The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1906-10-31
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round Of days that make up the year
the merriest quaintest one Of them
aH is Halloween. Handed down TO
Americans By the mother country. it .
is one ot the many pretty supersutions /
that marked the days OF Mo-rie Eng
land
As every one knows Halloween is /
the cen. .or evening before All Saints .
days. or All Hallows Day, and as this /
falls upon the first day Of 'enber .
Halloween is observed the evening
Of October thirty-hrst.
The poetical Imagination oi a pe7-
pie and their homely virtues are in
no way better exemplifed than by
their supersut,ons and the legends
that are gradually gathered and crys.
tal.zsd into custom old England.
with the misty ian-th Of her days. the
beauty of her land capes. and the dro.l
imagination Of her peasantry. tcemel
, iu the days gone ly. before invading
.oommerc.alism educated her people
with the loyelies, tales Of goblius and
spritss and fairies. Every yawuiug
/ hearth sheltered ia its cayern0us
+ depths numerous household soblins
and Milton himself Tells how the
drudsing sweat To earn his cream
bowl duly set"
Lonely giens and fairy circles in
forest and on heath had their par.
lcular denizcas Of the fairy folk, ani
care was taken not TO incur thei- nl
will. and their help was solicited for
all difficult tasks.
The traditions Of Halloween coming
thus from a people so wal grounded in
/ the maryeolus. might well be .Npe,ted
TO furnish rich lore. On this pLilcular
loy,nlng love tests are cspe. ally ef
, ficaclous, and all those in doubt or
/ distress who were brave at heart put
7. 20 the terrible test the question OF
. -hair fate on All Hallovs eve Some
Of the ceremonies were weird enough
land when tried to ne accompaniment
.af winds ratllug down the windows.
and shl.4aius down The clImucys.
land u.ful gusts of rain beating against
. .Aa laaps. as is frequent at tho autumn
.uu time when the festival arrives
.thoy are enough 70 try the courage
of The brave and frlphten out Of con.
. .aumation the timid.
One Of the most solemn OF these
ceremonies is the making OF the
dumb cake"-this must De done as
the hour of midnight approaches, and
in fasting and utter silence Tradition
hands down the exact recipe for this
wonderful concoction as An cggshell
rlll OF salt. an eggshell full Of malt
and an eggshell full Of barley meal d"
This must be mixed ana kneaded to-
sether into cake, and when the
cake is made it is put upon a pan
over the fire The maid then sits down
I'm silence and when the cake is ready
10 turn her future husband will come
turn it and vanish, not a word must
be spoken, however, and the conse-
luences from making a dumb cake
and breaking the spell of silence and
fasting during making or baking, are
dire indeed
All this is torrible enough, and
quite nerve racking, but it would in
deed be incongruous accompanied by
twentieth century improvements Of
/ electric lights and gas stoves. l. be-
longs to gathering. spu'tering candle
light and the smoky, ashy hearth,
and this natural environment woul CO
much 70 add to the solamnity of the
.pleasurabla fearsomeness Of the test.
Another we'll known super l,ioa
that is connected closely with dal
lowe'en, and is handed down f:am
/ Scotland, is the pulling or the "Fale"
or cabbage This must be done as the
clock strikes the hour of midnight, and
the maid must run alone to the kale
patch and pull a plant The amount
. of soil ciingiug 20 the roots will In.
dicate her luck II the soil clngs
she will Wed wealthy husband, but
II the roots are clean she will be
poor
The sowing of hemp also takes
place on Halloween and it will be
reaped by a future lord and master
| Bobhing for apples is another custom.
the apples 90 be secured with tAc
teeth from a tub filled with water
and then the seeds counted with n for
tune telling rhyme. Walking back
ward down the cellar stairs at mid.
uight holding a lighted taper and a
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