ALL-HALLOW-EVE.
RADIANT and beautiful October, whose changing color heralds the
approach of winter, gives us our first autumn holiday, if Halloween can
now be called a holiday.
Before the Christian era, in the days of the ancient Celts and their
priests, the Druids, the eve of the first of November was the time for
one of the three principal festivals of the year. The first of May was
celebrated for the sowing; the solstice on the twenty-first of June for
the ripening, and the eve of the first of November for the harvesting.
At each of these festivals great fires were built on the hill-tops
in honor of the sun, which the people worshipped. When Christianity
took the place of the heathen religion, the Church, instead of
forbidding the celebration of these days, gave them different meanings,
and in this way the ancient harvest-festival of the Celts became
All-Hallow-Eve, or the eve of All-Saints-Day, the first day of November
having been dedicated to all of the saints.
[Illustration: Kaling.]
For a long while most of the old customs of these holidays were
retained; then, although new ceremonies were gradually introduced,
Hallow-Eve remained the night of the year for wild, mysterious, and
superstitious rites. Fairies and all supernatural beings were believed
to be abroad at this time, and to exercise more than their usual power
over earthly mortals. Because the fairy folk were believed to be so
near us on Halloween, it was considered the best evening of the
season for the practice of magic, and the customs observed on this
night became mostly those of divination, by the aid of which it was
thought the future might be read.
Before proceeding further with this subject we desire our readers
to appreciate and fully understand that we are far from wishing to
inculcate any superstitious belief in the power of charms to forecast
future events; that we regard all fortune-telling as nonsense, pure and
simple, and only insert it here, as we would any other game, for the
sake of the amusement it affords. Although, to make our descriptions
more intelligible, we announce the results of charms as facts, we would
not have it understood that they are to be taken as such.
Nowadays, so practical has the world become, no fairy, witch, or geni
could we conjure up, were we to practice all the charms and spells
ever known to soothsayer or seer. Our busy, common-sense age allows
no fairies to interfere with its concerns, and these creatures, who
existed only in the belief of the people, must needs vanish, to return
no more, when that belief is gone.
A few fortune-telling games are all that now remain of the weird
ceremonies that once constituted the rites of Halloween, and the
spirit of this old heathen holiday is once more changed, for it is now
considered only an occasion for fun and frolic.
It was the custom for quite a number of years of some friends of the
writer to give a Halloween party on each recurring Halloween; and
merrier, jollier parties than those were, it would not be easy to
devise. The home which opened wide its hospitable doors to the favored
few on this night is a country-house, large and spacious; there is a
basement under the whole lower floor, which is divided into kitchen,
laundry, and various store-rooms intersected with passages, and this
basement, deserted by the servants, was given up to the use of the
Halloween revellers. The rooms and passage-ways were decorated with
and lighted by Chinese lanterns, which produced a subdued glow in their
immediate vicinity, but left mysterious shadows in nooks and corners.
Putting aside conventionality and dignity as we laid aside our wraps,
ready for any fun or mischief that might be on hand, we proceeded
down-stairs and into the kitchen, where a large pot of candy was found
bubbling over the fire. This candy, poured into plates half-full of
nuts, was eaten at intervals during the evening, and served to keep
up the spirits of those who were inclined to be cast down by the
less pleasing of Fortune’s decrees. With plenty of room and no fear
of breaking or destroying anything, which is apt to put a check upon
frolics in the parlor, the company could give full vent to their high
spirits. Now in this room, now in that, again flitting through the dim
passages and around dark corners, each person seemed to be everywhere
at once, and although the party was limited to about twenty-five, there
appeared to be at least twice that number present. Bursts of merry
laughter and little screams of pretended terror would announce, now
and then, that some charm was being gone through with and someone’s
fortune being told. All sorts of games were played, and the variety of
our entertainment made the evening pass very quickly. All too soon the
hands of the kitchen clock warned the guests that to reach home at a
seasonable hour they must put an end to their Halloween festivities. A
number of the following methods of telling fortunes were tried at these
parties, one might say with success, for we certainly succeeded in
accomplishing our main object, which was, to have a good time. By
=Melted Lead=
we used to ascertain what the occupation of one’s future husband would
be. The fortune is told in this way: Each girl, in turn, holds a
door-key in one hand, while with the other hand she pours the melted
lead, from an iron spoon or ladle, through the handle of the key into a
pan of cold water.
