David Castleton (Author) on Nostr: In various parts of Britain, 'souling' was practised around Halloween and All Souls ...

In various parts of Britain, 'souling' was practised around Halloween and All Souls Day. People - mainly children and the poor - would go from house to house, singing in a lamenting tone and saying prayers for the inhabitants and - especially - for their dead relatives. In exchange, they received 'soul cakes' - small cakes baked with dried fruits and sweet spices, such as nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. The custom is rooted in the Catholic doctrine of needing to pray for souls suffering in purgatory, but it continued after the Reformation, up until the 1930s in some places. In parts of South Yorkshire, it is still practised today. Shakespeare wrote of "pulling like a beggar at Hallowmas". #folklore #history #AllSoulsDay #Halloween #food