Halloween Games and Superstitions
Old and Traditional UK Halloween Activities
Halloween, or All Hallows Even, celebrated on October 31st was originally set aside for a vigil prior to All Saints Day which falls on the following day. All Saints Day was created by the Catholic Church to commemorate those Saints who didn’t have a particular celebration day set aside to acknowledge their works. In ancient times in the UK, church bells would be rung all night as a vigil until Henry VIII abolished this practise.
Halloween Superstition of Knotting the Garter
An old tradition in the UK was the practise of knotting a garter to determine what a young lady’s future husband would be like. A young lady would take the garter from her left leg and tie three knots in it whilst saying the following rhyme on the tying of each knot:
This knot, this knot, this knot I knit, / To see the thing I ne'er say yet – / To see my love in his array, / And what he walks in every day; / And what his occupation be, / This night I in my sleep may see. / And if my love be clad in green, / His love for me is well seen; / And if my love is clad in grey, / His love for me is far away; / And if my love be clad in blue, / His love for me is very true.
Then once all the knots were tied, the garter would be put under the young maiden’s pillow. When she went to bed that night, she would then dream of her future husband. The colour of the clothes he wore in that dream, when compared with the rhyme, would denote what sort of husband he would turn out to be.
The Scottish Practise of Burning Nuts on Halloween
In Scotland Halloween was also known as Nut-Crack Night. The burning of nuts on this day was a favourite game to see if a young lady’s suitor would be faithful. Three young ladies would sit by the fire and each put a nut on the grate whilst saying the name of their boyfriend.
If the nut cracked or jumped, once on the grate, the young lady’s lover would be unfaithful. If it slowly started to burn, the lover liked the young maid but wasn’t necessarily in love with her. If the nut burnt brightly and true, the woman and her suitor would be married and live happily ever after.
Halloween Game of the Three Dishes
Another Scottish Halloween ritual involved determining the type of person a man would marry by using three dishes. One dish would be filled with clean water, another with dirty water and the third would be left empty. The dishes would then be placed on the hearth in front of a roaring fire.
Blindfolded young gentlemen would be led into the room and then dip their left hand into one of the dishes. If they dipped their hand in the clean water, they would marry a virgin. If they dipped their hand in the dirty water, they would marry a widow. If they dipped their hand in the empty pot, they would not marry at all.
Halloween is an Excuse to Party
It is not clear from contemporary literature if the above methods of determining details about a future spouse and his or her faithfulness actually worked. It is superstition after all. The main theme running through such ancient Halloween rituals though is the excuse to have a party, particularly around the warmth of a fire. It would be a shame to let that ethos fall by the wayside.
Sources:
- Sharpe's London Magazine, 1846
- Chamber's Edinburgh Journal, 1842
Ancient Halloween Superstitions and Games
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