Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-12-21
S}gistellaueaas &taaiug.
HALLOWEEN,

From the earliest times men have been try
ing to look ahead. che ancient Egyptians hat
oracles where their 1Ods were supposed to an
swer the questions q men by dreams and otlIe
ways; the ancient Creeks also had famous or
acles. which people came from far-otf lands tt
consult the Romans killed certain fowls o.
animals, and guessed at the future by the looks
of their internal or;ans the Hebrews and thu
Babylonians had thir own peculiar ways Of
finding out what yas to happen. The worlt
has not yet outgrow the longing to look ahead
The Hindoo to-day sets a lamp afoat on his
sacred river, and JUICES of the future by the
length of time it hrns the Chnaman con
suits his ''wise meG" who pretend to under
stand signs the igprant African takes notice
of the cries of birds.nd animals the English
not long ago-trie to learn by help Of what
they call "witches;'' and spiritualists even
now believe the projections of medium"
No serious ATTEMPT to look into the future
people, and the oldsrstoms have become a
frolicsome trying $farms,n . especially on
one night of the yeal It is curious enough
that the night selected is the eve of the festi-
val of All Saints, which was established in the
seventh century by :pope of Rome, in honor
of all the saints whohad no particular day as
signed to them. Tie Romans brought this
festival to England ;there it became All Hal
lows, and the evenin, before it Hallow-even or
Halloween, and in ,he seventeenth century
England gave up tie night to feasting and
frolicking. Nuts AM apples were plenty from
one end of the islandto the other, and "Nut-
crack night" was Il. name given to it.
In England the reels we're for fun, such as
diving for apples tloting in tub of water,
and, of course, gettilg very wet or trying to
snatch in the teeth IN apple off one end of a
stick, which had a lihted candle at the other
end, and, being hun, by string, could be
spun around very fast so that the players often
seized the candle Instead of the fruit or a
playful fortune-telin! by naming nuts, roast
ing them before the ire, and watching their
conduct when heatel-whether they burned
steadily or bounced away, OF burst with noise,
each movement of tlb charmed nut being OF
great Importance.
One nut test was tired by grinding and mix
ing together walnut haZelnut and nutmeg,
making into pills with butter and sugar, and
swallowing them on ging to bed. Wonderful
dreams would follow which was not surpri-
sing).
In Scotland the night was given entirely to
serious and sometimS frightful attempts to
peer into the future By means of charms. One
way of trying fortunewas to throw ball of
blue yarn out of Il widow and wind it into
ball again from the otter end. Near the last
would holdit fast, when the winder
must ask : "Who holes ?" The answer would
name one who was tt have Importance in the
luestioner's future.
Another Scotch custom was 'pulling kale-
stalks" Il young person went blindfolded
into the garden, pulled up the first kale or cab
c{,1f. 1,o{ ind infn
house. The whole future was read from that
stalk the size indicated the stature of the fu-
:ure partner in life the quantity of earth at
he roots showed the amount Of his or her for
;une ; the taste of the pith told what the tenn
,er would be and when the stalk was placed
,ver the door, the first name of the person en-
ering was the fated name.
The island of Lewes, on the coast OF Scot.
and, had some curious customs. Young wo-
nen made ''dumb cake'' and baked it before
he fire with certain ceremonies and in perfect
ilence,' expecting to see wonders ; and the peo-
lie also sacrificed to a sea-gOd called Shong,
hrowinga cup of ale into the sea, and calling
N him to give them plenty Of sea-weed to en-
ich their grounds
In another Scotch trial girl would 60 into
barn, holding winnOwing sieve and stand
lone, with both doors open, to see her fate.
The fashion of trying charms is now nearly
utgrown among English-speaking people. 1t
urvives in America as pleasant frolic for
social gathering. In our own day young
eople 'ssow hempseed, ," ''eat apples before the
lass" ''go down the cellar stairs backward"
old candle and mirror. They also, ''pOp
"launch walnut shells' holding
apers, and try the ''three saucer" test of the
uture.
In some of our cities the boys on Halloween
ollect old tea-kettles, boots, large stones, etc,
nd deposit them in clean vestibules, ringing
he door bell and running away.