Tricks and treats

HALLOWEEN was a spooky time when I was child, we heard all about the banshee. People told ghost stories and we ate barmbrack and colcannon. It was all about fortune telling and divination.

There was lots of apple-bobbing and I also remember a game that involved three saucers, one held water, the second some soil, the third a ring. One after another we were blindfolded; when one touched a saucer, fingers in the water meant you were going on a journey overseas, the ring meant you would be married within the year and the clay was very bad news, it indicated that you would meet a sticky end before the year “was out”.

The contents of the barmbrack also held similar clues to one’s fortunes good or otherwise. All good innocent fun and, apart from the barmbrack, pretty uncommercial. Almost every culture marks Halloween, the Day of the Dead or All Souls Day. Many visit graveyards and bring the favourite food of their loved ones to picnic and reminisce on the graves.