Author Archives: Angelique

Soul Cakes and the Sugar Skulls

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Soul Cakes and the Sugar Skulls
-By Angelique Duncan

October 1st through November 2 marks the holy days once known as Hallowmas. Known as the days when ghost and faeries were most active in our material world. These traveling spirits were hungry. Huge feast were held on the night of Samhain on October 31st to celebrate the bounty of harvest, show gratitude to the spirits and remembrance for the dead who had passed on and the spirits were invited.

In ancient Gaelic tradition of Samhian feast were held to celebrate the finish of the harvest and enjoy the abundance of food before the long days of winter and rationing. Plates of food would be set at the family feasting table for deceased ancestors. Welcoming plates of sweet bread were left at the threshold and near the hearth of the home to invite benevolent spirits in to bless and protect the home before the coming dark season. Cakes would be left as an offering outside the home to appease the mischievous and unwelcomed evil spirits, who it was believed if not satisfied with food and drink would curse the home with misfortune.

Depending on region, tradition and wealth the cakes that were left varied in their recipes. Usually the cakes were made from a simple yeast recipe using spices such as ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves. They sometimes included fruits and nuts or an icing. The types of sweets offered ranged from small cakes and sweet breads to flat cookies. As the cakes or cookies were baked, mediations were spoken to either welcome the spirits or ward them away depending which offering was being baked.

The practice of going door-to-door “Guising” to collect food for feasting was common. The predecessor to Trick or Treating was born through dressing up in spirit costumes carrying lanterns to trick folks into giving cakes to ward off the “evil spirits knocking on the door”, made leaving cakes and ale out on ones porch more pertinent to avoid destruction of property.

With the rise of Catholicism in Gaelic regions and the spread of Christianity and a push for the Christian calendar, the practice of Samhain feasting in honor for the living and the supernatural was frowned upon. The practice of All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day were introduced. It was now practiced that feasting was no longer to honor the harvest and the spirits who protected it, feasting was to be in honor of the Saints of the church who symbolized the work of the church. The notion to leave offerings to the spirits that could revisit the earth during Samhain was no longer was conducive to Christian thought. It was instead encouraged to leave offerings for salvation. Folks would now go “Souling”, the practice of going door to door to offer prayers or sing hymns in return for what was now known as “Soul Cakes”, cakes baked with prayer to free souls from purgatory.

With the decline of the pre Christian religions the previous mediations were abandoned and the cakes would have a prayer for salvation spoken over them before they were baked. It was believed that the act of eating the cake and saying a prayer would release a soul into heaven and absolve that spirits sins. In more modern practice a cross would be sliced or embossed on the Soul Cakes as a reminder that salvation and protection could only come from the church.
As Europeans expanded Christianity to Mexico and South America the traditions of Hallowmas carried over as well and merged with existing cultural practices celebrating the dead. In Mexico dia de los muertos, the Day of the Dead continues to be a huge cultural celebration that falls on November 1st. The emphasis is on personal connections with the deceased and a celebration of their lives. The practice of feasting and offering sweet breads for the departed are part of annual ritual for Day of the Dead.

Much like the Soul Cakes of Europe, In Mexico and South America pan de muerto literally translated to “Bread of the Dead” is made from anise and citrus and is left out as a welcoming for the departed. The sweet bread loaves are baked with twisted bone patterns, skull shapes or significant totem animals to represent the dead. Well wishes for the departed souls to have safe passage from the grave to the physical realm and prayers are bestowed up the bread as it bakes. The bread is left on a table for the souls to find. It is believed that the spirits will metaphorically eat the essence of the well wishes and prayers “baked” into the bread. The household will leave for public celebration and when the family of the house returns they then eat the bread to share in “breaking bread” with their relatives.

