caulcannon

• Format: Manuscript
• Language: English
• Published: 1974
• Subjects: English language > Dialects > Newfoundland and Labrador; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/elrcdne/id/14645

colcannon n Although Halloween could not be properly regarded as the end of the farming year in the New World, since some root crops were still in the ground, many of the folk customs associa- ted with this festival were transferred. In the Avalon the Gaelic word [i]_caulcannon_[i] describes the traditional meal of white vegtables- potatoes, white cabbage, and turnips- eaten on this night. Symbolic objects- a piece of wood, a wisp of straw, a button, a coin, a ring- were concealed in the meal. Each object sym- bolized some future event in the finder's life. Similar divination rites were characteristic of Halloween in the homeland. Various tricks such as switching farm tools and implements to confuse their owners, throwing cabbages at the doors or salt at the window, were common to all three areas and were practised in southern Ireland. Halloween customs have long since been urbanized, but up to the end of the last century the customs of this festival practised in the areas of Irish settlement may be regarded as transplants of an ancient folk tradition. PRINTED ITEM G. M. Story JUL 1974 JHJH JUL 1974 Used I and Sup Used I and Sup Not Used caulcannon, colcannon night, SNAP-APPLE NIGHT Checked by Jordyn Hughes on Wed 15 Jun 2016