[Illustration]
In the fanciful shapes the lead assumes can be traced resemblances to
all sorts of things. Sometimes it is a sword or gun, which indicates
that a soldier will win the fair prize; again, traces of a ship may
be seen: then the favored one is to be a sailor; a plough suggests a
farmer; a book, a professor, or perhaps a minister; and when the lead
forms only drops, it seems to mean that the gentle inquirer will not
marry, or if she does, her husband will be of no profession.
=Nutshell Boats=
foretell in a general way what their owner’s future life will be.
They should be prepared beforehand in this manner: Split an English
walnut directly in half, remove the kernel, and clear away any of the
partitions which may remain in the shell; then place a short piece of
heavy cotton string in the shell and pour around it melted beeswax.
Mould the wax into a cone shape around the string, as shown in Fig.
129, allowing the end to come out at the top. Fig. 130 shows what it is
like when finished.
[Illustration: _Fig. 129_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 130_]
The tapers first being lighted, several of these little craft are
launched at the same time, by their respective owners, upon the sea of
life, or, in other words, in a tub of water.
When a light burns steadily until the wax is all melted, and the frail
bark safely rides the waves (which are occasioned by stirring the water
with a stick, or shaking the tub from side to side), a happy life is
predicted, and a long one.
When two boats come in contact, it means that their owners will meet
and have mutual interests some time during their lives.
If one boat crosses another’s path, it denotes that their owners will
do the same.
If two boats come together and continue to sail about side by side,
their owners will in some way pass much of their lives together.
When a boat clings closely to the sides of the tub, refusing to sail
out into the centre, it shows that its owner will be a stay-at-home.
Touching often at the side of the tub is indicative of short voyages;
and extended travel is predicted when a boat seldom touches the tub.
It depends a good deal upon the fancy and imagination of those testing
their fate how the antics of the little fleet are interpreted, and the
meanings given to the movements of the boats create no end of fun.
“=Three Luggies.=”[C]
“In order, on the clean hearth-stane,
The luggies three are ranged,
And ev’ry time great care is ta’en
To see them duly changed.”
The three bowls, or dishes, one containing clear water, one milky, and
the other nothing at all, are placed in a row on the hearth-stone or
table, and the girl wishing to try her fortune is blindfolded and led
up to where the dishes stand. She is then told to put her left hand
into one of the bowls. If she dips her fingers in the clear water,
she will marry a bachelor; if in the milky water, a widower; and if
into the empty bowl, it is a sure sign that she will live in single
blessedness all her days.
This ceremony must be gone through with three times, and the hand be
dipped twice in the same bowl, in order to make the prediction of any
value.
=Roasting Nuts=
is the charm by which the friendship of anyone may be tested. The
applicant for knowledge on this point names two nuts, one for her
friend and the other for herself, and then places them side by
side upon the grate, or a shovel held over the fire. If they burn
quietly, it is prophetic of a long and happy friendship kept up by
both parties; but if in roasting they burst with a loud report and
fly apart, they are decidedly uncongenial, and should not seek much
intercourse. The movements of the nuts while heating are closely
watched, for the tempers of the persons for whom they are named is said
to be thus revealed.
=Kaling=
is a mode of telling one’s fortune not as well known, perhaps, as
the foregoing methods. The ceremony is carried out in the following
manner: Two girls are blindfolded and started off on the path to the
kitchen-garden and cabbage-patch, where each pulls up the first stalk
she finds. They then return at once to the house, where the bandages
are removed and the mysterious stalks examined.