In some regions of South America people will take to the graves of their departed a picnic of the favorite foods and drink of their relative to honor their life and offer nourishment to give them comfort and strength in the afterlife. Families decorate the graves with flowers and confections and have meal with conversation, dancing and remembrance for their lost loved one. The practice also serves as a reminder that death in inevitable and should be embraced rather than feared in hopes that in that the spirit realm will be as happy as the physical one.

Handmade confections of chocolate and sugar skulls are offered to the dead as well as the special baked breads. The name of the deceased is written in icing on the forehead of skull and they are decorated in ornate bright colors to honor them. Sugar skulls are created for the living as a reminder that death will eventually come for them too. Some sugar skulls can be eaten as a treats, however in most traditions they are displayed as a talisman or used in altars to honor life and death. Confections of festive coffins, tombstones and skeletons are distributed as well.

As migrants from Latin America have made their home in the North America they have brought their traditions with them and the modern day the icon of the sugar skull and symbols of Day of the Dead have grown in it’s popularity and meaning becoming part of the repertoire of Halloween decorating and practices. Now many sugar skulls available in the states are mass-produced by machine as a Halloween treat.

Today in the United States Samhain is now celebrated as Halloween. Offerings for the dead, Soul Cakes and pan de muerto once left for spirits; have been replaced by cellophane wrapped candies and marshmallow Rice Krispie treats handed out to live Trick or Treaters. Feasting to celebrate the harvest and remember the dead have shifted from October 31st to the fourth Thursday in November to honor the living family in Thanksgiving. The traditions of honoring and appeasing the dead have all been stripped from our modern Autumn celebrations.

However, that is not to say that perhaps those spirits aren’t still out there wandering during the end of October and into November. Maybe they are. If they are they must be very hungry in that it has been many decades since they have received their ceremonial offerings of food and drink. Maybe this year on the 1st of November, leave a sweet cup cake or slice of bread for a ghost who may be passing by. Or leave an extra plate out at the table when you sit down to your Thanksgiving feast. Who knows, maybe a little ghost will be grateful and thank you on your home in return.

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

The Sin-Eater

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The Sin-Eater?
-By Debbi Decker

A chapel room with walls of stone. It is an open room, with no doors and no glass in the windows. The night breeze flows, causing candles to gutter in the wall niches. Their flames cast odd moving shadows across the room.

In the center of the chapel room lies a body of a man on a raised stone bier. His clothing reflects his position in life, the gleam of gems in the scabbard that holds his sword speaks to his wealth.

There is nothing odd about this setting. Death has come to the village and the village mourns its own. Its inhabitants are no strangers to death. We all die. We all make our last confessions, are shriven, and laid out to rest in various poses according to our position in life. The poorest straight to the grave, the wealthiest given a last moment of glory in a chapel room.

But look closely at this man. There is a meal of roasted fowl and bread, and the last fruits of the season, resting on platters upon his chest. His hands hold a pewter goblet containing the best ale that his household can provide.

A movement at the door draws our eyes to a black cloaked figure, the face hidden deep within a hood. The figure sidles up behind the dead man. Raises his cloaked arms to the heavens. By the cadence and intonation of the mumbled words, we know he is praying. His arms slowly lower. He settles in. To eat. The meal laid upon the dead man’s chest. The fowl and bread disappear into the darkness of his hood. He drinks the ale. And once done, slowly creeps out the door. His face still hidden. You have no idea who he is.

The above scenario is a loosely written memory of a television show I saw as a young woman, and which was my fist introduction to what is known as a “Sin-Eater”. The idea caught my interest enough to research the facts behind story. Would this really have happened? Are there such things as Sin-Eaters? Turns out the answer is yes. There have been and, if the rumors are correct, still are in remote areas of the eastern U.S.

