The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-11-05
SUPERSTITIONS CENTURIES
OLD RECALLED BY OCT. 81
America Revels in Carnival of
HallOwe'en-Once Was
Holiday of Death

weekend as America reveled in the
carnival of Halloween, once the holt
day of death.
Pagan and Christian combined
through the ages to lay at the feet
of the modern world this merrymak-
ing and pranks. A custom of bar
barrie origin, 1900 years have passed
since first the ghosts of fancy danced
and druid bonfres in Celtic England.
Age has lightened and spread its OBJ
servance.
Adaptions have been myriad. That
America has its share is shown in
some of the more than so reference
books on Halloween in the library
of Congress. Among these are:
Massachusetts, girl wanting
to know who will be her husband
must steal cabbage at midnight. If
some man comes along and helps her
steal it, he's the one. Otherwise, the
cabbage is put over the door and she
will wed the first man upon whose
head it falls.
Pennsylvania-to learn of the flu
ture on Halloween, walk out the front
door backward, pick up some dust or
grass, wrap it in paper and put it
under the pillow The dreams will
tell.
New Hampshire-Into three dishes
put earth, water and a ring. Shuttle
them around and the one receiving
the earth will die; water means never
marry and the ring, an immediate
march to the altar.
Maryland-put an egg to roast and
open the windows and doors. The
aroma will draw the right bride
groom to turn it.
An old southern custom was to put
metallic tokens in bowl of spirituous
LIQUID and set the vessel afire. The
merrymakers grabbed and each
charm had some particular meaning
"a throwback at the druid's fire.
Hundreds of customs that are fol-
lowed however, were born of the dru-
die day when witches gathered before
Shaman, Lord of Death, who decreed
into what animal forms should go
the dead of the past year. Early
Roman tales date this ceremony at
around 300 B. C.
The ceremony, for centuries marked
by human sacrifice, was held at the
end of the pagan year when the har-
vest was in, and was new years Gel
ebration. Great bonfres were lighted
and into some were thrust humans.
Those who clutched tokens from the
flames won a priceless charm.
Only on this one night could the
evil spirits go abroad. In the cat
symbol of today rests the cat of the
druids, sacred animal that kept the
most vile of the spectres at bay.
From the Irish came the major
share of Halloween customs. There
it began also as a ceremony of death
known as the vigil of Shaman, who
called his wicked souls into assembly
and went abroad to plumber the
countryside.
There were good and bad fairies,
the latter much in the majority. But
the good elfs covered lots of ground.
Sagas of the early Irish are filled with
their tales. The Irish also developed
sooth-saying as a Halloween adjunct
and began parties and pranks.
With the advent of the Romans and
Christianity, some of the character
istics of the Roman festival of Po-
mona-Harvest end, filtered into the
observance. From Pomona came by
indirect methods diving for apples
and roasting nuts.
In the fourth century after Christ,
the church decided upon an all saints
day in which to honor cleric martyrs.
Pope Gregory w in 835 moved the
date to November l and made obser-
vance compulsory. All Hallows Eve
gave its name to Halloween hence
forth.
A strange mixture followed. From
the Norsemen and Teuton arrived
handful of customs. Brittany, peo-
pied by Celts driven from England by
early Saxon raiders, supplied few.
From England hode the witches on
broomsticks somewhere around 500.
Time modified the more religious
aspects and merrymaking increased.
Except in southern Europe, where it
was and remains a time for solemn
religious observance and paying res
pect to the dead.
Early settlers in America gave
scant attention to Halloween, but
their descendants in the last two
years have turned to its full blast and
made it a day of pranks.
Sang Run School Attendance