A recipe inspired by

THE BOOK OF HALLOWE’EN

BY

Ruth Edna KellEy

1919

Halloween in Scotland and the Hebrides

As in Ireland the Scotch Baal festival of November was called Samhain. Western Scotland, lying nearest Tara, center alike of pagan and Christian religion in Ireland, was colonized by both the people and the customs of eastern Ireland.

The November Eve fires which in Ireland either died out or were replaced by candles were continued in Scotland. In Buchan, where was the altar-source of the Samhain fire, bonfires were lighted on hilltops in the eighteenth century; and in Moray the idea of fires of thanksgiving for harvest was kept to as late as 1866. All through the eighteenth century in the Highlands and in Perthshire torches of heath, broom, flax, or ferns were carried about the fields and villages by each family, with the intent to cause good crops in succeeding years. The course about the fields was sunwise, to have a good influence. Brought home at dark, the torches were thrown down in a heap, and made a fire. This blaze was called "Samhnagan," "of rest and pleasure." There was much competition to have the largest fire. Each person put in one stone to make a circle about it. The young people ran about with burning brands. Supper was eaten out-of-doors, and games played. After the fire had burned out, ashes were raked over the stones. In the morning each sought his pebble, and if he found it misplaced, harmed, or a footprint marked near it in the ashes, he believed he should die in a year.

The Bonfire Mocktail

Ingredients

• 2 parts mulled apple cider

• 1 part non-alcoholic or traditional bourbon or whiskey

• 1 cocktail smoking kit

• Apple and cinnamon for garnish

Directions

1. Combine the mulled apple cider with the non-alcoholic or traditional whiskey or bourbon in a cup.

2. Add a small amount of wood chips to the cocktail smoker chimney and place it over the glass, chimney end up.

3. Use a torch lighter to light the wood chips.

4. Gently shake, letting the smoke fill the glass.

5. Remove the lid after about a minute.

6. Add ice and garnish with sliced apple and a cinnamon stick, if desired.

Mulled Apple Cider

Ingredients

• 1 64 oz. bottle of apple cider

• 1 orange

• 1 pear, halved

• 1 apple, halved

• Cloves and cinnamon sticks

Directions

1. Pour apple cider into a large pot and begin to simmer over low heat.

2. Stick the cloves into the orange.

3. Add the pear, apple, and orange to the cider along with a few cinnamon sticks.

4. Simmer for at least one hour and up to three.

Additional Reading