The origin of the practice of the ritual of eating sins remains unclear. It is possibly Germanic in origin, first coming to light in the Middle Ages. The Catholic Church denies such practices existed. And while the story above was a television episode and suspect in the details, there are, however, stories about the practice in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. An individual, for whatever reason, would take on the duties of a Sin-Eater. This person would partake of bread, salt, and wine (or some other beverage) which was left either on the deceased’s grave, or placed near the deceased, or even placed on the deceased’s chest. It was believed that the food would absorb the misdeeds of the dead and by eating that food, the Sin-Eater would absolve the soul of deceased and allow the individual to enter heaven. The Sin-Eater was always reviled and outcast in society. He (or she) would be considered unclean and shunned. In some cases, perhaps the identity of the Sin-Eater was not known. The cloak and hood would hide the identity, similar to the cloaking and masking of the plague doctors so that the public would not know who they were. They could practice their craft safely in anonymity.

It is interesting to note that there are later references in British history to the practice of passing bread and ale over the body of a loved one and given to a funeral attendant to eat. In Bavaria, the custom still exists of placing a corpse cake upon the chest of the deceased which is then eaten by the deceased’s closest relative. The Dutch practice of making dead cakes with the initials of the deceased was carried over to the United States during Colonial times. Each of these practices could be considered to have evolved from the practice of sin-eating.

During the 1800s, funeral biscuits were presented to mourners and bakeries competed against one another for orders of same. Lady Fingers (a type of sponge cake) were wrapped in papers that were printed with texts, poetry, and musings upon life and death. Special bowls, called “Mazer Bowls” were commissioned by the wealthy to hold the wine or ale that was given to mourners during the wake. The growth of the funeral industry stemmed these practices, and over time they have all but disappeared. Perhaps replaced in our present era by the family gatherings after the funeral. Almost all of these gatherings offer a meal or some kind of finger food to be served to the families and their guests.

Though few and far between, I have partaken at these latter day funeral “feasts”. It is not a custom that sits well with me. Sometimes knowledge can be an unsettling thing. Especially in my case. Because each time I allow myself a bite of the food presented I am, in the back of my mind, wondering just what sins or misdeeds I am taking on. And that is never a comforting thought.

Debbi Decker is proprietor of twistedpixelstudio Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.

Autumn Interlude

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Autumn Interlude

By Intricate Knot

“Keep the Jack O’ Lanterns lit in solidarity”.
~Twilight Faerie

    Prologue

Last season our heroes, esteemed members of the Great Holiday Making Tribe Fiddler and Wilbur, were traveling as fast as their spry kitty and wiry owly-raven legs would take them. They had to find out what had happened Crimson, last of the Winter Wizards. Had the ill-famed Diavex Clop coerced or worse yet, somehow turned Crimson from being the Magickal Mentor of Fiddler’s youth into a Waywardly Wicked Wizard? Or had that wickedness lurked under Crimson’s wise and benevolent exterior all along? I promise no answers in this installment, Dear Reader. There is a matter that must be undertaken first. Rushing headlong into a battle without all tools at your disposal would be foolish, indeed. And in case you hadn’t noticed, neither Fiddler, nor Wilbur is foolish…

“Hang on a tick or two,” Wilbur, the owly-raven halted in his black-feathered tracks.

Fiddler, being the most graceful of felines, stopped right alongside him,

“What is it?”

“Diavex doesn’t like the cold.”

“I believe we went through this already, Wilbur. What’s your point?”

“We can’t run in what is surely a trap of some sort without some sort of defense. Diavex is at his strongest and most devious and unrelenting evilness in this heat.”

“And we,” Fiddler swiped a black as coal kitty paw across his perspiring brow, “are not at our best. What do you suggest, friend?”

“I believe we need to make a stop along the way.”

“Ah, of course, Vin Kaj.”

And who, pray tell, is Vin Kaj? Why Autumn Pumpkin Wizard Extraordinaire of course, Silly you. No one is more suited to dissolving the heat of summer and putting in its place that snap in the air, that slight chill, and those thrilling goose bumps along one’s arms and legs. And if while walking home at sunset you find the hairs tickling the back of your neck then you know for absolute certain that you’ve just been blown a kiss from Vin Kaj himself on the finest of Autumn days.

