the golden bough-第194部分

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t　after　for　fuel　on　these　occasions；　among　the　plants　used　for　the　purpose　are　giant…fennel；　thyme；　rue；　chervil…seed；　camomile；　geranium；　and　penny…royal。　People　expose　themselves；　and　especially　their　children；　to　the　smoke；　and　drive　it　towards　the　orchards　and　the　crops。　Also　they　leap　across　the　fires；　in　some　places　everybody　ought　to　repeat　the　leap　seven　times。　Moreover　they　take　burning　brands　from　the　fires　and　carry　them　through　the　houses　in　order　to　fumigate　them。　They　pass　things　through　the　fire；　and　bring　the　sick　into　contact　with　it；　while　they　utter　prayers　for　their　recovery。　The　ashes　of　the　bonfires　are　also　reputed　to　possess　beneficial　properties；　hence　in　some　places　people　rub　their　hair　or　their　bodies　with　them。　In　some　places　they　think　that　by　leaping　over　the　fires　they　rid　themselves　of　all　misfortune；　and　that　childless　couples　thereby　obtain　offspring。　Berbers　of　the　Rif　province；　in　Northern　Morocco；　make　great　use　of　fires　at　midsummer　for　the　good　of　themselves；　their　cattle；　and　their　fruit…trees。　They　jump　over　the　bonfires　in　the　belief　that　this　will　preserve　them　in　good　health；　and　they　light　fires　under　fruit…trees　to　keep　the　fruit　from　falling　untimely。　And　they　imagine　that　by　rubbing　a　paste　of　the　ashes　on　their　hair　they　prevent　the　hair　from　falling　off　their　heads。　In　all　these　Moroccan　customs；　we　are　told；　the　beneficial　effect　is　attributed　wholly　to　the　smoke；　which　is　supposed　to　be　endued　with　a　magical　quality　that　removes　misfortune　from　men；　animals；　fruit…trees　and　crops。

The　celebration　of　a　midsummer　festival　by　Mohammedan　peoples　is　particularly　remarkable；　because　the　Mohammedan　calendar；　being　purely　lunar　and　uncorrected　by　intercalation；　necessarily　takes　no　note　of　festivals　which　occupy　fixed　points　in　the　solar　year；　all　strictly　Mohammedan　feasts；　being　pinned　to　the　moon；　slide　gradually　with　that　luminary　through　the　whole　period　of　the　earth's　revolution　about　the　sun。　This　fact　of　itself　seems　to　prove　that　among　the　Mohammedan　peoples　of　Northern　Africa；　as　among　the　Christian　peoples　of　Europe；　the　midsummer　festival　is　quite　independent　of　the　religion　which　the　people　publicly　profess；　and　is　a　relic　of　a　far　older　paganism。

6。　The　Hallowe'en　Fires

FROM　THE　FOREGOING　survey　we　may　infer　that　among　the　heathen　forefathers　of　the　European　peoples　the　most　popular　and　widespread　fire…festival　of　the　year　was　the　great　celebration　of　Midsummer　Eve　or　Midsummer　Day。　The　coincidence　of　the　festival　with　the　summer　solstice　can　hardly　be　accidental。　Rather　we　must　suppose　that　our　pagan　ancestors　purposely　timed　the　ceremony　of　fire　on　earth　to　coincide　with　the　arrival　of　the　sun　at　the　highest　point　of　his　course　in　the　sky。　If　that　was　so；　it　follows　that　the　old　founders　of　the　midsummer　rites　had　observed　the　solstices　or　turning…points　of　the　sun's　apparent　path　in　the　sky；　and　that　they　accordingly　regulated　their　festal　calendar　to　some　extent　by　astronomical　considerations。

