Folklore of Northern England

18 October

Folklore from the old calendars

Apple and candle on Halle e’en No longer kept Northern EnglandOn Halloween young people in the North ducked for apples or snapped at one fixed to the end of a hanging beam with a lighted candle on the other end.
Cake Night at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on the eve of All Saints the good wives made a cake for everyone in the family, so the evening was generally called Cake Night.
Hey-how for Hallowe’en Lore and belief Northern EnglandHallowe'en was the night when all the witches could be seen, and a rhyme hailed it as such.
Lating the Witches No longer kept LancashireOn Hallowe'en a party led by an old woman went round the bigger houses near Longridge Fell asking for lating candles, one for each person in the household.
Nutcrack Night Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England Hallowe'en was called Nutcrack Night, from the nuts cracked, eaten and thrown on the fire.
The parish clerk leads the doomed at Sedbergh Lore and belief YorkshireAt Sedbergh it was believed that on All Saints' Eve the forms of all who would die that year paraded the churchyard, led by the parish clerk.
The Whitbeck bull and the winter wind Lore and belief CumberlandAt Whitbeck in Cumberland it was said that whichever way a bull faced as he lay on Hallowe'en, the wind would blow from that quarter for most of the winter.