Names of the dead at the church door

31 October · Wales

Lore and belief

On All Hallows Eve some in Wales listened at the great door of the church to hear the names of those who would die in the coming year. A listener who heard his own name called among the first was said to have died of the fright. Peter Roberts blamed neighbours who played on the weak, and said by 1815 such practices were almost given over in Wales.

The same has also been said to have followed the listening at the great door of the church in order to hear the names of those who were to die the following year

From Roberts's Cambrian Popular Antiquities, pp. 130-131. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

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.
Burning the Nuts Lore and belief England, Ireland, ScotlandOn Hallowe'en a pair of nuts was named for a lad and a lass and laid in the fire.
Pulling the Kail Stocks No longer kept ScotlandThe first rite of a Scottish Hallowe'en was to go out hand in hand, eyes shut, into the kailyard and each pull the first cabbage stalk they touched.
The Apple and the Looking-Glass Lore and belief ScotlandA girl who wanted to see her future husband went alone with a candle to a looking-glass on Hallowe'en and ate an apple in front of it, some said while combing her hair.
Coel Coeth No longer kept North WalesOn All Saints' Eve every family in North Wales lit a large bonfire, called Coel Coeth, in the most prominent spot near the house.
Ale for Shony No longer kept Outer HebridesAt Hallowtide the people of Lewis met at the church of St Mulvay, each family bringing malt that was brewed into ale.
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.
Cyniver No longer kept WalesAmong the Hallowe'en customs he gathered, Hone gave a Welsh game from Owen's Welsh Dictionary.
The Blue Clue No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandOne of the Hallowe'en spells Burns described among the country people of the west of Scotland had to be tried alone and in the dark.
Sowing Hemp-seed No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandOn Hallowe'en a girl crept out unseen and sowed a handful of hemp-seed, dragging something behind her to harrow it in, and saying a rhyme over and over.
Winnowing Three Wechts No longer kept ScotlandTo win three wechts of naething, a Scottish spell for Hallowe'en, the seeker went alone to the barn and opened both doors, taking them off their hinges if possible.
Fathoming the Stack No longer kept ScotlandAnother Scottish Hallowe'en charm from Burns was to slip out unnoticed to a stack of barley, called a bear stack, and measure round it three times with outstretched arms.
The Wet Sark Sleeve No longer kept Ireland, ScotlandIn the Scottish form of this Hallowe'en spell the seeker dipped the left shirt sleeve in a south-running burn where the lands of three lairds met.
The Three Luggies No longer kept ScotlandThree dishes, or luggies, were set on the hearth at Hallowe'en, one with clean water, one with foul water and one empty.
Sowens for the Hallowe’en Supper No longer kept ScotlandSowens was a thin dish made by steeping oat husks and meal in water until it soured, and in many parts of Scotland it was the proper supper for Hallowe'en.
The Logierait Faggots No longer kept PerthshireThe minister of Logierait in Perthshire described the chief ceremony of Hallowe'en, kept there on 31 October by the old style calendar.
The Callander Stones No longer kept PerthshireAt Callander a bonfire was lit in every village on All Saints' Eve.
The Buchan Hallow Fire No longer kept Aberdeenshire, MorayIn Buchan a Hallow Eve fire was lit on rising ground, and in Moray the eve of 1 November had been kept as a thanksgiving for the safe gathering of the harvest.
The Black Short-tailed Sow No longer kept North WalesThe autumn fire lit in North Wales on the eve of 1 November came with a round of ceremonies, according to an account Hone quoted from Owen.
The St Kilda Hallowe’en Cake No longer kept Outer HebridesMartin's account of the Western Isles, quoted by Hone, recorded that the people of St Kilda baked a special cake on Hallowe'en.
Oidhche Shamhna No longer kept IrelandOn the eve of Samhain, according to General Vallancey, Irish country people went from house to house carrying sticks and clubs, collecting money, bread, butter, cheese and eggs for the feast and reciting verses.
