Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-10-28
! Cannes for
! lHl@ll0Ween1o


g}c 1sE ~
Halloween is the chief festival in
the calendar OF the year for determin-
ing the fate stored for all in the trea-
sUry vaults Of the future. If it is to
prove a kind benefactor il viii mani
lest its intentions in the tests OF
reVeIers on the 31st Of October. II It
decides to frown unkindly, it gives the
| victim kindly warning by the turn
OF an appleskin or the counting of a
seed. So the hostess OF q Halloween
gathering merrily informs her guests
and the guests laughingly believe.
| To test the veal or woe of each in
| dlvidual forming the gay assembly
| CT the final night Of October a horse
shoe is suspended in the doorway with
the ends upward. Each person is
given an apple and in turn tries to
throw it through the upturned shoe.
| The successful pitchers propitiate the
| goddess OF fortune, while those whose
apples tall lamentably short Of the
mark earn her frowning disregard.
Like the Eliza Of coster Immortality,
/
! herself to blame if she encounters
| the silver thimble hidden somewhere
in the rooms devoted to the noisy
uses of the Halloween party. A ring,
a dime and q thimble are secreted in
| the apartment ana their hiding places
are known only to the hostess. The
party IS freely privileged to search for
| the A--sslng articles IL crowds, in
| cCuric.j or sInaIJ. The discovery OF
the domestic badge of serEItude eX-
emplified in the silver thimDle con-
dennis its finder to a life of single
blessedness, but the girl or man I'M
| fortunate enough to catch a glimpse
OF it's dented surface may learn les
son from the famous British admiral
who turned his blind eye 10 the signal
for retreat flying from the flagship Of
his superior and saw only what he
wanted to see.
If the voyage of discovery results in
the capture Of the silver dime, a for
tune in money is promised the reel
ent in reward. But wealth is secondary
| to happy marriage according to tit
formulas of Halloween, and the ring
is the best prize Of all in the gift Of
fate to bestow, for it insures the we'd
ded happiness Of man and woman.
If the girl or man who enters into
the spirit of Halloween gayety be
deXterous with a fruit knife and curl
J Gus to learn the initial that starts
the name OF the prOspectively for
tunate individual who is to link his
fate with the fate of the seeker into
| the mysterious regulations of the
future, she Or he will select a ripe ap-
pie from the quantity on the table
and begin to pare its skin. The opera
ton is most carefully performed.
Round and round over the surface of
| the apple the deXteTOus fingers must
guide the treacherOus knife blade. The
! skin must be thinly cut and must be
pared in narrow strips. If the apple
IS Invested Of its covering without d
single break in the shining skin the
| ate of the parer will certainly be
nodded by the choicest fairy god
mother presiding over the realms of
the to be. When the apple is pared the
test begins One end of the spiral skin
clasped lightly between the thumb
and first finger and then skillfully
tossed over the shoulder of the holder
to the floor. The imagination of the
thrower or his friends invariably IA
shiOns the pairing into the appropriate
letter of the alpha bet to spell the name
Of the desired one.
| Naming the seeds of an apple is an
other part Of the division Of Halo
Ween. The fruit is carefully CHARTERED
and the tiny brown seeds laid side by
side on a plate. The formula of en-
umeration is as follows:
One l love- two l love, three I love l
say;
Four | love with all my heart, and
five | cast away.
Six be loves, seven she loves, eight
they both agree;
Nine he comes, ten he tarries,
Eleven he courts and twelve he mar
ries.
If there are more seeds in the co,
Of the apple than the dozen explains
III the rhyme the verses are said a
second time until the right number is
reached. Apple seeds are also named
and placed on the eyelids, one on each.
Girls names are used for men and
mems for girls. The seed first fall
Ing off the eyelid is the rejected sutton,
and the remaining one is the desired
lady or gentleman whom fate is SD
posed to develop into the mot i'm
possible she or he
The large cake which sometimes
adorns the center of the table at a
Halloween gathering must carry on
rs frosted surface as many lighted
candles as there are guests in the as
emily. Each candle is a different
dior. so that each guest, when select
ing a piece Of the cake, selects also her
ayorite shade. The cOlOrs are all
ymbols Of some particular fate, in
eference to a future life that is told
y the hostess in a rhymed couplet
as each piece of cake is chosen by man
c. girl. Then the candle is held at