Harvest & Halloween Chat (6)
CossackCatSomewhere, Maryland USA492 Threads 45 Polls 9,137 PostsNo matter if you love or hate the fall, celebrate the harvest, in graditude, or howl on Halloween at the moon, or love hot cocoa or cinnamon sticks... post your pics, memes, poems, videos, movies, memories, fall favorites and recipes.
I love Halloween one of my favourite times of the year
Here’s some things we did and still do at Halloween
Colcannon for Dinner:
Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for children to find and keep.
The Barnbrack Cake:
The traditional Halloween cake in Ireland is the barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.
(We only do the ring and coins in our house)
The Pumpkin:
Carving Pumpkins dates back to the eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out. Thus, the tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer being the wandering blacksmith - a damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that the lantern in their window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish emigrated in their millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips so pumpkins were used instead.
Halloween Costumes:
On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On the special night when the living and the dead were at their closest the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in case they encountered other devils and spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away at the end of the night. This explains why witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes.
Snap Apple:
After the visits to the neighbours the Halloween games begin, the most popular of which is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string and children are blindfolded. The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The same game can be played by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get a grip on the apple without too much mess!
The Bonfire:
The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a cutting of your hair into the burning embers and then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations.
Here’s some things we did and still do at Halloween
Colcannon for Dinner:
Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for children to find and keep.
The Barnbrack Cake:
The traditional Halloween cake in Ireland is the barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.
(We only do the ring and coins in our house)
The Pumpkin:
Carving Pumpkins dates back to the eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out. Thus, the tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer being the wandering blacksmith - a damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that the lantern in their window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish emigrated in their millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips so pumpkins were used instead.
Halloween Costumes:
On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On the special night when the living and the dead were at their closest the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in case they encountered other devils and spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away at the end of the night. This explains why witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes.
Snap Apple:
After the visits to the neighbours the Halloween games begin, the most popular of which is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string and children are blindfolded. The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The same game can be played by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get a grip on the apple without too much mess!
The Bonfire:
The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a cutting of your hair into the burning embers and then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations.
The idea of the fire is ancient. A bonfire must be lit and kept burning til dawn to ensure the sun returns in spring. Another idea is a fire in the hearth. On Sanheim the curtain between living and spirits is open. One builds a fire in the hearth to welcome the spirits of the beloved who have passed. Hoping they will return to bestow blessings on those loved ones still alive.
When I was a child, the neighbor was going to take her son and daughter into town to trick or treat. She told mom I should go along. I was all for it. Dad said NO. But..
NO. He said he had enough money to buy his child candy and she didn't need to go door to door begging candy. Mom tried to explain trick/treat to him to no avail. She explained to me that when he was growing up in Germany, he saw kids begging and that is how it looked to him. She talked him into a compromise though. So late that evening we drove to the neighbor. Mom and dad visited with them while their kids and I ran around outside and played.
I am now into cosplay and costumes for Halloween. But, don't decorate anymore. It is just about buying decor now and not the imagination of making stuff. Commercialized like everything.
When I was a child, the neighbor was going to take her son and daughter into town to trick or treat. She told mom I should go along. I was all for it. Dad said NO. But..
NO. He said he had enough money to buy his child candy and she didn't need to go door to door begging candy. Mom tried to explain trick/treat to him to no avail. She explained to me that when he was growing up in Germany, he saw kids begging and that is how it looked to him. She talked him into a compromise though. So late that evening we drove to the neighbor. Mom and dad visited with them while their kids and I ran around outside and played.I am now into cosplay and costumes for Halloween. But, don't decorate anymore. It is just about buying decor now and not the imagination of making stuff. Commercialized like everything.
That is great @Stan_147More Threads
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