The twosome continued on their way, veering only slightly off their original course. They walked through a darker part of the Forest. Here the trees grew a bit taller than the rest of the Forest, and thereby cast deeper shadows. Naturally it was cooler here and a winsome breeze whistled his way through branches of trees, through the hedges, and stirred up a few fallen leaves, leaving them to dance along the way with Fiddler and Wilbur. Nearly as though they’d determined to join them in their quest. Perhaps they had.

Copyright Twilight Faerie

They heard him before spotting him. The sound of a sharp axe shrilled through the air. An axe? A sharp axe? Yes and yes. And our heroes didn’t run in the opposite direction of that sound that seemed to harmonize with the sighs and grunts of what must surely be a perturbed Wizard or perhaps something even worse? Of course not, that’s why they’re called heroes.

He was tall, a good seven feet, at least. He towered over what appeared to be vapors…red-gold vapors, barely visible, but Fiddler and Wilbur could feel the burning heat from where they stood. The red-gold vapors appeared to grow hotter still…a formidable foe that seemed to press, surround, and lick at the great orange and green twiney, viney heels of Vin Kaj. Drops of sweat rained off the twisted vine that sat at the top of his pumpkin head. More deep green curling tendrils sprung and bounced almost joyfully from out his fingers and down at his toes, while he hacked, chopped, slashed at the waves of Summertime heat that continued to pour up through a long crack in the earth.

“Damn it, Summer. It’s no longer your time. Why are you making me work so hard? We both know how this is going to end.” Vin Kaj asked, sounding more curious than angry.

“It’s Crimson,” Wilbur answered.

In surprise, Vin turned to our heroes, his ax coming precariously close to the two. A sharp toothy grin split Vin’s deeply orange face,

“Why it’s Wilbur and Fiddler, rascally heroes to my rescue! I’m ever so glad to see you both!”

“Erm,” Guiltily Wilbur glanced over at Fiddler, who twiddled his cat claws.

“Oh no, you see, Vin we-”

“Hmm, haven’t come to my rescue at all, have you?” The Autumn Wizard said jovially, and then threw back his head whilst giving a great hoot of laughter, “then I’m even all the more lucky, aren’t I? Because you’ve happened upon me when most needed.”

“Well, you see,” Wilbur began.

“We really need your help, Vin Kaj,” Fiddler finished.

“Of course you do, but first things first. Summer needs to sleep now. He’s being quite difficult this year and won’t let me kill him and stuff him into the grave.”

Our heroes merely blinked up at the giant wizard. Kill Summer? Why hadn’t they heard it put this way before? They’d lived in the Forest a long time. They’d been around the block, so to speak, a time or two or three hundred.
“Kill Summer?” They asked in unison.

“Heck yeah! You don’t think he just decides to exit quietly to make room for round, sweet apples, shivery spider webs, shorter days, longer chilly nights, and fat pumpkins, like me, do you?” He took one glance at their surprised faces and gave another chuckle. “I see you did. Frankly, I’m surprised at you two, both of you the very spirit and vim of Halloween! Well, we don’t have time for a lecture I need your help, my fine fellows. You’ll find a few axes just beyond that hill in the circle of Spook Trees.” With that Vin turned his back and resumed his hacking, “I’m not really built for this sort of thing, you know,” he said while straw and bits of vine flew out from his fingertips. “Generally, Crimson gives me a hand or at least a pinky’s worth of a cool breeze. Can’t understand where he is this year.”

“Well-” Wilbur began.

“Well what?” Vin demanded. He stopped his hacking and looked at the two.

“Crimson, willingly or unwillingly is in league with Diavex Clop, which is why we’re having this untimely heat wave.”

Vin shook his head,

“If Crimson is helping Diavex then he is doing so unwillingly.” Then he winked at the two, “Better grab those axes, fellows,” and he turned back to battle those high temperature vapors.

Fiddler and Wilbur found themselves walking up the glowing, windy path to the Spook Trees.

