ANOTHER LADIES' NIGHT OUT

The ring for marriage within a year;

The penny for wealth, my dear;

The thimble for old maid or bachelor born;

The button for sweethearts all forlorn;

The key for a journey to make all right;

And this you will see next Halloween night.

In my previous post I wrote about the Will Moses poster "Ladies Night Out." Back in Victorian times, women celebrated another kind of ladies night out on October 31. They would gather at parties to participate in rituals of a romantic nature. This event was sometimes called Witch Night.

I condensed the following "Witch Night" information from an article called "Halloween Fortunes" by Satenig St. Marie which appeared in the summer 1990 issue of Victorian Homes magazine. (Yes, I'm an article clipper.)

The hostess for the party would make handwritten invitations lettered with broomsticks, witches, a new moon and branches of witch hazel, for witch hazel is the sacred flower of Halloween. The day of the party, witch hazel branches were gathered for decorating the house.

The first event of the party, which would begin at 9 p.m. sharp, was the ceremony of cutting the Halloween Cake containing charms of fortune. One lady, designated Dame Halloween, had the responsibility to make the ceremony meaningful. Of course, the lady who found the ring in her slice of cake was the luckiest of all, for she would be married within the year.

Next, at 10:00, came the apple hunt. Earlier in the day, the hostess had hidden an apple for each lady throughout the house. When all the apples were found, the ladies gathered in front of the fireplace to again test their luck. First, they pared the apples, hoping to maintain one long unbroken peel which they then threw over their shoulders to determine the initial of their true love.

Next, they counted the seeds in their apples:

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One, I love;

Two, I love;

Three, I love, I say;

Four, I love with all my heart, and

Five, I cast away.

Six, he (or she) leaves;

Seven, he (or she) loves;

Eight, both love;

Nine, he (or she) comes;

Ten, he (or she) tarries;

Eleven, he courts; and

Twelve, he marries.

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The third destiny-testing activity was the burning of the Halloween nuts. Each young lady placed two nuts (often hazelnuts) side by side on the glowing coals of the fireplace, naming one for herself and one for the one she was dreaming of. If the nuts burned together, it was a sign that all would be well. If they snapped apart, or did not burn at all, the friendship would be tested.

Next, three bowls were placed on the table, one empty, one full of clear water, and one full of soapy water. If a blindfolded lady placed her hand in a bowl of clear water, she would be rich; if the bowl was full of soapy water, she would lose money, and if the bowl was empty, she would be a bride within the year.

Finally, each young lady, armed with a lighted candle given her by Dame Halloween, would go into a darkened chamber to find a package with her name on it. Would she encounter ghosts, or emerge safely with her package?

After the young ladies all returned to the drawing room, hopefully with their favors safely in hand, they would have a midnight supper. The party ended with them joining hands and singing.

"By then, the hour of ghosts was past, a glimpse of their destiny had been foretold, and for those who did not have their romantic wishes fulfilled, there was always next Halloween to test their luck again."

Above: What initial will the apple peel reveal?

Below: Another variation on burning the hazelnuts in the coals:

A hazel nut is named for you

And dropped upon the coals,

If it burns and burns to cinder

There's nothing more to hinder

For my love burns true.

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I finished writing this post and then went to check out other posts. Imagine my surprise when I found that Leanne (www.somersetseasons.blogspot.com) wrote a post today about Apple Lore.

Here's what she said about tossing the apple peel over one's shoulder:

St. Simon and St. Jude,

on you I intrude,

By this paring I hold to discover,

without any delay, tell me this day,

the name of my own true lover.

Poor lady - if the paring broke on impact, she would NEVER marry.