Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008 is just two months away! It is my favourite time of the year - dark, misty nights, the scent of leaves and wood burning in the air and the mystical, magical holiday of Halloween!

Halloween 2008 falls on Friday, October 31st, the same date every year, and is also known as Samhain. Another name for this festival is All Hallow’s Eve. This is because November 1st is known as All Hallow’s Day and November 2nd is All Soul’s Day. November 1st is sometimes called the Day of the Dead and is a time in which many cultures show respect for those who have passed on by visiting graveyards with gifts and offering up prayers for the departed souls. Samhain is considered by many as the most important Sabbat or Festival for the Wiccan community and Halloween 2008 will be no exception!

We just had to include a recipe for Irish Barmbrack this Halloween. This yummy fruit bread/cake is centuries old and traditionally eaten at Samhain. Various items are placed in the brack, foretelling what the coming year will bring for the recipient of that piece.

A pea or bean to denote no marriage in the year.
A matchstick to foretell domestic disharmony!
A silver sixpence would bring good fortune to the lucky person.
A piece of cloth to indicate poverty or ill luck.
A ring to foretell marriage within the year.
A thimble to show spinsterhood.
A button to show batchelorhood.

Barm Brack

Ingredients

• 1 lb flour
• 6 oz sugar
• 1 lb mixed dried fruit
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg – for good fortune
• Pot of hot Irish tea

The 'special lucky' ingredients:
a pea, matchstick, coin, small piece of cloth, ring, thimble, button

Method:
Wrap each 'lucky' item carefully in greaseproof/wax paper.

The secret to making a Barm Brack is the soaking of fruit overnight in the tea. Add the sugar and egg to the fruit mix the next day. Sift in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix very gently. Stir in the wrapped 'lucky' items and try to distribute them evenly. Use a 7" round baking tin at 350°F for 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The Barm Brack can be made up to a week in advance and stored in an air-tight container – it actually tastes much better this way!. Traditionally served spread with pure butter and a hot cup of tea – delicious!

Please take a look at some more enchanting ideas on our Magical Recipes page.

Halloween Superstitions

~ On Halloween 2008, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their thinnest and this is the most opportune time to try to make contact with those who have passed on…

~ On Halloween night, all the Fairy forts, dwellings, mounds and hills are flung wide open and their occupants, all members of the Fairy Kingdom come forth and wander all over, sometimes causing grave mishief. Only the foolish or the bold venture out after dark on All Hallow’s Eve.

~ An old belief is that all souls in Pergatory are let out for two days at Halloween. Watch your back!

~ To find out who your future husband will be, stand in front of a mirror at midnight, light two candles and start brushing your hair. The ghost of your sweetheart will appear in the glass.

~ Another tradition regarding marriage is to place a sprig of fresh rosemary and a silver coin under your pillow on the night of October 31st. Your future partner is reputed to appear in your dreams.

~ Placing a black candle in each window of the house at Halloween is an ancient Irish custom, believed to protect the occupants from the dead wandering around outside. It must be allowed to burn down completely – not to be blown out, for this is considered the height of ill luck. Note: If following this Samhain tradition, please make sure to place lighted candles in safe, fire-proof containers, away from fabrics, draughts, children and pets! Be careful and responsible!

~ If you're out for a stroll on Samhain night and hear footsteps behind you, never look back to see who it is - if it's a spirit, superstition says you may soon be joining it on it's nightly wanderings.

~ In many Celtic countries, plates of food are left out on Halloween night, both for the Dead and the Fairies that are surely out and about this most magical of nights.

~ If a candle goes out suddenly or the flame turns blue on Samhain, beware, there’s a ghost about…

~ Crossroads have always had significant other-worldly properties in Ireland, for they are the places that ghosts are frequently seen and heard at any time of the year. However, at Samhain, if one journeys to a crossroads, it is likely the wind will tell you all you need to know for the following twelve months.

~ Hawthorn trees and bushes are to be avoided on October 31st, for the chance of becomed ‘bewitched’ near these plants is very high.

~ The traditional Jack-o-Lantern lit at All Hallow’s Eve is specifically to keep ghosts, ghouls and other worrisome things away.

Halloween Party Fun

• A Tea Cup -- means an old maid or bachelor
• A Saucer with Water -- a trip abroad is in their future
• A Dollar Bill -- a fortune will soon be inherited
• Deck of Cards -- means business success
• Toy Car -- A romance will begun during an automotive trip
• Pen -- fame through writing
• Ring -- a wedding or engagement
• Stone -- problems will arise, but not difficult ones
• Cookie -- will become successful as owner of a tea room
• Saucer containing Dried Beans -- will indicate the size of the future family
• Bride Doll -- indicates a second marriage

Ghoulish Delights
I remember this one from my childhood – yikes! Have jars filled with the following shocking items, dim the lights very low, and dare everyone at the party to stick their hand into the jar and guess what’s in it. Of course, be as fiendish and ghoulish as you like…

• Baby carrots – Dead Man’s fingers
• Peeled grapes - eyeballs
• Cooked, slightly damp spaghetti – someone’s intestines
• Jello (jelly for my European readers!) – squishy liver
• Small, slimy cauliflower – a brain…
• Candy Corn – loose teeth from a skull
  

Scary, Scary Story
Dim the lights, gather everyone in a circle on the floor, with a small flashlight in the centre. One person starts the first sentence of the Scary Scary Story. Each person adds a sentence or two going around the circle at least once. Try our chilling suggestions for a beginning line:

• The old woman was said to be a witch and lived alone in a dark, eerie….
• As the thunder crashed, the lightning struck a street lamp, knocking out the power….
• The two girls hid under the table, trembling, as they watched the ghost glide towards them…
• She listened, terrified, as she heard the shuffling steps getting every closer...
  

Wishing you a Spooky, Mystical and Fun-Filled Halloween 2008!

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