Lamb’s-wool on Holy Eve No longer kept IrelandA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine said that no merry-making on Holy Eve in Ireland was without lamb's-wool, made by bruising roasted apples into ale or sometimes milk; in better houses white wine had once been used instead.
Born on Hallowe’en Lore and belief ScotlandIt was popularly believed that a child born on Hallowe'en had strange gifts.
The Leinster Hallowe’en Spell Lore and belief LeinsterChambers printed a story from a Leinster family of the eighteenth century.
Fire and red low No longer kept EnglandDugdale noted in one of his almanacs of 1658 that on All Hallow Even the master of the family used anciently to carry a bunch of lighted straw about his corn.
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.
Saining the boats in Orkney No longer kept OrkneyJohn Brand, describing Orkney at the end of the seventeenth century, found that sick cattle were sprinkled with a charmed water called forespoken water, and so were boats that had no luck at the fishing.
The Gyar-Carlins Lore and belief ScotlandRobert Heron, travelling through Scotland in the 1790s, found the fairies thought of as little beings, sometimes kind and sometimes spiteful.
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.
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.
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.
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 Queen’s Hallowe’en at Balmoral No longer kept AberdeenshireAt Balmoral the estate people kept Hallowe'en with a torchlight procession of up to two hundred torch-bearers, and the torches were then heaped into a bonfire in view of the castle.
No wheat sown after Hallowmas Eve Lore and belief EnglandWheat sowing was to be over by Hallowmas Eve.
Hallowe’en fires in the White Cart at Paisley No longer kept RenfrewshireOn Hallowe'en the boys of Paisley built round hearths of clay walled with stones and sods out in the shallows of the river White Cart and lit bonfires on them.
New hearth fire from Tlachtga No longer kept Ireland, LeinsterOn the eve of the first of November every household in Ireland was said to put out its fire and fetch a portion of the Arch-druid's consecrated fire from Tlachtga in Meath to kindle the hearth anew.
The Eastwood woman rebuked for a Hallowe’en charm No longer kept RenfrewshireA woman of Eastwood was brought before the kirk session for using charms at Hallowe'en.
Hemp-seed round the church at midnight Lore and belief WalesOn All Hallows Eve in Wales a person would sow hemp-seed while walking round the church a little before midnight.
Cynddilig’s cock against the hooping-cough No longer kept CardiganshireIn the parish of Llanrhystud in Cardiganshire, from midday to midnight on the eve of the first of November, people were allowed to offer a cock to St Cynddilig as a guard against whooping-cough.
The yarn ladder on Hallowe’en Lore and belief WalesOn Hallowe'en two Welsh girls made a little ladder of yarn without breaking it from the ball and threw it out of the window.
Iolo ap Hugh’s fiddle on Hallowe’en Lore and belief Denbighshire, ShropshireA cave said to run from Morda to Chirk Castle drew in anyone who went near it, and on Hallowe'en the wandering fiddler Iolo ap Hugh went in with bread, cheese, candles and his fiddle and was never seen again.
The death roll at Aberhafesp church Lore and belief MontgomeryshireTwo men sat in the porch of Aberhafesp church on All Hallows' Eve to learn whether anyone in the parish would die in the coming year, and at midnight one heard a voice inside call his sleeping companion's name.
The Angelystor of Llangernyw Lore and belief DenbighshireAt Llangernyw it was said that on All Hallows' Eve a spirit called the Angelystor announced from the altar the names of everyone who would die in the parish that year.
Seven times round the church on All Hallows’ Eve Lore and belief MontgomeryshireA Montgomeryshire servant girl walked seven times round the church on All Hallows' Eve to raise the spirit of the man she would marry, and came home asking her mistress why the master had been sent out to frighten her.
Grass from under the holly on All Hallows’ Eve Lore and belief WalesOn All Hallows' Eve a Welsh girl walked backwards to a holly tree, pulled a handful of grass from under it and carried it to the light, where she would find hairs of her true love among the blades.

Names of the dead at the church door

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