“We can’t leave Vin battling Summer back by himself,” Fiddler said with a shrug.

Wilbur sighed,

“Yes, it sets us back on our quest, but this could help our cause all the same.”

“True. Oh my.”

“I’ll second your ‘oh my’ and raise you a wow.”

What a sight the two beheld! The glowing, windy path had led them to the dusky, most beautiful, and forbidding Circle of Spook Trees. These trees are tall, at least 20 feet or more and their graceful, gnarled branches stretch up toward an orange, pulsing light, which hovers directly at their center. Lavender pools of some sort of Magickal goop glimmered at their twisted roots and at the base of each jet black tree trunk lay a sharp axe, their blades glinting grimly, yet somehow mischievously in the smoldering light. Special axes meant for a special purpose: to chop the waves of Summer’s worst burning rays.

Copyright Twilight Faerie

“Hmm,” they both hummed and each of them grabbed an axe. Fiddler grinned,

“Let’s go kick some Summer butt.”

“Sounds good to me,” Wilbur agreed.

The two quickly joined Vin Kaj at edge of Autumn. Nothing like killing off Summer’s miserable, sticky, careless heat to let off some pent up steam! And these friends certainly had some built annoyance. Diavex had eluded them, caused all the Forest much trouble, and now it appeared to have captured, coerced, or somehow turned one of the few remaining Forest’s Wizards. He really was a most bothersome creature and this Summer was no picnic in the park, either. ‘Enough already,’ Fiddler thought while expertly swinging his shimmering ax at the wave of heat. ‘Enough, enough, enough’ Wilbur chanted in his head, whilst doing the same.
With one last heated shriek, Summer fizzled away, slipping through the crack at the edge of Autumn. Swiftly, Vin Kaj grabbed a handy headstone (just one of the many that hung about in this part of the Forest) and sealed old Summer in his grave.

Copyright Intricate Knot

“Phew,” they all said in unison.

Then with a grin, Vin Kaj swung his ax to rest on his broad, viney shoulder,

“It’s no wonder at all that the leaves on each tree and the petals of every flower whisper heroic tales of you two. A Happy Halloween to you both, my fine fellows.”

And with a renewed sense of energy and hope in their hearts, the trio now made their way to Diavex and Crimson.

To be continued next season!!


Illustration “Walking With Leaves” and “Spook Trees” by Angelique Duncan. Appearance of Wilbur with permission of Intricate Knot.
Illustration “Vin Kaj End of Summer” by Intricate Knot.

Intricate Knot is proprietor of Art For A Gloomy Day.Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next season for more adventures of Fiddler the cat and his best pal Wilbur.

 

Jack o’ Lantern

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Jack o’ Lantern
-By Angelique Duncan

The Jack o’ Lantern, not much is recorded in written history about these magnificent icons of Hallow’s eve. Most of what we know of the Jack o’ Lantern comes from oral tradition that has been passed down from the generations. However one could hardly imagine Halloween with out them. Plump, orange and glowing. Sometimes flickering a menacing grin, others with frightful faces and some more welcoming and sincere. For most folks the start of the Halloween season begins with a trip to the market to find that perfect gourd upon which to carve out the face that will be lit and stand guard on their porch or on their window sill for Halloween night.

It is understood that our modern Jacks find their origins from ancient Ireland. It was common practice to light kindling in a carved thick flesh of a beet or turnip as a lantern that could be carried or hung from a stick with twine. The use of the pumpkin for carving Jack o” Lanterns did not arise until the discovery of their native home, the Americas.

The lore associated with Jack o’ Lanterns is akin to The Will of The Wisps and in some traditions are interchangeable in their name. Legends of glowing mystical or spirit lights hovering in bogs and marshes that attract travelers from their intended paths have been attached to the Jack o Lantern.

