Bobbing for apples is an ancient Halloween tradition.
The idea is that the girl who can bite the apple using only her mouth will be the next to marry. (This ties in to the old Adam and Eve thread. ie. The girl with the fruit from the tree of life weds with the hero.) If she could bob the apple on Halloween, she would then go look in a mirror where she would see the face of her lover revealed.
Another custom, was for a girl to peel an apple, being very careful to peel it all in one long ribbon. She would then throw it over her left shoulder. The shape of the peel on the ground would form the letter of the name of the man she was destined to marry.
Halloween may have evolved into a costume wearing fun nite, but it began as a celebration of the harvest, and preparation for the long cold dark days of winter.
The spook aspect comes from the idea that as we shift from the days of warmth to the days of cold, the veil between our world and the spirit world is thinned. Costumes were donned to ward off the spirits.
So have fun with the costumes, but take a moment to celebrate the harvest of your life. Think about snuggling in for the great dreamtime of winter, and reflect on the seeds that you plan to sow in the coming spring.
And don't forget the apple ladies...It is the symbol of feminine wisdom and marriage.
Posts
4 comments:
but what if i have a chinese name? that'll be tragic!
Why? cant an apple peel fall into the shape of pin yin?
LOL
is it a coincidence that halloween start when the dashain festival in nepal, the hindu country, ends?mythology has it that the ten headed devil, ravana was killed by rama (the incarnation of Lord Bishnu)on the day of vijaya dashami. that is why we celebrate dashain for 10 days every year. you may find the custom and rituals that go on with dasain pretty strange. this is the time when all young people are excited as the elder put tika on their forehead and give cash along with their blessings. so, the trend now is more exciting due to the money that is given than the blessings. anyways, dashain is all festivities - with meeting all your relatives and extended families all around town, and everyone offering feasts on each visit. so, ya enjoy your halloween.
Zany has a good point. He shows that all sorts of local customes tie in to a single root, and more often than not, that root leads to the East.
When I researched my name (Kelley) it said that it was Irish and meant 'Warrior Woman"
I checked a little deeper and found that the Kele's of Ireland were worshipers of the Goddess Kali, The warrior Goddess.
California is also a word using her name, just spelled with a C... Cali.
Everything I research has these amazing ties.
It's Cool
Post a Comment