FESTIVE SEASON

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 14, 14 December 1932, Page 11

FESTIVE SEASON

THE SPELL OF YULETIDE. The long winter nights, the cheery glow of tlie Christinas fires, and the general feeling of hospitality and merrL ment combine to make Yuletide a favourite time for all kinds of fortunetelling and games. In almost every country in Christendom quaint charms are worked on such mystic nights as Cliristmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Twelfth Eve, when omens are drawn from the sky, the wind, the depth of water in ponds and rivers, or the way the fire burns. In Ireland it is customary at Christmas and All Hallow Eve to pour melted lead, wax, the white of an egg into cold water, the odd shapes it assumes being supposed to indicate the trade or profession of the future husband. Manx girls try to obtain the same information by playing at “Goggans” on Twelfth Eve, when the Cliristmas merry-makings are supposed to end. They put down a row of mugs on the hearth, in front of the fire, and lay in each some symbol of a trade. Then they go out of the room, and the boys change the order of the mugs. After this the girls are blindfolded, and led back one by one to choose their goggans. According to the one they seize upon, so will be the trade of the husband.

Another Manx charm was to lay a row of apples on a table, and go backwards and take one, which had to be roasted and eaten. Then the girl went to bed backwards and thirsty, and the person who brought her a glass of water in dream was destined to be her husband. “A thirsting dream” was thought most efficacious in the working of spells. THE WITCHES’ CHAIN. “The Witches’ Chain” was once popular at Christmas, Three girls joined to make a chain about a yard long of holly, mistletoe and juniper berries, with an acorn at the end of each link. At the stroke of midnight they went into a room by themselves, locking the door, so that nobody should come and disturb them. The key was hung over the chimney-piece, and a good fire was burning in the grate. The windows were flung open, and the three maidens took a long, thin log, which they had first sprinkled with oil, salt and fresh earth, wound the chain of berries round it, each girl sharing equally in the task, and then they laid the log right in the heart of the fire. This done, they all sat down, each holding on her left knee a Prayer Book, open at the marriage service. As the last acorn was burnt, the future husband was supposed to cross the room, each visible to his own sweetheart, but not to the others. Those who were to die old maids saw either a coffin or some misshapen form cross the room. Immediately afterwards the girls went to bed, and • were supposed to have wonderful visions. This spell was worked only on Christmas Eve, or on a Wednesday or Friday during the holidays. A Christmas and New Year’s Eve spell consisted in plucking twelve long hairs from the head, and making them into a ring—young ladies with bobbed and shingled hair cannot work this charm! At bedtime the ring was inserted between the leaves of the Prayer Book at the marriage service, and the future husband was supposed to appear in a dream. Another hair and ring charm consisted in suspending a wedding ring by a long hair inside a glass and making it vibrate. The number of times the ring tinkled against the side of the glass was supposed to show tlie years that would elapse before the girl was a bride. It was said that if a girl took a young man’s silk neckerchief and looked through it at the first new moon in the year, she would see as many distinct moons as months would elapse before she was married.