There are common legends of the Jack o’ Lantern that are similar in their telling’s with slight variances in the story, but with the same outcome. The story goes that a man named Jack, who had spent a sinister existence, was approached by the devil and informed that it was the end of his life and time for the devil to collect his soul to take back to Hell. In these stories Jack is cunning and finds a way to trick the devil so that he cannot take his soul. Some stories tell that Jack tricks the devil with crosses or by manipulating or bartering with the devil into promising that he won’t take him to Hell. In keeping the devils word, he does not collect Jacks soul, however when Jack eventually dies, he cannot enter Heaven either. Jack’s spirit is doomed to wander the earth with only a lump of coal set in a turnip to light his way and keep him warm.

It is said that when one sees a Will o Wisp, it is Jack’s soul wandering. However, legends pertaining to Will of The Wisp predate the stories of wandering or stingy Jack. In some cultures and regions the wisps were thought to be wandering spirits trapped on earth. Others believe they are nymphs or faeries. Some traditions tell that the candles lit in Jack o” Lanterns are the souls of deceased children brought to life on Halloween night.

Although the stories of Jack trapped in the turnip is a popular and accepted tale and where the namesake of the carved pumpkin may come from, the use of carved faces in vegetables on Halloween goes much further back in antiquity to the pre Christianity and Gaelic practices of Samhain. Some historians site that the story of Stingy Jack and other Jack legends may have been modified when Christianity took hold in Ireland to suit a more Christian theme on explaining carved gourds at Halloween.

It was believed that on the night of Samhain, a veil was lifted that allowed the spirits of the dead to re-enter the mortal realm. Beets and turnips were carved with scary faces to ward off evil spirits and unwanted ghost. The lit vegetables would be set around the exterior of ones house and lit with candles or kindling. In some European regions the predecessor to Trick or Treating was guising, in which people would carry carved lit turnips while wearing sheets to scare folks into believing they were ghost so that they would give them food.

When European immigrants came to North America pumpkins were used in place of beets and turnips. The larger fruit with its fleshy shell made for a better carving surface and hollowed easily to hold a light source. The Samhain practice of setting out carved pumpkins on October 31st became hugely popular in the United States, and has been a mainstay of Halloween ever since.

As October descends and Halloween approaches pumpkins will be carved in all manner of faces and set out on porches as effigy to a fella named Jack, ward off evil spirits, respect for children past and serve as a beacon to welcome Trick or Treaters. When you set out your Jack o’ Lantern on this Halloween night with it’s crooked grin and flickering eyes know that you are carrying on a ancient custom that has survived many a century and that yours will be among thousands of Jack o’ Lanterns lit adding to the magic of Halloween.

Happy Halloween! Keep your Jack o’ Lantern lit in solidarity!

Images “The Great Pumpkin of Sincerity” and “Great Pumpkin & His Cult” Copyright Michelle Angelique Duncan

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

Trick or Treat!

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Trick or Treat!
-By Angelique Duncan

Trick or Treat! The practice of dressing in costumes and going door to door for treats is as old as the holiday of Halloween it’s self. It survives as a traditional custom in modern times from its origins in ancient Gaelic history and the holiday Samhain.

There are varied yet similar thoughts on why trick or treating has been practiced, however despite region and era, there has always been a common thread; costumed people asking for some sort of treat on October 31st.

The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st a veil was lifted at twilight allowing magical forms of beings to re-enter the mortal world for one night. Some believed that this opening was also extended to the spirit world of the dead as well. In the Middle ages it was thought that ghost were allowed to pass from the “otherworld” through openings in sacred grounds that acted as gateways.

Common practice in the 1400’s was to leave plates of sweets and food for faeries and elemental creatures in ones garden or porch. This was done in hopes that passing faerie troupes would take the offerings in exchange for not making mischief or tear up ones crops. This may be the first inclination of sweets used as a bartering tool to avoid tricks.

Spirits who had returned on Halloween night were also left offerings of food. Some documentation from the 15-1600’s suggest that folks would leave food for weary souls as they traveled looking for their loved ones. Samhain was considered New Years and it was customary during this era to hold huge elaborate feast. At these feast plates would be set out and a chair at the table reserved for those who had passed away.

