Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1897-10-30
HALLOWEEN.


dear to the hearts of mischief. making
small boys and honored by romantic
youths and maidens with superstitious
rites. Many of the strange ceremonies
peculiar to this holiday date from pa
gan times and are relics of semi bar
barism. A writer op the New York
Tribune has collected some curious
facts relating to Halo we'een, which
4re given in an article of which the fol-
lowing is an abstrac
Writers of antiquity trace the festival
even into the shades of the dusky Ori-
eot. Greeks, r ,maps and Druids OBJ.
served Halloween with peculiar solem.
nily and All Hallows's Day (November
~ is probably from the Ang lo-Saxon
word 'haligan," ;" meaning holy.
TIE Druids believed in the transmi.
grafton of souls, and, according to their
teaching, every year on Halloween the
Lord of Death, called Saman, brought
together for final judgment the souls
that had been living in the bodies of
the lower animals during the proceed.
ing u months. But by offering sacrifices,
magic charms and propitiations
he living had it in their power
to greatly lessen the punishment of
wicked souls, and it became the GUS
Gom to make presents to the priests
hat these holy fathers might be induc-
ID 10 interceds for the unfortuuates.
Fatted calves aud black sheep were the
customary sacrifices, and long before
Jhe institution of All Souls Day the
.ncient Irish used to kneel to Saman in
front of lighted candles, beseechipg him
for the souls of their departed relatives.
Among the Romans there was GUS
ON of lighting fires upon the neighbor
ing hills on Halloween, fire being an
-mblem of Immortality, fely calculated
to typify the ascent of the soul into
heaven Some thought the brilliancy
If the flames lighted the redeemed
souls of purgatory and showed them
the glory of the upward path to the
shining "White Cities of Saints" In
northern Wales there is pc uliar GUS
tom of making great fire called Goal
Certh,n from which each family in The
ueighborhood takes brand or coal
and starts q bonfire in an open space
near the house. When the bonfire has
burned down to a bed of glowing en-
bers every member of the family
throws in smooth, white, water worn
stone, having first carefully marked it
with sharp pointed instrument.
Each person walks slowly around
the fire once, repeating the prayers
then be returns silently to the house
undresses without speaking, and goes
bed. In the morning, as soon as the
family is up and dressed the members
90 out and search in the pale ashes for
the stones. If anyone of them Is mics
ing it is believed that the person to
whom it belonged will die before the
uext All Saints Eve.
Sometimes the ancient, uncouth
Saxons baked large cake made OF
wheat, oat or rye -four, wet with water
upon which the full, silvery light OF
the October moon had fallen and left a
mystic tint and property. A pinch oil
coarse salt and few drops of apple
Juice were dropped into the flour as it
was being made into dough, and the
cike was set to bake in rude oven
covered with glowing Goals. Before it
was perfectly baked it was cut into
small triangular bits and distributed in
utter silence to each member of the
household, who ate it solemnly, with.
out saying a word, and then went TO
oed.
A funny and rather risky rite was
celebrated by the early Irish peasan
try, and consisted of tying cord to
the middle of small stick on one end
of which an apple had been stuck
| and lighted candle ornament
ing the other. The end of the
| cord WAS fastened securely to
beam overhead and the stick was
then whi. led around, though not so
rapidly as to extinguish the candle.
| Every one bad to make snatch Tor
the apple with his teeth, and if by mis-.
hap the flame of the candle instead Of
the fruit was bitten bad luck in every
way ensued.
Nuts and apples appear to be the fa'
vorite medium for celebrating Hallow
cen, though the lighted caudle also
plays a conspicuous part. While the
apple seems to have no especial signi6
canoe in regard TO he festival, in re-
ality it has, for the pagan Saxons dedi-
Gated the day after Halloween to a
goddess who presided over seeds and
fruits, and ancient writer's trace this
custom far back to the East, where it
was called LA Macs Abhal," or the
"day of the apple fruit. " aud one OF the
fayorite drinks for Halloween is com
posed of roasted apples, ale and sugar
And so the apples, used for purposes Of
divination and sport, are thoroughly
appropriate to the season. November
All Souls Day-was observed by
the Druids as the great autumn festival
of the sun, and the night preceding
was filled with strange and mystic
rites, half.propitiary and wholly super
stitious.
You run no risk. All druggists gusrantet
Groves Tssteless Chill Tonic to do ali ths
the manufacturers claim for 1t.
| Warranted no cure, no pay. theie ~,