Sunday 26 October 2008

Halloween Party ....

This is a first for me - a Blog Party to celebrate Halloween. The party is the brainchild of Kathryn who is leading the second Soul Journey. Over on her Blog, she has a list of the other party goers, which are all worth visiting ......
Last week was a bit on the challenging side and I wasn't able to do all of what I wanted to but here are my party pieces .....
I didn't know (until I googled it) that Halloween is an ancient Celtic festival, known as Samhain, which is celebrated at the end of the harvest system. The ancient Gaels believed that Halloween dissolved the boundary between the living and the dead; and the dead became danagerous for the living by causing problems such as disease and damage to crops.
Trick or Treat is a fairly recent Halloween tradition and I remember taking my children out when they were small. Sadly, nowadays, Trick or Treat has a bad name here, not just in the towns but in the rural areas as well and the local Police provide door stickers to display in an effort to deter youngsters.
I have to confess, I don't open the door .....

I haven't done pumpkins for years but this year I carved three in honour of The Gorgeous One aka Finley .... As I say I hadn't done this for years and the lids were a bit wonky but they sort of looked as they should and I still have all my fingers- lol .

Most importantly, Fin seemed to like sitting amongst them .....
One thing that I still do every year is gourds. A local farm shop grows ornamental ones and they make lovely table decorations which can last nearly through to the spring. I give them two or three coats of clear varnish to help make them last ......
And finally a recipe for Barmbrack, a yeasted bread, which my friend Eamon (a true Irishman) at work told me about.
The bread is traditionally baked with various objects inside, which had a meaning to the person who got it in their slice - a pea (the person would not marry that year); a stick "to beat one's wife with" (the person would have an unhappy marriage or be in disputes); the cloth or rag (the person would have bad luck or be poor; the coin (the person would enjoy good fortune or be rich); and the ring (the person would be wed within the year).
The recipe is over on Wikipedia here ......

Hope you all have a good weekend .....

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Sue - thank you for your wonderful party. Your grandson is darling sitting along side the pumpkins. Thank you for the recipe. Hugs.

Gail Is This Mutton? said...

What a great idea, I loved your Blog Party Sue. Informative and entertaining. Loved the recipe too. I'm not at all keen or trick or treat. The kids should at least do something for their treat. The Times yesterday said that years ago children would practice a song or poem, and do that to get their sweets. Much better idea.

Ed said...

Great idea Sue, loved your post, and young Fin looks gorgeous, isn't he growing??

Kathryn Costa said...

What a fun post. Hmmm that bread sounds dangerous to eat. I would surely choke on a few items. Fin is the cutest pumpkin of all!

Happy Halloween!
xoxo k

Viki said...

Fin is adorable!

We still do trick or treat here...well the youngest is giving out the candy this year. She will probably dress up to do so.
I too have been reading(again) about the origins of this holiday and enjoyed your blog party!

Viki

morningDove said...

your little sweet pumpkin is the most adorable among the others.
The gourds are so different. I love gourds. I have one dried out and painted.

Francine Cronos said...

Thank you for inviting me to your party. Fin is so darling sitting amongst the pumpkins. Your gourds are amazing.

Sarah Whitmire said...

Thank you for having me at your party. I think your carved pumpkins look great and what a cutie your grandson is.

Hope your Halloween is a happy one!

XO

Sarah

Jane B. said...

Thank you for sharing your research and your lovely recipe! It's funny, because here in the US I think we do tend to think of the Halloween celebrations as very much a European tradition. It's a shame that it has fallen into not such a great occasion in your part of the world. Well, I shall send you a virtual "candy corn and a pumpkin" in honor anyway!