Why Hallowe'en is more than Pumpkins and Haribo

Hallowe’en is here again……….you either love or loathe this time of year, relishing in the dressing up and looking forward to the kids knocking on your door all dressed up whilst you hand out handfuls of Haribo and candies; or maybe you prefer not to answer the door and run the risk of being on the receiving end of a trick as you wouldn’t hand out a treat…….that’s trick or treating for you!

The origins of Hallowe’en celebrations as we know them came about when the Roman Catholic Church made the 1st November a church holiday to honour all the Saints.  During the period between Norman times and the late 15^th Century, there is no evidence that 31st October was anything other than the eve of All Saints Day – or All Hallows Eve, from the archaic English 'Hallow' which was the word for Saint.  In time, the 31^st October became a customary day to pray for the souls of the dead and it became a joyous day.

The end of October is the time for the long nights to really draw in and Summer seems a long way away.  It was the long hours of winter darkness that the Celts believed brought the evil spirits into the world and that on the last day of October the boundaries between our world and the spirit world were at their weakest and spirits would be seen on Earth. Many people still believe this is the best time to contact relatives who have passed away and will leave out food and drink for them. This festival was called Samhain (pronounced 'sow-in') and marked the end of the "season of the sun" (summer) and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold" (winter).

To frighten the spirits away, the Celts built bonfires and feasted and danced around them wearing costumes  to fool the evil spirits that may try and step into the domain of the living that night.  The fires were also considered to bring comfort to the souls in purgatory.  It was only the Druids, or Celtic priests, who kept their fire burning on Samhain and the Druid fire was then used to relight all the home fires. In Ireland and Scotland, the custom of extinguishing one's home fire and relighting it from the festival bonfire has continued into modern times.

Alternatively, another tradition from which Hallowe’en customs may have come is a ninth century European custom, known as Souling.  This was a Christian festival whereby people would make house calls begging for soul cakes,  a small round cake traditionally made for All Saint’s Day  to celebrate the dead.  The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would go from door to door on Hallowe'en singing and saying prayers for the dead. Each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern trick or treating. In Lancashire and in the North-east of England they were also known as Harcakes.   It was believed that even strangers could help a soul's journey to heaven by saying prayers, so, in exchange for a cake they promised to pray for the donors' deceased relatives.

We still carve pumpkins and light them with candles which is a variation on the turnips the ancient Celts carved into skulls to place in their windows on Oct 31^st, representing the head which was the part of the body believed to house the spirit.

Another popular Hallowe’en tradition is to peel an apple in one long strip and throw the peel over your shoulder – the peel will land in the shape of your future spouse’s initial.  Single women curious about whom they’ll marry should sit in a darkened room, gazing into a mirror as it’s said that on that night the face of their beloved will appear in the glass. But beware – if a skull appears instead, it means that whoever looking will die young! *shudder*……….

Over the years the form of the celebrations have lost their original meanings, so many people today will happily carve a pumpkin and place it in a window without knowing that they are performing a magical ritual to honour the good spirits and keep the evil ones at bay.

I once visited America around Hallowe’en and was delighted to see the doorstep displays created by families with ornately carved pumpkins and candles and whole families taking to the  streets at night in ghoulish costumes going door to door to collect sweets and play tricks where they are given none.  The American love of Hallowe’en came about with the Irish immigrants taking their Celtic traditions to the States

Like all things Stateside, the festival has also received the Hollywood treatment and this is  popular release time for films with vampires, werewolves, shocks, horror and gore.

So there you have it – Hallowe’en is a mix of feasting, fire, fun and fear and a time to connect with those who have passed.

Whatever you are doing this Halloween, enjoy!  Keep safe and make sure the little ones don’t get too scared……oh, and that they brush their teeth really well before bed after all those sweets!..

Ironing a Shirt

The whole reason that Iron Maids exists is because there are many of you out there that just don’t like ironing………. and I can hear the cries of “that includes me” from here……..and most of you seem to hate ironing shirts more than anything else.

So, for on the weeks that you don’t use us or when you absolutely have to iron a shirt as an emergency e.g. hubby will be meeting the boss in his Stranglers T-shirt or you will be going to that networking event in your comfy jumper, I thought a few tips on how to best do this may be useful.

There is an art to correctly ironing a shirt and following these step by step details can help you achieve a crease free garment.

Prepare your shirt - Start with a freshly laundered shirt. When your shirt comes out of the washing machine or off the clothes line shake it out, smooth it with your hands and hang it up. Button the top button.  Do not screw the shirt up and throw it on your ironing pile – that will make getting the creases out more difficult.  Personally, I hang all shirts up immediately on taking them out of the washing machine and dry on hangers.

If you have committed the cardinal sin of crumpling your shirt up and leaving it after washing it, you will need to put it on a hanger and spray if all over with a fine mist of water, making it damp again.

Fill your iron – If possible, only use distilled or bottled water in your iron.   Tap water contains small amounts of minerals which build up in your iron over time and lead to the steam vents becoming blocked. If you notice that your iron occasionally spits too much water out, it is because it is becoming clogged up underneath on the plate’s vents and it won’t function effectively for you.

Select the right temperature for your shirt – if your shirt is “minimum iron”, as a number of modern shirts are, then it will need a much cooler setting  than a cotton shirt; a linen shirt will need an iron set to its maximum heat setting.  If you hung your shirt straight after removing it from the machine, it should also need a cooler iron.  If the iron is too hot for the fabric, you may even burn your shirt.  Pay attention to the laundry label on the garment.

And this is optional……..spray on some starch. Lightly spray the hanging shirt with spray starch and then remove the shirt from hanger. Unbutton the top button.

Collar - lay the collar out flat on the ironing board and press. Iron from the points of the collar inward to back of neck.  This avoids the material bunching up towards the points of the collar.  Do the underside of the collar as well.

Shoulders  - Position the shirt so the yoke is across the end of the board and press the yoke and move the shirt round to press the shoulder. Reposition for the opposite shoulder. Then turn the shirt, and do the rear side of the yoke and shoulders

Sleeves - If you have a sleeve board, now is the time to use it as you can position it inside the sleeves and gently move the shirt around to iron the sleeves without creases.  If you don’t have a sleeve board, lay one sleeve out flat on the ironing board.  Align the sleeve following the bottom seam as guide. Press carefully, moving both layers of fabric flat as the iron glides across front surface of sleeve. Repeat for the other sleeve. Turn the shirt to do the other side of sleeve.

For a long-sleeved shirt, press the cuffs next, similar to the collar instructions. Turn the shirt to press the other side.

Body  - Position the body of the shirt on the end of your ironing board, buttonhole panel first. Press from the bottom tail progressing upward to the collar. Do not allow puckers or folds to press into fabric. Turn the shirt to iron the inside of the body of shirt also.

Move the shirt position to the next body panel, half of the back. Press from the tail progressing upward to the collar.

Move the shirt position to next body panel, the other half of the back. Press as before. Be aware of any pleats or vents in the back of the shirt where the yoke joins the back panel – you will have to iron these in to ensure the shirt hangs properly.

Move shirt position to the last body panel, other half of the front, the button panel. Press as before.

Et voila!  Return the pressed shirt to its hanger, buttoning the top two or three buttons to help keep it straight and stop it slipping off the hanger

Hopefully you will never be in this situation because you’ll always send all your ironing to the Maids.  After all, that’s what we’re all about……. Iron Maids: Ironing Maid Easy!