A custom that is a reminder of the lighted boats sent down-stream
in Japan to bear away the souls of the dead, is that which makes
use of nut-shell boats. These have tiny candles fastened in them,
are lighted, and named, and set adrift on a tub of water. If they
cling to the side, their namesakes will lead a quiet life. Some
will float together. Some will collide and be shipwrecked. Others
will bear steadily toward a goal though the waves are rocked in a
tempest. Their behavior is significant. The candle which burns
longest belongs to the one who will marry first.
The Midsummer wheel which was rolled down into the Moselle River in
France, and meant, if the flames that wreathed it were not
extinguished, that the grape-harvest would be abundant, has
survived in the fortune wheel which is rolled about from one guest
to another, and brings a gift to each.
The actions of cats on Hallowe'en betoken good or bad luck. If a
cat sits quietly beside any one, he will enjoy a peaceful,
prosperous life; if one rubs against him, it brings good luck,
doubly good if one jumps into his lap. If a cat yawns near you on
Hallowe'en, be alert and do not let opportunity slip by you. If a
cat runs from you, you have a secret which will be revealed in
seven days.
Different states have put interpretations of their own on the
commonest charms. In Massachusetts the one who first draws an apple
from the tub with his teeth will be first married. If a girl steals
a cabbage, she will see her future husband as she pulls it up, or
meet him as she goes home. If these fail, she must put the cabbage
over the door and watch to see whom it falls on, for him she is to
marry. A button concealed in mashed potato brings misfortune to the
finder. The names of three men are written on slips of paper, and
enclosed in three balls of meal. The one that rises first when they
are thrown into water will disclose the sought-for name.
Maine has borrowed the yarn-test from Scotland. A ball is thrown
into a barn or cellar, and wound off on the hand. The lover will
come and help to wind. Girls in New Hampshire place in a row three
dishes with earth, water, and a ring in them, respectively. The one
who blindfolded touches earth will soon die; water, will never
marry; the ring, will soon be wedded.
To dream of the future on Hallowe'en in Pennsylvania, one must go
out of the front door backward, pick up dust or grass, wrap it in
paper, and put it under his pillow.
In Maryland girls see their future husbands by a rite similar to
the Scotch "wetting of the sark-sleeve." They put an egg to roast,
and open wide all the doors and windows. The man they seek will
come in and turn the egg. At supper girls stand behind the chairs,
knowing that the ones they are to marry will come to sit in front
of them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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