I am not a big fan of Halloween (except for the candy and cute kids) but since the day is fast approaching, I thought I would share a little about how it was observed in early 19th century Cornwall, the setting of my novel, A Castaway in Cornwall. Here’s a brief excerpt:
As you may know, All Hallows’ Eve (often contracted as Halloween), is the eve of All Saints’ Day, which, in many Christian traditions, is a day to honor saints of the church, or the faithful departed.
I always like learning about local traditions and weaving them into novels when I can. On October 31st, when others observed All Hallows’ Eve, many Cornish people celebrated Allan-night or Allantide, the feast day of local saint, St. Allan.
Some carved jack-o’-lanterns from large turnips instead of pumpkins. Creepy, right?
Others hosted parties with bonfires and music. They might sing sea shanties while someone played a hurdy gurdy or wheel fiddle. (If you’d like to hear what the instrument sounds like, visit here or here.)
And many people gave shiny red “Allan apples” to family and friends as tokens of good luck and good health for the coming year. A related Allantide tradition called for girls to sleep with an Allan apple under their pillow to dream of their future spouse.
Then the next day, All Saints’ Day, the faithful attended church.
What about you? Do you celebrate Halloween or All Saints’ Day in some form? If so, how?
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No, Julie I do not observe Halloween. There is absolutely nothing about the holiday that I like. I love fall decorations and the harvest season but I wish we could just skip the ugly. Everyone to his own…..
I am enjoying the fall decorations this year too, Alva. Thanks for stopping by today!
This was fascinating! It’s always so interesting to hear how the characters in your books would have marked the same events and holidays we have here in America today. 🙂
Very interesting! So glad you shared this tradition.
All Hallows Eve day, we attend Mass. When we were kids, we had three things to do. Penny’s night, we begged for penny’s. Beggars night, we begged for candy, and All Hallows Eve, Mass for uss, but the more mischievous soaped car windows. We sure didn’t get the amount of candy kids get today. Maybe an apple instead, or cookies. Shame they can’t be trusted now. Much safer time for us too. No parents went with us and we’d go for blocks in the City
(Columbus, Ohio).
Thanks for sharing this post!
Like the previous poster, my parents and I went to Mass either on Halloween night or All Saint’s Day. Since I attend Catholic parish schools, our entire school went to Mass during the school day. A few of my teachers were Protestants so they had to “sit out” during Communion.(Same for students in K-2 grades since they couldn’t receive yet) Adults were welcome to attend since it was on the Mass schedule for that day.
I went trick or treating with friends and classmates growing up in the 1990s. It was fun!
November 2nd is All Souls Day, marking all the faithfully departed that day.
Side note: The Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints at a different time during the year.
We celebrate both Halloween and All Saints Day. We enjoy trick-or-treating and local Halloween parades. In recent years, there have been some trunk-or-treats as well.
For All Saints Day, our school typically has a saints parade after Mass with the younger children dressing up as our favorite saints. Some years we’ve had saint-themed parties as well.
Halloween, for us, has always been a fun day where the kids can let their imaginations run a little nuts and indulge on candy. It’s also, however, the day we Lutherans wear red and observe the beginning of the Reformation, with this year’s service actually occurring on October 31. We observe All Saints the following Sunday. A bell tolls for each member of the congregation who has died over the past year, and we are all allowed to light candles (in giant sand-filled boxes) for those we hold in personal memory. This year, we also plan to acknowledge the 735.000 lives well-lived and lost to COVID-19.
I love that you mention that a bonfire was a luxury. Coming from heavily wooded places, it’s difficult to remember until reminded, that Cornwall is almost completely bereft of trees. What a joyous luxurious celebration indeed it would be.
Hi Julie,
I love how you always bring history to life. I understand that a lot of people see Halloween as a fun holiday for kids and families. I don’t celebrate Halloween because I once heard someone (John Ramirez) speak about what he used to do on Halloween as a high priest of satanism and I’ve just never been able to see it the same.
I don’t particularly care for Halloween and when my kids were little we didn’t let them trick or treat. Each day, 5 days before the 31st, we would discuss a different Saint and do a simple art project and hang it up. Then they’d get a small bag of candy. By the time the 31st came they had a nice pile of treats. We would also carve pumpkins and bake the seeds. Then we would go to the church for the Harvest Festival or decorate the car and do Trunk or Treat 🎃