But　while　this　may　be　regarded　as　fairly　certain　for　what　we　may　call　the　aborigines　throughout　a　large　part　of　the　continent；　it　appears　not　to　have　been　true　of　the　Celtic　peoples　who　inhabited　the　Land's　End　of　Europe；　the　islands　and　promontories　that　stretch　out　into　the　Atlantic　Ocean　on　the　North…West。　The　principal　fire…festivals　of　the　Celts；　which　have　survived；　though　in　a　restricted　area　and　with　diminished　pomp；　to　modern　times　and　even　to　our　own　day；　were　seemingly　timed　without　any　reference　to　the　position　of　the　sun　in　the　heaven。　They　were　two　in　number；　and　fell　at　an　interval　of　six　months；　one　being　celebrated　on　the　eve　of　May　Day　and　the　other　on　Allhallow　Even　or　Hallowe'en；　as　it　is　now　commonly　called；　that　is；　on　the　thirty…first　of　October；　the　day　preceding　All　Saints'　or　Allhallows'　Day。　These　dates　coincide　with　none　of　the　four　great　hinges　on　which　the　solar　year　revolves；　to　wit；　the　solstices　and　the　equinoxes。　Nor　do　they　agree　with　the　principal　seasons　of　the　agricultural　year；　the　sowing　in　spring　and　the　reaping　in　autumn。　For　when　May　Day　comes；　the　seed　has　long　been　committed　to　the　earth；　and　when　November　opens；　the　harvest　has　long　been　reaped　and　garnered；　the　fields　lie　bare；　the　fruit…trees　are　stripped；　and　even　the　yellow　leaves　are　fast　fluttering　to　the　ground。　Yet　the　first　of　May　and　the　first　of　November　mark　turning…points　of　the　year　in　Europe；　the　one　ushers　in　the　genial　heat　and　the　rich　vegetation　of　summer；　the　other　heralds；　if　it　does　not　share；　the　cold　and　barrenness　of　winter。　Now　these　particular　points　of　the　year；　as　has　been　well　pointed　out　by　a　learned　and　ingenious　writer；　while　they　are　of　comparatively　little　moment　to　the　European　husbandman；　do　deeply　concern　the　European　herdsman；　for　it　is　on　the　approach　of　summer　that　he　drives　his　cattle　out　into　the　open　to　crop　the　fresh　grass；　and　it　is　on　the　approach　of　winter　that　he　leads　them　back　to　the　safety　and　shelter　of　the　stall。　Accordingly　it　seems　not　improbable　that　the　Celtic　bisection　of　the　year　into　two　halves　at　the　beginning　of　May　and　the　beginning　of　November　dates　from　a　time　when　the　Celts　were　mainly　a　pastoral　people；　dependent　for　their　subsistence　on　their　herds；　and　when　accordingly　the　great　epochs　of　the　year　for　them　were　the　days　on　which　the　cattle　went　forth　from　the　homestead　in　early　summer　and　returned　to　it　again　in　early　winter。　Even　in　Central　Europe；　remote　from　the　region　now　occupied　by　the　Celts；　a　similar　bisection　of　the　year　may　be　clearly　traced　in　the　great　popularity；　on　the　one　hand；　of　May　Day　and　its　Eve　（Walpurgis　Night）；　and；　on　the　other　hand；　of　the　Feast　of　All　Souls　at　the　beginning　of　November；　which　under　a　thin　Christian　cloak　conceals　an　ancient　pagan　festival　of　the　dead。　Hence　we　may　conjecture　that　everywhere　throughout　Europe　the　celestial　division　of　the　year　according　to　the　solstices　was　preceded　by　what　we　may　call　a　terrestrial　division　of　the　year　according　to　the　beginning　of　summer　and　the　beginning　of　winter。

Be　that　as　it　may；　the　two　great　Celtic　festivals　of　May　Day　and　the　first　of　November　or；　to　be　more　accurate；　the　Eves　of　these　two　days；　closely　resemble　each　other　in　the　manner　of　their　celebration　and　in　the　superstitions　associated　with　them；　and　alike；　by　the　antique　character　impressed　upon　both；　betray　a　remote　and　purely　pagan　origin。　The　festival　of　May　Day　or　Beltane；　as　the　Celts　called　it；　which　ushered　in　summer；　has　already　been　described；　it　remains　to　give　some　account　of　the　corresponding　festival　of　Hallowe'en；　which　announced　the　arrival　of　winter。

