Halloween is upon us and my pumpkins are on the porch. Where did all these tricks and treats come from? I was looking at some information related to the origin of Halloween and found some really interesting things related to my Irish roots.
Understanding that some folks think Halloween is a devilish type holiday and has been over commercialized, I still think there are good things that children can gain. Anytime you have the opportunity to make something positive out of something that some perceive as negative; it is good in my opinion.
Children get to dress up and be creative and have a good time. Hopefully, it is all under parental guidance.
Politicians are similar, particularly during the election season. They like to “dress up,” pretend to be someone else and scare you. We should all make an effort to determine the real person behind the mask when it comes election time. That’s all I have to say about that.
The origins of Halloween can be traced back to Ireland where they now celebrate the day much like we do in the United States. Out in the country, the Irish build bonfires and children dress up in costumes. What do Irish children dress up like? About the same as American children, with characters from the Disney movie “Frozen” being the most popular.
It seems the Irish prefer to tie their apples on a string and try to bite them, rather than putting their apples in a big galvanized wash tub full of water and then “bobbing” for them. Has that been outlawed yet? You know a child could drown in one of those wash tubs or catch some sort of disease.
The Irish also eat “barmbrack” or “brack” at Halloween. It’s a fruitcake that folks either buy or make at home. Originally, the Irish put “stuff” in their fruitcake that made for a fortune-telling type game.
Things like peas, sticks, cloth, coins and rings. Oh goodness, do you think your local grocery store could get away with that? They don’t even let grocery stores and bakeries put plastic babies in the King Cakes now for Mardi Gras.
Supposedly if you got the “pea” in your fruitcake, you would not get married during the year that followed. I’m not really sure what a pea has to do with not getting married, but there are others who say if you got the pea – you’d have plenty.
Now after hearing that, I kind of understand how having plenty and not getting married might be related.
If you got a stick in your slice of fruitcake, it meant you were going to get beaten, have an unhappy marriage or continually be frustrated. The stick would not seem to be a good thing to get – I’m not real sure why anyone would actually put a stick in their cake to begin with.
How about the cloth or rag? I’m sure it would look like something like a sock your dog regurgitated in the yard after it baked in the fruitcake for a while. If you get the gunky piece of cloth, it meant you were going to be poor and you might also possibly choke.
Of course a coin meant you were going to be rich… However, again I would be scared of choking to death before having the opportunity to realize my wealth for the coming year.
If you got the ring, it meant you were going to be married. Again, you would be married only if you didn’t choke on the ring.
It all sounds like a lot of fun.
Honestly, I think I would like to get a “hair” in my slice of fruitcake if it meant I was going to grow hair in the coming year. I know that sounds a bit gross, but no more so that finding a rag in your slice of cake.
I love fruitcake, but I’m not much on surprises. I think I will just eat candy corn and those peanut butter things wrapped in black and orange wrappers - I seem to be the only one who enjoys them.
Happy Halloween!
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Cranks My Tractor
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I'm BN Heard and I like semicolons, dogs and children who say "Thank You" for their treats.
Copyright, BN Heard
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