Then, lads and lassies, great and small, give ear to what I say—­
Refrain from work on Saturdays as strictly as you may;
So shall the saint your patron be and prosper all you do—­
And when examinations come he’ll see you safely through.

[Illustration:  St. Saturday]

=Hallowe’en=

October 31

The Eve of All Saints’ Day

This night is known in some places as Nutcrack Night, or Snapapple Night.  Supernatural influences are pretended to prevail and hence all kinds of superstitions were formerly connected with it.  It is now usually celebrated by children’s parties, when certain special games are played.

=ALL-HALLOW-EVE MYTHS=

BY DAVID BROWN

As the world grows old and wise, it ceases to believe in many of its superstitions.  But, although they are no longer believed in, the customs connected with them do not always die out; they often linger on through centuries, and, from having once been serious religious rites, or something real in the life of the people, they become at last mere children’s plays or empty usages, often most zealously enjoyed by those who do not understand their meaning.

All-hallow Eve is now, in our country towns, a time of careless frolic, and of great bonfires, which, I hear, are still kindled on the hill-tops in some places.  We also find these fires in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and from their history we learn the meaning of our celebration.  Some of you may know that the early inhabitants of Great Britain, Ireland, and parts of France were known as Celts, and that their religion was directed by strange priests called Druids.  Three times in the year, on the first of May, for the sowing; at the solstice, June 21st, for the ripening and turn of the year; and on the eve of November 1st, for the harvesting, those mysterious priests of the Celts, the Druids, built fires on the hill-tops in France, Britain, and Ireland, in honor of the sun.  At this last festival the Druids of all the region gathered in their white robes around the stone altar or cairn on the hill-top.  Here stood an emblem of the sun, and on the cairn was a sacred fire, which had been kept burning through the year.  The Druids formed about the fire, and, at a signal, quenched it, while deep silence rested on the mountains and valleys.  Then the new fire gleamed on the cairn, the people in the valley raised a joyous shout, and from hill-top to hill-top other fires answered the sacred flame.  On this night, all hearth-fires in the region had been put out, and they were kindled with brands from the sacred fire, which was believed to guard the households through the year.