perhaps prevent any mischief).  During this time, Halloween became more of a young person's holiday.

And where do Jack o' lanterns fit in?  There's an old Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil.   Because of this he was not allowed into heaven, nor would the devil allow him into hell.  So Jack's soul was forced to wander the earth with only an ember in a hallowed out turnip to light his way.  So people began making hallowed out turnips lit with a candle to keep Jack and other evil spirits away.  Because of their size and abundance, Americans began using pumpkins. There is also a correlation between the Celts' use of the turnip to carry embers from the sacred bonfire to their homes.

So go out, have a bonfire, carve a pumpkin, remember your dreams and eat a lot of candy.