XIV. MORE HALLOWTIDE BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 142 XV. HALLOWE'EN IN AMERICA 149 "FOUR POEMS" 172 MAGAZINE REFERENCES TO HALLOWE'EN ENTERTAINMENTS 179 SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF READINGS, RECITATIONS, AND PLAYS 182 INDEX TO QUOTATIONS 184 INDEX 188 ILLUSTRATIONS Hallowe'en Festivities _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE In Hallowe'en Time 34 The Witch of the Walnut-Tree 100 The Witches' Dance (_Valpurgisnacht_) 138 Fortune-Telling 148 Hallowe'en Tables, I 156 Hallowe'en Tables, II 158 No Hallowe'en without a Jack-o'-lantern 178 The Book of Hallowe'en CHAPTER I SUN-WORSHIP. THE SOURCES OF HALLOWE'EN If we could ask one of the old-world pagans whom he revered as his greatest gods, he would be sure to name among them the sun-god; calling him Apollo if he were a Greek; if an Egyptian, Horus or Osiris; if of Norway, Sol; if of Peru, Bochica. As the sun is the center of the physical universe, so all primitive peoples made it the hub about which their religion revolved, nearly always believing it a living person to whom they could say prayers and offer sacrifices, who directed their lives and destinies, and could even snatch men from earthly existence to dwell for a time with him, as it draws the water from lakes and seas. In believing this they followed an instinct of all early peoples, a desire to make persons of the great powers of nature, such as the world of growing things, mountains and water, the sun, moon, and stars; and a wish for these gods they had made to take an interest in and be part of their daily life. The next step was making stories about them to account for what was seen; so arose myths and legends. The sun has always marked out work-time and rest, divided the year into winter idleness, seed-time, growth, and harvest; it has always been responsible for all the beauty and goodness of the earth; it is itself splendid to look upon. It goes away and stays longer and longer, leaving the land in cold and gloom; it returns bringing the long fair days and resurrection of spring. A Japanese legend tells how the hidden sun was lured out by an image made of a copper plate with saplings radiating from it like sunbeams, and a fire kindled, dancing, and prayers; and round the earth in North America the Cherokees believed they brought the sun back upon its northward path by the same means of rousing its curiosity, so that it would come out to see its counterpart and find out what was going on.