Just as departed loved ones could pass through gateways on Halloween night, it was believed that the wretched could return as well. To pacify these ill intended spirits folks would leave sweets on their porches to appease bad ghost to not haunt them and move on from ones home to the next.

The earliest documentation of Halloween costumes comes from the 1600’s. Men would dress in scary spirit costumes to scare away evil ghost and enchanted creatures. In return for the service of shooing away the bad spirits to make way for the visiting family ghost, people would offer ale and breads to these men. As the practice grew in popularity some would sing or perform for beer and treats. This became known as “guising”. Folks would become opportunistic in the practice and dress as monsters and scary ghost, threatening people’s homes with mischief if treats were not given.

In some regions it was customary for men to go “guising” door to door to farms to gather food donations for Samhain feasts. If the farmer obliged then his home would be bestowed with good fortune through the coming year. If He did not, then he would be met with a curse of misfortune.

With the rise of Christianity the churches advocated the celebration of All Souls Day in lieu of Samhain. All Souls Day falls on November 1, or 2nd depending on region. All Souls Day began as a day set-aside for monks to pray for the souls that were trapped in purgatory. The holiday expanded as a day to pray for all souls of the dead. Folks would go to cemeteries and decorate the graves of their loved ones. Not completely willing to let go of superstitions, the practice of leaving “soul cakes” out for the dead became a common practice. Children would go “Souling” through out village’s carrying candles or lanterns singing and offering prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes. It was believed that when a soul cake was eaten after a prayer a damned soul was released from hell.

As immigrants from Scotland and Ireland migrated across Europe and to North America during the 1700-1800’s, the Gaelic Samhain traditions followed. In some regions boys would dress as ghost and demons going house-to-house demanding food and drink otherwise they would wreak destructive havoc and mischievous mayhem. Livestock would be let free from their stockades, crops destroyed and broken windows were common on Halloween night. Although it would be much later in history before the term “Trick or Treat” would be used, the practice of giving treats to ward of “tricksters” was in full swing and in true form of its more modern practice.

The practice of knocking on doors on Halloween night carried on into the 1900’s. Halloween was very popular in the 1920’s as it lent itself for fancy dress up parties and lavish festive feast that were popular during the era. In England and North America the poor would dress in costumes and go into wealthier neighborhoods begging for money and food. Halloween became known as “Beggars’ Night. Soon it became commonplace and children of all ranks would go door to door festively in costumes to receive treats in exchange for not playing pranks. During the mid 1930’s the Term “Trick or Treat” was born and Halloween had become a children’s holiday.

However during the 1940’s with sugar rationing and a generally somber mood created by World War II the festive revelry of costuming and asking for candy became frowned upon and Halloween made a return to Beggars Night. During this conservative era it was believed that Trick or Treating was the practice of poor immigrants and not behavior for dignified, proud American and British children.

After the war ended and the American economy became strong along with upward mobility of immigrants socially, the practice of Halloween parties and Trick or Treating returned in full force. The tradition of knocking on doors in costumes and yelling “TRICK OR TREAT” for candy was the norm. The tricks were not violent and usually took the form of knocking over trash bins, applying dark polish to windows, throwing bath tissue in trees, throwing eggs or other devious deeds of vandalism like smashing pumpkins.

In the late 1980’s efforts were made to take the “trick” out of Trick or Treats. Children older than 12 years of age were discouraged from dressing up and going out on Halloween. Adult chaperons were encouraged and churches and retail establishments would host organized Trick or Treat events. Group Halloween parties for children held indoors in lieu of taking to the streets were commonplace. By the mid 1990’s virtually all the trick was removed from Trick or Treating and Halloween night had become all about the treats. Trick or treating through out neighborhoods made a come back in the early 2,000’s and is holding strong as an annual children’s holiday and night of nostalgia for adults and is widely celebrated in the United States and gaining popularity through out the world.

