So how did the ancient Welsh people celebrate this special night?
My father was Welsh - and all my forefathers - so I'm very interested in Welsh customs, specially those that pre-date Christianity.
For my novel I, Rhiannon (published on Kindle in Books One and Two) I did a lot of research into Welsh life at about the time of the Roman invasion.
 |
| The cover of one of my Celtic novels -- by graphic designer Erin Steenson |
Some of the most interesting things I discovered related to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which we now know as Halloween.
Did you know that the Celts believed the spirits from the Summerland visited the living on this night? They made special soul cakes - that were almost too salty to enjoy - to honour the Messenger of the Dead. The salt was for purity and preservation.
They used to play games around a big bonfire. One of the games was for the bachelor and spinsters of the tribe. They would get a chance to draw a golden wedding ring from a massive cauldron of mash stirred by the Arch Druid. Whoever got the ring on his or her special carved wooden lovespoon would be the first to wed. The mash, called stwmp naw rhyw, or mash of nine sorts, was made of barley,carrots, turnips, peas, parsnips, leeks, pepper, salt and new milk.
At the very end of the evening, when the fire was just embers, each member of the tribe would take some ash home to protect them against sorrow.
You can read more about this and other interesting Celtic customs in my novels.
No comments:
Post a Comment