Of　the　two　feasts　Hallowe'en　was　perhaps　of　old　the　more　important；　since　the　Celts　would　seem　to　have　dated　the　beginning　of　the　year　from　it　rather　than　from　Beltane。　In　the　Isle　of　Man；　one　of　the　fortresses　in　which　the　Celtic　language　and　lore　longest　held　out　against　the　siege　of　the　Saxon　invaders；　the　first　of　November；　Old　Style；　has　been　regarded　as　New　Year's　day　down　to　recent　times。　Thus　Manx　mummers　used　to　go　round　on　Hallowe'en　（Old　Style）；　singing；　in　the　Manx　language；　a　sort　of　Hogmanay　song　which　began　To…night　is　New　Year's　Night；　Hogunnaa！　In　ancient　Ireland；　a　new　fire　used　to　be　kindled　every　year　on　Hallowe'en　or　the　Eve　of　Samhain；　and　from　this　sacred　flame　all　the　fires　in　Ireland　were　rekindled。　Such　a　custom　points　strongly　to　Samhain　or　All　Saints'　Day　（the　first　of　November）　as　New　Year's　Day；　since　the　annual　kindling　of　a　new　fire　takes　place　most　naturally　at　the　beginning　of　the　year；　in　order　that　the　blessed　influence　of　the　fresh　fire　may　last　throughout　the　whole　period　of　twelve　months。　Another　confirmation　of　the　view　that　the　Celts　dated　their　year　from　the　first　of　November　is　furnished　by　the　manifold　modes　of　divination　which　were　commonly　resorted　to　by　Celtic　peoples　on　Hallowe'en　for　the　purpose　of　ascertaining　their　destiny；　especially　their　fortune　in　the　coming　year；　for　when　could　these　devices　for　prying　into　the　future　be　more　reasonably　put　in　practice　than　at　the　beginning　of　the　year？　As　a　season　of　omens　and　auguries　Hallowe'en　seems　to　have　far　surpassed　Beltane　in　the　imagination　of　the　Celts；　from　which　we　may　with　some　probability　infer　that　they　reckoned　their　year　from　Hallowe'en　rather　than　Beltane。　Another　circumstance　of　great　moment　which　points　to　the　same　conclusion　is　the　association　of　the　dead　with　Hallowe'en。　Not　only　among　the　Celts　but　throughout　Europe；　Hallowe'en；　the　night　which　marks　the　transition　from　autumn　to　winter；　seems　to　have　been　of　old　the　time　of　year　when　the　souls　of　the　departed　were　supposed　to　revisit　their　old　homes　in　order　to　warm　themselves　by　the　fire　and　to　comfort　themselves　with　the　good　cheer　provided　for　them　in　the　kitchen　or　the　parlour　by　their　affectionate　kinsfolk。　It　was；　perhaps；　a　natural　thought　that　the　approach　of　winter　should　drive　the　poor　shivering　hungry　ghosts　from　the　bare　fields　and　the　leafless　woodlands　to　the　shelter　of　the　cottage　with　its　familiar　fireside。　Did　not　the　lowing　kine　then　troop　back　from　the　summer　pastures　in　the　forests　and　on　the　hills　to　be　fed　and　cared　for　in　the　stalls；　while　the　bleak　winds　whistled　among　the　swaying　boughs　and　the　snow…drifts　deepened　in　the　hollows？　and　could　the　good…man　and　the　good…wife　deny　to　the　spirits　of　their　dead　the　welcome　which　they　gave　to　the　cows？

But　it　is　not　only　the　souls　of　the　departed　who　are　supposed　to　be　hovering　unseen　on　the　day　when　autumn　to　winter　resigns　the　pale　year。　Witches　then　speed　on　their　errands　of　mischief；　some　sweeping　through　the　air　on　besoms；　others　galloping　along　the　roads　on　tabby…cats；　which　for　that　evening　are　turned　into　coal…black　steeds。　The　fairies；　too；　are　all　let　loose；　and　hobgoblins　of　every　sort　roam　freely　about。

Yet　while　a　glamour　of　mystery　and　awe　has　always　clung　to　Hallowe'en　in　the　minds　of　the　Celtic　peasantry；　the　popular　celebration　of　the　festival　has　been；　at　least　in　modern　times；　by　no　means　of　a　prevailing　gloomy　cast；　on　the　contrary　it　has　been　attended　by　picturesque　features　and　merry　pastimes；　which　rendered　it　the　gayest　night　of　all　the　year。　Amongst　the　things　which　in　the　Highlands　of　Scotland　contributed　to　invest　the　festival　with　a　romantic