Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-01
An Observance Of Customs Of the
Past Centuries.
RELIC OF TEE SEMI BARBARIC PERIOD
Pretty Ceremonies byWhich Timid
Lovers Test Fate.
THE SMALL BOYS PROGRAM

The feast Of Halloween comes this year
on rather an unlucky day for the average
staid member of community when the
small boy delights to indulge in prankish
tricks and mischievous sport. AS the feast
falls on Sunday. a number of the smaller
Inhabitants celebrated it Saturday night,
another portion remembered it last night,
participated in by the Orientals Greeks and
Romans, Druids and old Anglo-Saxon races
Is interesting in the extreme. This is the
time when spirits are supposed to be abroad
and to have power over friends and enc
mics on earth. Traditions of Halloween
are found SO far back in the past as to
be almost totally obscured by the veil of
pagGnism and the cobwebs of mystery.
Writers of antiquity trace the quaint rites
and observances connected with Halloween
back even to semi-barbaric times, so that
the charm tried today may be an adapta-
ton of a rite practiced by the ancients with
fear and trembling, and still another lot
will endeavor to make themselves heartily
disliked tonight. OF course this is decidedly
unpleasant for the older ones, but they may
comfort themselves with the assurance
that this state of affairs will not exist again
for seven years.
When a holiday or celebration falls by
appointment on Sunday, it is generally the
case that the observance, or the active
principle, Of the day, occurs Monday, and
this will be the case with Halloween in
Washington this year There were a num-
Der of parties and any quantity of small
boys on the streets Saturday evening load
ed with flour and miscief for the unwary,
but the bulk of the proceedings will take
place tonight. 1t, therefore, behooves every
householder to gee that his front gate is
chained, that his shutters are tightly closed
aud that he exercises no undue haste In
| answering the front door bell
Necessary PrecautiOn.
Indeed, it is far better to establish sort
of peephole in the door, If possibility which
a good view of the exterior may be gained
without opening the door at all, for the
youthful mind is full of artful lodges and
clever devices for trapping the unsophisti-
Gated and there is no telling what the
ubiquitous small boy will resort to when
halloween.
OF course there will be charms innu-
! merable tried by lovers to test the affection
OF the object of their devotion, while
bobblng' parties, where delicious cider
and toothsome red apples play such
prominent part, will constitute one of the
chief forms OF amusement.
look into the past regarding the various
ceremonies:
The Druids believed in the transmigra-
ton of souls, and, according to their teach
ing, every year, on Halloween, the Lord of
Death, called Sauan, brought together for
final judgment the souls that lad been Iiv-
Ing in the bodies of the lower animals DUR
ing the preceding twelve months. But by
Offering sacrifices, magic charms and pro-
pitiations the living had it in their power
to greatly lesson the punishment of wicked
souls. and it became the custom to make
presents to the priests that these holy faith
tiers might be induced to intercede for the
unfortunates.
Emblem of Immortality.
Among the Romans there was a custom
of lighting fires upon the neighboring hills
Halloween fire being an emblem of i'm
mortality fifty calculated to typify the as
cent of the soul into heaven. In northern
Wales there is a peculiar custom of max
ing great fire called 'Coel Certh,'' from
which each family in the neighborhood
takes brand or coal and starts bon
nfe III an open space near the house.
When the fire has burned down to bed OF
glowing em5ers, every member of the fam
| lily throws i'll Il smooth, white. water-worn
stone having first carefully marked 1t with
| sharp-pointed instrument. Each person
| walks slowly around the fire once, repeat
| ing his prayers; then he returns silently
to the house, unGreSses without speaking
and goes to bed. In the morning, as soon
as the family is Up and dressed the rnenl-
hers go cut and search in the pale ashes
| for the stones. If any one of them is miss
| ing it is believed that the person to whom
| ii belonged will die before the next Al
| SAINTS eve.
brated by the early Irish peasan;ry, and
consisted CT tying Il cord to the middle Of
small stick on one end of which an
apple had been stuck and lighted candle
| crnamenting the other. The end of tie
cord was fastened securely to a beam
overhead and the stick was then whiried
around, though not so rapidly to cxtin-
| guiSh the candle. Every one had to make
a snatch for the apple with his teeth, and
| If by niskap the flame OF he candle in
stead of the fruit was bitten bad luck in
every way ensued.
In the north of England there was a
queer custom of boiling common gray peas
| in the pod and eating them with butter
and salt after Smelling them. A small
bean, unShe!ied, was pushed into one of
! the pea pods, and whoever got this bean
would be the first to be married. Girls
tested the devotion of their lovers by stick
| ing appleseed on each cheek The seed
| that fell first showed that the love of MIN
whose name it bore was faithless.
Queer Custom.
The directions given for another queer
| custom are as follows:
STEAL out all alone to the kiln and
darkling, throw into the pot clew of blue
yarn, retaining end. Wind it into a
| new clew. Toward the latter end some
| thing will hold the thread. Demand 'Wha
hands? (Who holdsO and an answer " ill
be returned from the kiln giving the Chris
| tian and surname of your future Spouse
This rite may be modified by going IN
| stairs and tossing a bale of yarn out of
| the window down into the yard or garden
| beneath, holding one end of the thread
| Slowly wind it in until it seems to be pull
i ed away from you; that is the fatefuI
moment. Look out of the window into the
darkness Uhis rite must be tried ut mid
night. and ask softly. Who holds the
thread?" mysterious voice will whisper
the answer to you, giving you the name of
your future husband OF wife.
An especially quaint and time honored OBJ
servance is that of placing three deep dish
table and pouring clear water IL,
one, Soapy water in the second and leay-
ing the third empty. A person is blind
folded and led to where the dishes stand
The left hand is dipped in, and If by chance
1t finds its way into the clear water the
future spouse will be bachelor or a maid
If the hand dips into the soapy water, ones
fate will be a widower a widow while
| If into the empty dish it is absolutely GER
tain that the remainder of ones life will
be spent in single blessedness. To have
the charm work unfailingly 1t must be re-
peated three times, and every time of
course. the arrangement Of the dishes must
be changed.
Bebbing for Apples.
An amusing rite is diving or bobbing for
apples. This affords much fun and is one
Of the most popular of all the Halloween
observances that exert such a fascinating