Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-30
HaHowe ZEN Rites and Ceremonies

nj OW approaches the witch's hour,
when, hand in hand with jack-o-
l. lantern, she is prepared to scam
per across the curtain for an interlude
OF frolic.
The black cat is with us again, and
the bat and the owl, The cauldron
bubbles, the chestnuts burn upon the
hearth, the Halloween cake gives up its
ghostly prophecy of wealth, matrimony
or life of single blessedness.
In a thousand boarding schools a
thousand girls will creep down the eel
lar stairs holding n mirror and a candlo
as the hour strikes II, looking feartuiiy
for the reflected face which is to tell
them the future, and in more than
thousand apartment houses-where
there are no cellar stairs-young wom-
en- will eat an apple before mirror
and hold candle by whose light they
expect to see that same prophetic Vls-
lon.
If it were not for jack-o-lantern the
celebration of Halloween might be
rather a gloomy affair, for looking into
the future in darkened rooms ana
watching ones fellow chestnut mop
away from one on the hearth are not
always cheering diversions; but jack
o-lantern, the king of the night, Is the
jolliest of presiding geniuses, and, oe-
sides, there Is the Halloween feast, a
most tempting repast, to keep one's
spirits from fagging in the midst OF
the general unloosing of the black arts
d
Halloween festivities are always very
popular with girls, and they are posi-
BILE for everyone, for the celebration OF
the night has one great advantage In
the fact that its mystic rites and cere-
monies can be just as we'll and happily
performed by three or four persons as
by a large number. Naturally the sort
of Halloween entertainment which Is
arranged for a small gathering is not
satisfactory for q large one. 1t has
usually been found that there is more
fun to be had by going through the old
time Halloween rites quite seriously
when the party is small, while for a
large affair this sort of diversion Is
hardly sufficiently general, and instead
there Is dancing, possibly a Halloween
cotillion and supper with quaint and
grotesque favors.
Masquerade parties are also popular
for Halloween, especially in girls
boarding schools, and afford no end of
fun IL the masks are kept on until the
close of the evening, So that the iden-
tity OF the dancers cannot be positively
known.
There are so many Halloween SYM
bols that whether an ordinary dance
a cotilllon or a masquerade Is being ar
ranged there is abundance OF pictur-
esque material upon which one can
draw for decorative materials, favors,
costumes, etc. No Halloween masque
is complete without its witch, its jack
o'-lantern, black cat, owl and bat, all
to be represented in some way or other
by the men or girls taking part.
Brownies are also Halloween charac-
ters. Goblins and fairies of all kinds
are suitable guests for a Halloween
frolic.
Most successful was a Halloween
masquerade given at a girls school
last year. Fairyland was boldly raid
ed for the characters, and every girl
was asked to come as some one of "the
little people," either as a historical
character or as some particular sort of
a sprite. The result was not only most
amusing, but beautiful as we'll, for
there we're elves and pixies, water
sprites, fire fairies, cloud fairies, quaint
gnomes, naughty brownies, sharp
chinned witches, etc. Queen Nab, Obe-
ron, Titania and Puck were all there,
and there was most charming dryad,
who set up her tree in corner-it was
made of paper park-and emerged at