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Options and Information for Writers October 2005 The Romance of Halloween Susan Broadwater In 19th Century England, Scotland, and Ireland Halloween was the time to divine matrimonial prospects. Halloween was the one night of the year when witches, ghosts, devils and mischievous elves were out and about and spirits were thought to communicate with ordinary people. It was also believed that ordinary people could project their spirits from their bodies to party the night away with the supernatural entities. Because of these beliefs, many divination practices developed and were practiced for fun (and by the more superstitious, seriously) at Halloween. The most common divination practice involved roasting nuts. Nuts were placed together on the bar of a grate side by side in pairs. The nuts were named for supposed lovers. If a nut burned quietly and bright, it indicated the sincere affection of the lover. If a nut cracked and jumped from the grate this indicated unfaithfulness. Marriage was indicated for the lovers if their nuts burned together. A poem written by Charles Graydon in 1801 illustrates this custom. These glowing nuts are emblems true; Of what in human life we view The ill-matched couple fret and fume, And thus in strife themselves consume, Or from each other wildly start, And with a noise forever part. But see the happy pair, Of genuine love and truth sincere, With natural fondness while they burn, Still to each other kindly turn, And as the vital sparks decay Together gently sink away, Till life’s fierce ordeal being past, These mingled ashes rest at last.Young girls would also give two hazel nuts the names of two lovers of prospective lovers. These nuts were thrown in the fire. If one bursts it represents an unfaithful lover. If a nut burns steady until it becomes ash, it represents a true lover. If both burst, it was time to find new lovers. Apples were also used in Halloween Divinations in England. Young women employed apples to divine the first letter of the name of future husbands. To do this a woman would peel the apple and take its skin by one end in her fingers and swing it 3 times about her head before letting it drop to the floor. The paring would fall in the shape of the initial of the future husband’s name. Witches believed that it helped to repeat the following incantation while swinging the paring: I pare this pippin round and round again My sweetheart’s name to flourish on the plain; I fling the unbroken paring o’er my head, My sweetheart’s letter on the ground is read.Apple seeds were also used to divine whether a lover was faithful and true. Two cut apple seeds were given the names of two lovers or prospective lovers and then stuck on the eye lids of the one who wishes this information. The seed that drops from the eyelid first represents the lover who is not steadfast or true. In Ireland (and also in England) there was a custom for young girls to hang their smocks before the fire and then sit up all night hidden in their bedrooms to await the apparition of their future spouse who would come down the chimney to turn the smock. Hempseed divination was not only practiced in Great Britain in the 19th century but also in the United States. To divine by hempseed the person had to go out alone and without anyone knowing, with a handful of hemp seed. These seed had to be sown on the ground while the sower drug a barrow or some article representing a barrow behind him/her. The incantation used was: Hempseed I sow thee Hempseed I sow thee And him/her that is to be my true love Come after me and pou thee.Then the person would look over his/her left shoulder and would see the likeness of his/her future sweetheart pulling the seeds up that had been sown. If a likeness is not seen then it indicates that the questioner will never marry or has not performed the ceremony correctly. Another method used to see the future spouse was employed by women and involved placing a sliver of wood in a glass of water. This glass of water was then placed on a table beside the bed. In the night it was believed the woman would dream of falling from a bridge into a river, but she would barely touch the water when her future husband rescued her. It was believed that she would plainly see her future husband’s face in her dream. Young women would use roses to discern the faithfulness of their lovers. To do this, before going to bed on Halloween, a woman would pick two long stem roses. One rose would be named for her and the other would be given her lover’s name. After this, she would retire to her bedroom without speaking to any person, and once in her room she was required to kneel beside her bed and twine the two rose stems together while repeating the following incantation and staring intently at her lover’s rose: Twine, twine and intertwine, Let my love be wholly mine, If his heart be kind and true, Deeper grow his rose’s hue.If her lover was faithful his rose would turn a darker color. There was another custom which prevailed in England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States which involved a dinner dish made of mashed parsnips, potatoes and chopped onions. This was the dinner’s main entrée and was called “call-cannon.” A deep serving dish was filled to the brim with this concoction and placed in the middle of the table. Somewhere in this bowl of food was concealed a golden ring and the center of the dish was filled with melted butter. Each person was served a portion of the food and whoever found the ring would be married within the year. If a married person they would have good luck for the next year. A similar custom was used to predict marriage or travel by baking a ring and a key into a loaf cake. If a person found the ring in his serving it signified marriage, but if a key were found it indicated the person would be making a journey. There are many other customs and divination practices associated with Halloween. You can find many of them in Robert Burn’s poem entitled Halloween.
Useful Websites Here are some useful websites for reference purposes http://www.infoplease.com/almanacs.html Information Please Almanac includes alphabetical index and includes information on the world, history and government, biography, arts and entertainment, business, society and culture, health and science
Old Farmer's Almanac
http://www.freepint.com/gary/handbook.htm Fast Facts with topical links to sources that will give you quick facts
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia of Plants
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Britain.html Encyclopedia of British History 1500-1980
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/start.htm Encyclopedia Smithsonian--Links to resources from A to Z
The Literary Encyclopedia
http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/ Spices & Herbs Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/ 1911 Britannica Encyclopedia (this is a fine encyclopedia for biographical articles. I own a set of my own and frequently consult it).
African Music Encyclopedia
http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/instrument/ Instrument Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of popular Music and Jazz http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/1popmubio.html
http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/ Llewellyn Encyclopedia (articles about astrology, divination, eastern thought, etc.)
The Universal Currency Converter
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/current/howmuch.html Current Value of Old Money includes the history of money, money in fiction and financial scandals.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J003358F/money.html History of Money in the U.S.
How Much is that?
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Victorian Etiquette Class. This class will be offered from November 4, 2005 through December 20, 2005. Earlier material will be included in this class from research I recently performed. Below is a syllabus. The class cost is $20.00 US for the entire class and if you have taken it before and only want the new material the cost is $10.00 US. Email suchen@mindspring.com for payment information and to sign up. British Etiquette Introductions, Visits, Calling Cards, Balls, Dinners, Suppers, Tea, Court Etiquette, Precedency, Death and Mourning, Marriage, Christening, Bills of fare for Dinners, luncheons, Breakfasts, Visits to country estates, servants, godparents American Etiquette The same but as practiced in America and without court etiquette. Earlier material from 18th century and early 19th century sources which illustrate much of the above as it was practiced then. Also includes information on swearing (women). Entertainments and Games practiced in the 19th century Or how people entertained their guests at parties, etc. Language of Flowers Language of the Fan Fashion plate examples of opera dresses, full evening dress, wedding dress, mourning, ball gowns, walking dress, carriage dress, bathing outfits, etc. Plates from 18th century to late 19th century. Cosmetic Recipes and the proper use of Cosmetics. Letter Writing How to Pop the Question (Yes this was a book printed in the 1840s giving men ideas on how to propose.) Persons who sign up for the class will receive the full text of several primary sources.
That’s all folks.
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