Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve, is one of the world's oldest traditions, with roots in ancient festivals in places like Ireland and Scotland. The festival has grown in popularity over the years. It is marked with ghoulish décor and costumes, parties, and the trick-or-treat ritual. In some countries, there are solemn rites to respect the dead during this time. Here's a look at some unique Halloween traditions related to food around the world.
Baking A Barmbrack To Predict The Future
Samhain, or "All Hallowtide," a pagan Irish feast honouring the end of summer, is claimed to have inspired Halloween. And the Irish have a unique Halloween tradition related to baking. They bake barmbracks, a rich cake filled with currants, raisins, and candied citrus, as a Halloween ritual. The cakes have a ring, a rag, and a coin baked into them with each thing symbolising a different fortune. Those who get the ring will marry or find happiness. If you get the rag, you will join the clergy or have financial difficulties that year. Those who receive the coin will have a prosperous year.
Fave Dei Morti Cookies As Offerings To The Dead
In Italy, fave dei morti cookies—which literally translates to 'fava beans of the dead'—are traditionally eaten on All Saints Day, when families visit and tend to their relatives' graves, sometimes dressed in black. In some parts of Italy, men will present their fiancées with boxes of these little cookies, as well as an engagement ring, as this is a common day for proposals. In Palermo, Sicily, children are given gifts from the dead, such as sweets, and in return, people leave gifts on the graves of their deceased relatives. The cookies were once made using fava beans but are now made with almonds.
Soul Cakes For The Hungry Ghosts
Before the trick-or-treaters and their candies, there were plates of sweet and steaming soul cakes. There are several explanations for the origins of soul cakes (also called soulmass cakes). Some believe soul cakes were thrown about an area to pacify wicked spirits cursed to roam in animal form. These pastries were offered to the poor in exchange for their prayers for departed souls languishing in purgatory. They were also presented to the costumed entertainers known as mummers, who made their rounds on Halloween, like the trick-or-treaters of today. The original mediaeval recipe included saltpetre. This ritual is popular in the UK, as well as in places in Europe.
The Nut Crack Night
October 31 is also known as Nut Crack Night in various parts of Scotland and Northern England. According to a custom, unmarried men and women are named after a nut. Then, two nuts are placed in the fire: if they burn together, the romance will be easy; if they jump apart, the wooing will be difficult. With its romantic implications, Nut Crack Night made its way into literature, appearing in the poetry of Robert Burns and others.
Bobbing Apples And More
Apart from pumpkins, apples play a central role in Halloween traditions. Bobbing for apples is a popular pastime based on an old English practice. It is believed that anyone who can cleanly take an apple from the water with their teeth would discover love. Another apple-themed game is snap-apple, in which an apple is strung by a string, and partygoers are challenged to bite into it while their hands are tied behind their backs.