Hallowe'en
As darkness was believed to precede light, so the year began
with the dark half at Samhainn, the eve of November 1, that is,
October 31st, commonly known as Hallowe'en…
In accordance with the policy of the early Christian church,
festive days were retained and invested with a new significance
on the Christian calendar. Thus, Hallowe'en appears as 'All Saints
Day', November first, celebrating the souls of the departed,
adjoining November 2nd, 'All Souls Day'. … The requirements
of the church need not conflict with the ancient spirituality
of the Celtic calendar or vice versa. Both systems have co-existed
for fifteen centuries, with prayers of supplication offered at
every stage of the traditional customs.
On the first day of this (and every quarter -a h-uile latha
ceann ràithe) animals, land, crops, people and abodes
had to be sained, (that is, protected against evil), especially
against witches, fairies and other-world beings believed to be
abroad on these nights. Lighting a bonfire, carrying fire-brands
around an area or subject, tying sprigs of rowan (the sacred
tree) or holly over door-posts and lintels of house, barn, byre
or stable, were all common practice, as was sprinkling the theshold
(point of entry) with salt or urine to ward off evil.
Dressing in disguise, masking or face-blackening at Hallowe'en,
'guising', is rooted in a belief that returning spirits or malevolent
powers might recognise the living and harm them. Thus, food was
left as an offering, and people ventured out only if they could
not be recognised. The Hallowe'en bonfire was believed to burn witches.
In these practices we have the roots of our present day customs
of Halloween.
[Margaret Bennett, SCOTTISH CALENDAR CUSTOMS, in The Oxford Book
of Scottish History, ed. M. Lynch, 2001]
New article:
'Tradition and Change: Reflections on Childhood Celebration of Hallowe'en'
Toronto, 2001 (Forthcoming) Excerpt:
©
One of the highlights of our childhood year was Hallowe'en, always
celebrated on October 31 unless it happened to fall on a Sunday-
then it automatically moved to the Saturday and everyone had to
be home before midnight. When we lived in Skye, our evening meal,
eaten as soon as we came home from school, was always my mother's
'clootie dumpling' with little silver trinkets in it for Hallowe'en.
You could tell your future if you got one: a wishbone, thimble,
button, horse-shoe, bell, or a silver three-penny bit. After tea
we all went out 'guising' (dressing up in disguise), and were allowed
to stay out very late to visit just about every house in the neighbourhood.
My oldest sister, entrusted with our safety, carried a battery torch,
and we usually set out with our next-door neighbours, another family
of four. Invariably we would be admitted to every fireside and in
every house the guisers would sing, answer questions (nod, shake
your head, avoid speaking as long as possible), try to evade identification.
Householders gave us apples, nuts, sweets and occasionally money
(a penny, a threepenny-bit or, very occasionally, a sixpence). Part
of the thrill was the scary feeling when we met other groups of
guisers in the dark - with an older sister on each side I could
just about hide my fear when everyone stopped to try and identify
friends.
The custom, or variants of it, is common all over Scotland.
In Melbost, however, (Isle of Lewis, where we lived from 1958
to 64) the children all went out together in one large group.
Naturally this required planning, so, from early October, youngsters
would hold discussions about what to wear, aiming to have as
few duplications as possible. Just as in Skye, attics and clòiseadan
(closets) were searched for old clothes, the more out of fashion
the better: a Victorian mourning dress from a grandmother's domestic
service in Edinburgh; 'plus-fours' (knee-breeches) from a grandfather's
youthful stint as a Mainland estate-worker or shepherd; a ball-gown
sent from America by a fourth-cousin who had never been to Lewis;
footwear, gloves, a mutch, a night-cap or other headgear; any
imaginative item that would look strange or amusing. We were
also fond of parodies of local characters, some in crofting or
fishing attire, with a few clad in outlandish, foreign garb,
souvenirs brought home by one of the seamen known to have been
round the world several times. Other themes included witches
and ghosts, cartoon characters from comic books or films and
there was always a minister or two, solemnly clad in black, top
to toe, apart from the white shirt, worn back-to-front to mimic
a 'dog collar'. Girls often dressed as men and boys as women,
and the wider the contrast between character and child, the more
fun we had.
Masking, an important part of guising, took several forms:
'false-faces', as we called them, could be store-bought in Stornoway
- commercially made, colourful papier-mâché faces or simple, black
masks covering only the eyes and upper face. Other facial disguises
followed the traditions of our parents and grandparents: skin blackened
with burnt cork, cocoa, or boot polish with bright red lipstick
to exaggerate mouths and rosy cheeks; cotton flour-bags cut, painted
and decorated; old nylon stockings stretched over faces to flatten
features beyond recognition. Hands were also disguised, gloved,
hidden by long sleeves, or blackened to match a face…..
[etc]
[to be published in Canadian Folklore Journal, Toronto, 2001]
NOTE:
In Scotland we never heard or used the phrase 'Trick or Treat'
- it comes in from North America. Also, the Scottish tradition
is to carryh a carved-out turnip - never, ever pumpkins!! For
a start, they do not grow in Scotland, and made their appearance
only in the 1990s as another commercial venture targeted at the
pockets of the everyday parent willing to buy…
Please do your best to keep Scottish Traditions Alive!!!
See also, Review:
Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, by Jack Santino,
editor, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1994, reviewed
by Margaret Bennett for Cosmos , 1995.
See also Oatmeal and the Catechism
(the book has a detailed index)
