Old Halloween Traditions

Today we celebrate Halloween or Samhain (a Gaelic term meaning Summer's End). During the time of the Celts, the New Year started on November 1st. On the eve of the New Year (October 31st), it was believed that the boundary between the physical world and the spirit world was at its thinnest, allowing spirits of the dead to wander the earth. Because the veil between the worlds was thin, it was an ideal night for divination. Predicting the future provided a way to endure the cold winter months and maintain hope for the spring. Many people, especially young women, attempted to foresee if, when, or whom they would marry.

You can try some of these divination tools tonight if you're looking for information on your future love life:

Bobbing For Apples

Yes, this seemingly innocent game whereupon you nearly drown yourself to bite into and pull out an apple from a bucket of water was originally a way to predict the future.  A bushel of apples was dumped into a large tub of water and "players" would attempt to pull an apple out with their teeth.  The first to do this would be the first to marry out of the group.  If the apple was crisp and crunchy it was predicted to be a happy marriage and if it was rotten it would be a marriage of misery.

Bite The Apple

In Bite the Apple, a coin is inserted into the apple and the apple then hung from a string.  Players

held their hands behind their backs and attempted to bite the apple.  The first to do so won the apple, the coin and the prediction of a prosperous life.  I actually remember playing this game as a child.  I'm pretty sure I remember cheating and using my hands.

Peel the Apple

This one isn't really a game.  Girls would peel an apple then throw the peel over their shoulder onto the floor or into a tub of water.  The letter formed by the apple peel was the first initial of the man they would marry.  I tried this once in my youth, but the dog always stole the peel before I could see the initial. I was once told by someone that if you recite the ABC's while twisting the stem on an apple, the letter you're on when the stem comes loose is the initial of the man you'll marry (I also remember cheating at this to get the initial I wanted)

Apple Paring Game

This one is slightly creepy.  A girl sits in a dark room in front of a mirror with only a candle as light

and peels an apple while staring into a mirror. If she's to marry, the face of her future husband will appear.  But if she's destined to die before marriage, a skull will appear. Many teens play the "Bloody Mary" game where it's said that if you look into a mirror in a dark room and say Bloody Mary 3 times her ghost will appear in the mirror.  In the Maryland area,  there was the legend of Black Aggie.  If you said the name Black Aggie in the mirror three times in the dark at midnight, she was said to appear behind you and either stab you, cause you to lose your mind or transport you to hell – or all three at the same time.  I imagine that these games have some basis in the original game played with apples during Victorian times. You can listen to our episode about Black Aggie here

Dumb Supper

The celebration of Samhain is also a time to honor passed loved ones.  One interesting way to do this is by hosting a Dumb Supper.  (Dumb in this sense refers to being silent.)    There are several different ways to host one, but here are the basics.  The menu should consist of foods that remind you of those who have passed (their favorite foods or a dish they enjoyed making) or feature

foods like apples, fall squash, fall greens, etc.  A place setting is put out at the head of the table for the departed.  Typically, the food is served backwards- that is you start with dessert, then entree, then appetizer.  The place settings are also supposed to be backwards.  Food is served to all the place settings, including ones set for ancestors.  The entire meal is silent.  No talking.  No communicating of any kind.  The only noise is music that is played in the memory of those who have passed.  After the dinner, guests share memories and stories about those who have passed on.  Guests are encouraged to bring photos of those who have departed.  Also, each guest is encouraged to stop at the chair at the head of the table before being seated.  In some suppers, when guests are finished dining, they each one by one take a note they've written for their loved one to the head of the table where they read the note silently then burn it.  They're really are many ways in which you can conduct a Dumb Supper- as long as you conduct it in silence. 

Know of any other strange Halloween traditions or do you have a story about how you participated in one? Let us know!

Happy Halloween!