Friday, October 29, 2010

For the Lovesick Maiden: A Scotch Song and Halloween Custom



From Traditional Scottish Songs:

My Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair


by Anne Hume (1742-1841)
Also set to music by Haydn


My mother bids me bind my hair
With bands of rosy hue,
Tie up my sleeves with ribbons rare,
And lace my bodice blue.

"For why," she cries, "sit still and weep,
While others dance and play?"
Alas! I scarce can go or creep
While Lubin is away.

’Tis sad to think the days are gone
When those we love were near;
I sit upon this mossy stone
And sigh when none can hear.

And while I spin my flaxen thread,
And sing my simple lay,
The village seems asleep or dead,
Now Lubin is away.


A Halloween Custom From Catholic Cuisine:

From the Scotch we have the recipe for Salainn Bannock. In Cooking for Christ, Florence Berger tells us that this cake was "made by Scotch lassies especially for Halloween. They stir about six teaspoons of salt into the dough so it is scarcely edible, eat it, and then, without a word or drink of water, they climb into bed to dream of their future husbands."

2 comments:

Maid Emmaline said...

I love the post title. But that recipe....yuck!!!!

Wendy Haught said...

The other version calls for the maiden to eat salt herring without drinking anything and then go to bed and dream of her future husband bringing her a glass of water. I think I like that better, because it models for the maiden what a good husband is like.