According to ancient Celtic custom, the date corresponding
to Nov. 1, was the beginning of a new year. The ancient Celts celebrated the
end of one year and the beginning of another with their largest festival known
as Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was during this time that they believed
the souls of those who had died in the previous year travel to another world,
but at least temporarily, could intermingle with the living.
Ghost, on the other hand, has Germanic origins, deriving
from “gast” in the language that became modern German. “Gast” originally
identified a terrifying rage but later came to mean the disembodied spirit of
someone who has died.
With a deep-seated tradition of story telling in both the
cultures, and strong percentages of Irish and German coursing through my own
veins, I have chosen to celebrate the upcoming holiday with story. Some are old
favorite stories that you have heard from me before. Others may be new and
different to each of us.
But like the Irish Halloween tradition of Barmbrack, the
‘speckled loaf’ of sweet, yeasted (skimmed from the top of fermenting beer)
bread, you may find more than raisins and sultanas in your loaf. The Halloween “Brack” traditionally functioned
also as a fortune telling mechanism, as various objects were baked into the
bread and when it was dispersed, fortune was told by what object was found in
your particular piece. The pea found in your portion signified that you would
not marry that year; the stick, “to beat one’s spouse” told of an unhappy
marriage or continuous disputes; a rag or cloth marked a person with bad luck
and poverty; a small coin (usually a silver six pence), on the other hand, tabbed
the recipient for riches and good fortune; and the ring meant that you were to
marry within a year.
My stories, by contrast, may, or may not contain elements
from which to determine you own fate in the upcoming year. You, and you alone,
can be the judge of that. The loaves are often served toasted with butter and
cup of tea in the afternoon. Feel free to pick out the raisins if you don’t
like them, or discard the whole thing. But in the spirit of the season, I’ll
offer you at least one a day until the traditional Celtic New Year.
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