Typed as spelled and written
Lena Stone Criswell
THE MARLIN DEMOCRAT
Eighteenth Year - Number 47
Marlin, Texas, Saturday, November 2, 1907
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Meaning of Hallowe'en.
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Hallowe'en, which comes on October 31, is the day preceding All Hallows, or All
Saints Day. It comes down from the past as the date of the festival
incident to All Saints Day.
In England it was long the custom to crack
nuts, duck for apples in a tub of water and perform various other stunts in the
nature of fireside revelries. Anciently, the most essential ceremony seems
to have been the lighted bonfire at nightfall in every household.
In Scotland, the ceremonies took more of
the form of a superstitious character, among rustics the form of a charm to
discover who should be his or her partner for life. Of these now almost
exploded customs, the best summary is found in Burns' well known poem,
"Hallowe'en."
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Copyright permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for
printing by The Democrat, Marlin, Falls Co., Texas