Nov. 1.]

ALL SAINTS’ DAY.

This festival takes its origin from the conversion, in the seventh century, of the Pantheon at Rome into a Christian place of worship, and its dedication by Pope Boniface IV. to the Virgin and all the Martyrs. The anniversary of this event was at first celebrated on the 1st of May, but the day was subsequently altered to the 1st of November, which was thenceforth, under the designation of the feast of All Saints, set apart as a general commemoration in their honour. The festival has been retained by the Anglican Church—Book of Days, vol. ii. p. 529; See Soane’s Book of the Months, 1849, vol. ii. p. 235.

A writer in the Gent. Mag. 1783 (vol. liii. p. 578), thinks the custom prevailing among the Roman Catholics of lighting fires upon the hills on All Saints’ night, the Eve of All Souls, scarcely needs explaining, fire being, even among the Pagans, an emblem of immortality, and well calculated to typify the ascent of the soul to heaven.

A correspondent of the same periodical (1788, vol. lviii. p. 602) alludes to a custom observed in some parts of the kingdom among the Papists, of illuminating some of their grounds upon the eve of All Souls, by bearing round them straw, or other fit materials, kindled into a blaze. This ceremony is called a Tinley, said to represent an emblematical lighting of souls out of purgatory.

Cheshire.

On All Souls’ Eve, both children and grown-up people go from door to door, a-souling, i.e., begging for soul cakes, or anything else they can get. In some districts they perform a kind of play as well, but in all instances the following, or a similar song, is sung:—

In the parish of Lymm it is customary, for a week or ten days before the 5th of November, for the skeleton of a horse’s head, dressed up with ribbons, &c., having glass eyes inserted in the sockets, and mounted on a short pole by way of handle, to be carried by a man underneath covered with a horse-cloth. There is generally a chain attached to the nose, which is held by a second man, and they are attended by several others. In houses to which they can gain access, they go though some kind of performance, the man with the chain telling the horse to rear, open its mouth, &c. The object of course is to obtain money. The horse will sometimes seize persons, and hold them fast till they pay for being set free; but he is generally very peaceable, for, in case of resistance being offered, his companions generally take to flight and leave the poor horse to fight it out.—N. & Q. 1st. S. vol. i. p. 258.

Lancashire.

At Great Marton, there was formerly a sort of procession of young people from house to house, at each of which they recited psalms, and, in return, received presents of cakes, whence the custom was called Psalm-caking.—Med. Ævi Kalend. 1841, vol. i. p. 375.

Middlesex.

At a pension held at Gray’s Inn in Michaelmas Term, 21 Henry VIII., there was an order made that all the fellows of this house who should be present upon any Saturday at supper, betwixt the feasts of All Saints and the Purification of our Lady, or upon any other day at dinner or supper, when there are revels, should not depart out of the hall until the said revels were ended, upon the penalty of 12d.

In 4 Edward VI. (17 Nov.), it was also ordered, that thenceforth there should be no comedies, called interludes, in the house out of term time, but when the feast of the Nativity of our Lord is solemnly observed, and that when there shall be any such comedies, then all the society at that time in common to bear the charge of the apparel.

In 4 Charles I. (17 Nov.), it was also ordered that all playing of dice, cards, or otherwise, in the hall, buttery, or butler’s chamber, should be thenceforth forbidden at all times of the year, the twenty days of Christmas only excepted.—Herbert, Antiquities of the Inns of Court, 1804, p. 336.

Monmouthshire.

In this county, says Hone, Year Book (p. 1288), a custom prevails among the lower classes of begging bread for the souls of the departed on All Saints’ Day; the bread thus distributed is called dole bread.

Shropshire.

It is customary, says a correspondent of N. & Q. (1st S. vol. iv. p. 381) for the village children to go round to all their neighbours Souling, collecting contributions, and singing the following doggrel:—

The soul-cake referred to is a sort of bun, which at one time it was an almost general custom for persons to make, to give to one another on this day.

Staffordshire.

Tollett, in his Variorum Shakspeare (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 2, note) says, On All Saints’ Day the poor people in Staffordshire, and perhaps in other country places, go from parish to parish a-souling, as they call it, i.e. begging and puling (or singing small, as Bailey’s Dictionary explains puling) for soul-cakes, or any good thing to make them merry.” Brand, Pop. Antiq. (1849, vol. i. p. 393), gives the following lines as sung on the occasion:

Western Isles of Scotland.

In St. Kilda, the inhabitants used to make a large cake in the form of a triangle furrowed round, all of which was eaten the same night.—Martin’s Western Isles of Scotland, 1716, p. 287.

From the same authority we learn that the inhabitants of Lewis had an ancient custom of sacrificing to the sea-god called Shony. The inhabitants round the island came to the church of St. Mulvay, each man having his provisions with him. Every family furnished a peck of malt, which was brewed into ale. One of their number was picked out to wade into the sea up to the middle, and carrying a cup of ale in his hand, he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Shony, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that you’ll be so kind as to send us plenty of sea-ware, for enriching our ground the ensuing year;” and so threw the cup of ale into the sea—this was performed in the night time. At his return to land, they all went to church, where there was a candle burning upon the altar; and then standing silent for a little time one of them gave a signal, at which the candle was put out, and immediately all of them went to the fields, where the rest of the night was spent in merriment.

IRELAND.

A correspondent of N. & Q. (3rd S. vol. i. p. 446) mentions a custom at Wexford,[82] of lighting candles (more or less) in every window in the house, on the night of the vigil of All Souls, and when travelling along a country road where farmhouses and cottages are numerous, the effect is quite picturesque on a dark November eve.