According to the state of the stalk, so will be the gatherer’s fate. If
it is straight or crooked, large or small, so will the future husband
be; if it has a pleasant taste, or the reverse, the character of the
person will correspond, and the quantity of earth clinging to the roots
denotes whether their riches will be little or great.
When there are no cabbages at hand, almost any other garden vegetable
will answer; and if there be objections to going out-of-doors,
vegetables of various kinds, such as turnips, beets, and parsnips, may
be placed on a table, and the persons blindfolded can choose from them.
No doubt the charm will work as well with the plants upon a table as
when they are pulled from a kitchen-garden.
=The Magic Mirror,=
which is simply a hand-glass on ordinary occasions, and gains its
mysterious power only on Halloween, divulges, under certain conditions,
the delightful secret of how many bits of good-fortune will fall to
one’s share during the ensuing year. The conditions are that the
person wishing to know how bright her prospects are shall go to an open
window or door from which the moon is visible, and, standing with her
face in-doors, hold her mirror so that the moon will be reflected in
it. The number of moons she sees there betokens the number of times
something pleasant will happen to her before the advent of another
Halloween.
=Three Tin Cups=
partially filled with water are balanced on the small ends of three
funnels, which are placed in a row on the floor, about two feet apart.
Over these cups, one after another, each member of the party must
leap in turn. Whoever succeeds in leaping over all three cups without
knocking any of them off will make an early marriage. The person who
knocks over one will marry when not so young. The marriage of the one
who tips over two cups will be deferred until late in life, and she who
leaps none of them safely will not be married at all.
To guard against wet feet very little water should be put in the
cups—only enough to make the players careful about tipping them over.
=The Ring Cake=
is always an object of interest at Halloween parties. The cake itself
is made like the ordinary kind, but before it is baked a plain gold
ring is hidden in the dough, not to be taken out until the cake is cut
and it falls to the share of the fortunate person in whose slice it
happens to be found. The ring is sometimes put in a flour-cake, which
is simply flour packed into a cake-mould so firmly that when it is
turned out it retains the shape of the mould and can be sliced off with
a knife. Each member of the party cuts her or his own section of flour,
and whoever secures the ring, it is confidently stated, will be the
first of the group to marry.
Some Halloween games apparently have no particular meaning attached to
them, but seem to be devised for the purpose of creating as much fun as
possible.
=Bobbing for Apples=
is, perhaps, familiar to most of our readers, but we give a description
of it here for the benefit of the few who may not know the game so well.
In a large tub full of fresh, cold water several apples are placed, and
it is the object of the participators to take them out of the water
with their teeth.
As the rosy-cheeked, tempting fruit bobs about within easy reach, it
looks simple enough to secure a prize; but the apples are so round and
slippery, so aggravatingly illusive, that, unless you thrust your head
and neck beneath the cold water, regardless of consequences, and drive
an apple to the bottom, the feat cannot be accomplished. The girls can
seldom be induced to try their luck in this game, but usually content
themselves with looking on, immensely enjoying the frantic endeavors of
the boys to succeed at any cost.
=The Apple and Candle Game=
is another favorite sport for Halloween, and is played as follows:
From the ceiling is suspended a stout cord, the lower end of which is
securely tied to the centre of a stick about a foot and a half long.
On one end of the stick is fastened an apple, on the other a lighted
candle. The string is set in motion, swinging back and forth like a
pendulum, and the contestants for the prize stand ready, each in turn,
to make a grab for the apple, which must be caught in the teeth before
it can be won. Frequently the candle is caught instead of the apple,
which mishap sends the spectators off into shouts of merriment; but
although funny, it is at the same time a little dangerous to catch a
lighted candle in one’s teeth, and we would suggest that a bag made of
cheese-cloth, or like thin material, be filled with flour and tied to
the stick in place of the candle. When the person essaying to snatch
the fruit is struck in the face with the bag, and is covered with flour
instead of the glory anticipated, as much mirth will result as can
possibly arise when the old and dangerous practice of using a candle is
clung to.
