Countdown to Halloween: Bobbing Apples And The Dumb Supper
by Marisa
Halloween may not come to mind as readily as, say, Thanksgiving, for culinary enticements, but there’s a great deal more to this ancient Celtic tradition than soul-cakes and bags of candy.
To begin, hospitality was historically a substantial Samhain component. In addition to the treats bestowed on visiting guisers in exchange for songs or prayers, dinners were prepared for the deceased, both to honor passed loved ones, and to appease less friendly spirits. In areas of Ireland and Scotland they still set a place for dead loved ones at the Samhain table, and pass the evening with nostalgic stories. The more menacing spirits, however, proved more of a trick. Not wishing to invite any threatening presence into the home, ancient Celts would place a dumb supper of traditional Samhain foods outside their door, or bury apples roadside for those spirits who were lost or without descendants.
Why the emphasis on apples? In keeping with the ongoing apple-bobbing tradition, ancient Celts believed that eating a slice of three different apples ensured a year of good luck, and that an apple before sleep on Samhain night would prevent illness for a year. The apple was also credited with magical abilities, due in part to the pentagram revealed at an apple’s core, when sliced width-wise.
One Pagan divination ritual instructs that you sit in front of a mirror, lit only by candlelight or the moon, and descend into a meditative silence, focusing on a particular question. Next, cut an apple into nine pieces, eating the first eight with your back to the mirror before throwing the ninth slice over your left shoulder, and following it with your gaze. If you allow your focus to “soften,” an image is said to form from the reflected moon or candlelight in the mirror, providing your answer.
In addition to apples, other Dumb Supper foods include traditional Irish colcannon and barmbrack - just chew carefully, as Samhain dishes often include buried objects, such as coins, rings, or cloth, from which the diner might glean divination. Hazelnuts are another customary Samhain treat, regarded by the Celts as a symbol of occult wisdom, as is chocolate, associated in Mexico with wishing the dead a sweet return in their next incarnation.
So this year, don’t limit yourself to the candies of contemporary custom, but indulge instead in a full Samhain feast! After all, you’re just protecting your home.
| 10/30/07
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