The acts of wearing costumes demanding treats under threat of tricks still exist as an integral tradition to Halloween. As October 31st approaches remember to leave your porch light on and to have plenty of sweets at the ready. For that knock at the door may be a whimsical child out for Tricks or Treats or it may be a wandering ghost or faerie spirit set free to roam on Halloween night.

Images “Set free on Halloween” and “Trick or Treat” Copyright Michelle Angelique Duncan

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

Can I Get Your Digits?

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Can I Get Your Digits?
-By Debbi Decker

That tired old pick up line. A lot of us have heard it, although, luckily I have never had it used on me. Not sure how I would have reacted had someone done so. I do not suffer fools gladly.

But, the digits referenced here are not your telephone number. Rather, the numbers I want are the ones associated with your name. Numbers have power, and the subject here is Numerology.

Numerology has been practiced since the beginning of civilization and is still practiced today. It centers on the belief that numbers correspond to events or hold special meanings that correspond with the numbers. There are as many different practices as there are interpretations, but the one I want to discuss today is how to arrive at your birth name number. Names are powerful in and of themselves, as are the numbers associated with them. There are cultures who give a child a birth name which is kept secret from all except the closest family members. The child is given a second name that is for public use. Some cultures go further and allow names to be given for each stage of life, i.e., birth, teen, adult, and old age.

Numbers have power too. The adage of “what goes out comes back threefold” takes into account the number three. How about breaking a mirror and subsequently receiving 7 years of bad luck? Every culture looks at numbers differently, and each holds their own interpretation of what any number means. I won’t inundate you with details here as you can surf the web to find all kinds of information on this subject.

A popular Victorian pastime was finding your birth name number. This was done by taking the full name given at birth and assigning a number to each letter. The numbers were all added together until a single number emerged. That number was the birth number and, similar to your Sun Sign (Astrology), was supposed to have a high influence on your life and how you would live. So, let’s get started!

Here is a chart for assigning the numbers:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z

Now, let’s take a name: Aloysious Emmanuel Hoplock (no reference to anyone, I just made this up). Assigning the numbers associated with each letter in the name, we first arrive at

1 3 6 7 1 9 6 3 1 5 4 4 1 5 3 5 3 8 6 7 3 6 3 2.

Add the string together 1+3+6+, etc. etc. and you arrive at 102. 1+0+2 = 3. Thus, the number 3 is Aloysious’ birth number.

A brief list of commonly used interpretations for the numbers are:

1. A person who prefers being alone, but could show some aggressiveness when threatened and is also good at leadership. Has the least similarity to the numbers 2 through 9.
2. A person who is balanced, does well in partnerships, and is receptive to others. Will exhibit at least one characteristic of all of the numbers 1 through 9.
3. A person who communicates well and enjoys interaction such as sports, debates, and teaching.
4. A person who exhibits great artistic talent, is malleable, and able to see beyond a static image or event.
5. A person who needs action, is restless and is always moving. Seeks stimulation from life experiences rather than mental experiences.
6. A person who is tied to home and family, is willing to take on responsibility, and is also artistic but in this case uses that ability to achieve home and family stability.
7. A person who is in tune with interior thought and consciousness, seeks knowledge of the universe, and seeks the spirit in everything.
8. A person who holds high physical and mental power, and is willing to sacrifice for the greater good.
9. A person who is the most adaptable and will go through the most of life’ changes as opposed to people with numbers 1 through 8. Typically shows some characteristics of all of the numbers 1 through 8.

You could use the same formula for a nickname. This result would be similar to the Astrological concept that your sun sign is the inner you and the Ascending sign is the face you show to the world. In Numerology, your birth number reveals the inner you and your nickname is the person others see.

Take a moment to convert your name to your birth number (and your nickname) and then see how the number(s) compare to your life so far. You might be surprised at how accurate Numerology can be.

Debbi Decker is proprietor of twistedpixelstudio Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.