=The Ghostly Fire=
should not be lit unless all of the party have strong nerves, for the
light it produces is rather unearthly, and may affect some members
unpleasantly. We, at our Halloween parties, never omitted this rite,
however, its very weirdness proving its strongest attraction. Salt and
alcohol were put in a dish, with a few raisins, and set on fire. As
soon as the flame leaped up we clasped hands and gayly danced around
the table, upon which burned our mystic fire. The laughing eyes and
lips looked in strange contrast to the pale faces of their owners, from
which the greenish light had taken every vestige of color. The dance
was not prolonged, for it was our duty, before the fire was spent, to
snatch from the flames the raisins we had put in the dish. This can be
done, if one is careful, without as much as scorching the fingers, and
I never knew of anyone burning themselves while making the attempt.
=Trying for a Raisin=
is a very laughable performance. The raisin, which must be a good-sized
one, is strung on and pushed exactly to the middle of a soft cotton
string about one yard long. Two aspirants for the prize then take each
an end of the string, which they put in their mouths and commence to
chew, taking it up as fast as they can—the raisin falling to the share
of the person who succeeds in reaching it first.
=A Lighted Candle=
is again used in a game which is exceedingly amusing. The candle is
placed upon a table in full view of everyone; then one of the players
is blindfolded, turned around several times, and set free to seek for
the candle and blow out the light, if possible.
To see girls, with their hands clasped behind them, going crazily
about the room, blowing at anything and everything, is very ludicrous.
They seldom find the candle, and even when the table is reached it is
difficult to blow in such a direction as to extinguish the flame.
=The Fairy’s Gifts=
are suggested as a new and original ending of a Halloween frolic.
The Fairy Godmother, in Mother Hubbard costume, carries a large basket
under her cloak or shawl. She enters the room and announces that she
has a certain number of gifts which she proposes to distribute among
the company. After cautioning all that the contents must be kept
secret, she passes to each person a folded paper. On one is written
“_Wealth_,” on another “_Honor_,” on the third “_Fame_,” etc., and some
of the papers are left blank.
Those whose papers contain the names of gifts are then blindfolded,
preparatory to receiving their behests.
The first is led up and made to kneel before the Fairy Godmother, to
whom she repeats these words:
Most gracious Fairy, the gift you give
I shall treasure and keep as long as I live.
Then the paper containing the name of the gift is handed the Fairy, who
reads it aloud very solemnly: “_Wealth_”—and, turning to her basket,
she takes from it a new dust-pan, to which is attached a ribbon-loop,
at the same time reciting these lines:
Your choice is bad when you intrust
Your happiness where moth and rust,
In time, turn all your wealth to dust.
From a paper-bag the Fairy pours a small amount of dust over the
kneeling girl, and hangs the dust-pan around her neck.
The next person who has drawn a prize is then brought forward and
the performance is repeated, only altering the Fairy’s speech. For
“_Honor_,” she will say:
Your honor crowds shall loud declare,
But in your heart, no crowd is there,
You’ll find, like _Falstaff_, “honor’s air.”
The present here is a pair of bellows, from which the Fairy blows a
blast on the bowed head before her as she utters the word _air_. The
bellows, like the dust-pan, are hung by a ribbon around the recipient’s
neck.
For “_Fame_,” the Fairy gives a wreath of roses, and says, as she
adjusts the crown:
When Fame doth weave a laurel-wreath,
He weaves this subtle charm beneath;
“For every evil thought that’s born
The laurel grows a prickly thorn;
But where pure thought and love reposes,
The laurel-wreath’s a wreath of roses.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Buckeye Portière.]
FOOTNOTE:
[C] Dishes.