The Ely miner., 1930-10-17

tuguese, Austrian, Italian and Slavic
states as we'll as Nordic. The original
celebrations in this country were
mainly English in origin, even though
in Colonial times the day was not
much celebrated. A few of the Eng
lish in the colonies kept up the moth
er country tradition but for the most
part it was let pass. This was due
largely to the wide settlements, the
hardship of communal association and
the necessity for the colonists to be
busy at this time of the year laying
in the harvest and provisions for win
ter. But despite this one could find
in full force. There followed then
such games as apple ducking and ap-
pie swapping as well as apple peeling
and throwing the peel over the left
shoulder, comb and mirror tests and
ballads topped off by a round of ghost
stories.
For all the contribution of other
countries, it seems that Ireland leads
all the rest in Halloween lore, lore of
the kind that grips the imagination
and carries one, for the time being at
least, back into the centuries. Ireland
has furnished the world with one ver-
sion of the Jack-o'lantern story. A
stingy old man, so the story runs, by
the name of Jack was shut out of
heaven because of his meanness and,
because of propensity for playing
jokes on the devil, out of his abode
also. AS a result he walks the earth
until judgment day carrying a lighted
lantern.
There are no Halloween bonfires in
Ireland. Apples and nuts, Pomona's
care, come in for goodly share of
Irish festal fun at this season of the
year. A ring and a nut baked in a
of the ring, an early marriage for the
finder. In the case of the nut, mar
riage to widow or widower. A with
cred kernel means no marriage at all.
Roscommon, Ireland, has a different
version of this practice. A coin, a
sloe and piece of wood are baked in
a cake. He who draws the sloe will
live the longest. The coin will bring
to its finder wealth; and death, before
the year is out, will attend on the one
who is so unfortunate as to get the
piece of wood.
A party of twelve may learn their
future if one will get from a church
yard a clod of earth and set twelve
candles in it, naming them as he
lights them. The future of each is
governed by the light the candle emits,
wavering, steady, sputtering or going
out.
Fairies come in for especial atten-
tion in Ireland. Good and bad they
hold the Irish heart in their power,
and, so the story runs, st. Patrick was
not immune to their wiles. One lulled
him to sleep before Samhain. These
spirits dwell in grassy mounds and in
streams and on the eve of All Saints
Day troop forth to work their will on
countryside. To this day one may
hear authentic accounts of the APP
pearance of fairies in Ireland and the
necessity of doing certain things in
order to hold their good will.
Scottish Halloween traditions seem
to be more clearly defined and more
purposeful than the Irish ones. There
is lightness in Irish character that
is not to be found in the Scottish,
and for this reason the Scots take
more seriously the traditions in regard
to witches, evil spirits and fairies. all
of whom they believe to be abroad on
Halloween.
The Scotch invented the idea of
"Samhainach," goblin who comes out
just at 'Samhain." 1t is he who In Ire
land steals children. The fairies pass
at crossroads. and in the Highlands
whoever took three-legged stool to
where three crossroads met. and set
upon it at midnight, would hear the
names of those who would die in a
year. He might bring with him arti-
cles of dress, and as each name was
pronounced throw one garment to the
fairies. They would be so pleased by
this gift that they would repeal the
sentence Of death.
t9. 1880. Western Newspaper Union,