A soul cake, also known as a soulmass-cake, is a small round cake with sweet spices, which resembles a shortbread biscuit. It is traditionally made for Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day to commemorate the dead in many Christian traditions. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, are given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who go from door to door during the days of Allhallowtide, singing and saying prayers "for the souls of the givers and their friends", especially the souls of deceased relatives, thought to be in the intermediate state between Earth and Heaven.Cleene, Marcel. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Man & Culture, 2002. p. 108. Quote: "Soul cakes were small cakes baked as food for the deceased or offered for the salvation of their souls. They were therefore offered at funerals and feasts of the dead, laid on graves, or given to the poor as representatives of the dead. The baking of these soul cakes is a universal practice". In England, the practice dates to the medieval period, and it continued there until the 1930s by both Protestant and Catholic Christians. In Sheffield and Cheshire, the custom has continued into modern times. In Lancashire and in the North-east of England, soul cakes were known as Harcakes, a kind of thin parkin.
The practice of giving and eating soul cakes continues in some countries today, such as Portugal (where it is known as Pão-por-Deus and occurs on All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day), as well as the Philippines (where it is known as Pangangaluwa and occurs on All Hallows' Eve). In other countries, souling is seen as the origin of the practice of trick-or-treating. In the United States, some churches, during Allhallowtide, have invited people to come receive sweets from them and have offered to "pray for the souls of their friends, relatives or even pets" as they do so. Among Catholics and Lutherans, some parishioners have their soul cakes blessed by a priest before being distributed; in exchange, the children promise to pray for the souls of the deceased relatives of the giver during the month of November, which is a month dedicated especially to praying for the Holy Souls. Any leftover soul cakes are shared among the distributing family or given to the poor.
History The tradition of giving soul cakes was celebrated in Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.
The cakes are usually filled with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger or other sweet spices, raisins or currants, and before baking are topped with the mark of a cross to signify that these were alms. Either on All Hallows' Eve (Halloween),Publications, Volume 106. W. Glaisher, Limited, 1940 All Saints' Day or All Souls' Day, children would go "souling", or ritually begging for cakes door to door.
Souling
Souling is a Christian practice carried out during Allhallowtide and Christmastide, with origins in the medieval era. The custom was popular in England and is still practised to a minor extent in Sheffield and parts of Cheshire during Allhallowtide. The custom was also popular in Wales and has counterparts in Portugal and the Philippines (a former Spanish colony) that are practiced to this day.
According to Morton (2013), souling was once performed throughout the British Isles and the earliest activity was reported in 1511,Morton, Lisa (2013) Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween.Reaktion Books and Shakespeare mentioned "pulling like a beggar at Hallowmas" in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593). However, by the end of the 19th century, the extent of the practice during Allhallowtide was limited to parts of England and Wales.
England Souling is an English festival. According to Gregory (2010), souling involved a group of people visiting local farms and cottages. The merrymakers would sing a "traditional request for apples, ale, and soul cakes."Gregory, David (2010) The Late Victorian Folksong Revival: The Persistence of English Melody, 1878-1903 Scarecrow Press The songs were traditionally known as souler's songs and were sung in a lamenting tone during the 1800s.Fleische (1826) An Appendix to His Dramatic Works. Contents: the Life of the Author by Aus. Skottowe, His Miscellaneous Poems; a Critical Glossary, Comp. After Mares, Drake, Ayscough, Hazlitt, Douce and Others Sometimes adult soulers would use a musical instrument, such as a concertina. In 1899, a version was sung by boys in Harrogate, Yorkshire, who were "running beside carriage, begging".
Rogers (2003) believes souling was traditionally practised in the North and West of England, in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, the Peak District area of Derbyshire, Somerset and Herefordshire.Rogers, Nicholas (2003) Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Oxford University Press. Palmer (1976) states that souling took place on All Saints day in Warwickshire.Palmer, Roy (1976) The folklore of Warwickshire, Volume 1976, Part 2 Batsford However, Hutton (2001) believes souling took place in Hertfordshire.Hutton, Ronald (2001) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. OUP Oxford
The custom of souling ceased relatively early in Warwickshire but the dole instituted by John Collet in Solihull (now within West Midlands) in 1565 was still being distributed in 1826 on All Souls day. The announcement for collection was made by ringing church bells.v (2007) Dugdale Society Further, soul-cakes were still made in Warwickshire (and other parts of Yorkshire) even though no one visited for them.
According to Brown (1992) souling was performed in Birmingham and parts of the West Midlands;Brown, Richard (1992)The Folklore, Superstitions and Legends of Birmingham and the West Midlands. Westwood Press Publications and according to Raven (1965) the tradition was also kept in parts of the Black Country.Raven, Michael (1965)Folklore and Songs of the Black Country, Volume 1. Wolverhampton Folk Song Club The prevalence of souling was so localised in some parts of Staffordshire that it was observed in Penn but not in Bilston, both localities now in modern Wolverhampton.Folklore, Volume 25 (1969)Publications, Volume 106. W. Glaisher, Limited, 1940. The tradition was noted in 1892 to be held in Penn which is now in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. In Staffordshire, the "custom of souling was kept on All Saints' Eve" (Halloween).
Similarly in Shropshire, during the late 19th century, "there was set upon the board at All Hallows Eve a high heap of Soul-cakes" for visitors to take.Walsh, William Shepard (1898) Curiosities of Popular Customs and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities. Gale Research Company The songs sung by people in Oswestry (Shropshire), which borders Wales, contained some Welsh.The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 62 (1886) J. W. Parker and Son
Traditions The customs associated with souling during Allhallowtide include or included consuming and/or distributing soul cakes, singing, carrying lanterns, dressing in disguise, bonfires, playing divination games, carrying a horse's head and performing plays.Harrowven, Jean, (1979) The Origins of Rhymes, Songs and Sayings. Kaye & Ward
Cakes
Soul cakes formed a key part of the souling traditions. In Staffordshire, the cakes were also called Soul-mass or somas cakes. In East Yorkshire, saumas loaves were traditionally distributed, and a recipient was to keep one cake in their home throughout the following year for good luck. In some counties, the Soul-mass cake was "made on All Souls' Day, November 2nd, and always in a triangular shape".Country Life, Volume 36 (1914) Soul-mass cakes were often kept for good luck with one lady in Whitby being reported in the 1860s having a soul-mass loaf one hundred years old.Notes and Queries (1869) Oxford University Press According to Atkinson (1868), soul-mass loaves "were sets of square farthing cakes with currants in the centre, commonly given by bakers to their customers".Atkinson, J. Christopher (1868) A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect: Explanatory, Derivative, and Critical Sometimes, oat cakes were given in Lancashire and Herefordshire.Viereck, Wolfgang (2005) Selected Writings: History of science, English surnames, American English, languages in contact, language and school, Atlas Linguarum Europae In Warwickshire, during the 1840s, it was traditional to consume seed cakes during Halloween which coincided with "the end of the wheat seed-time".Brand. J. (1841) Popular Antiquities, Volume 1
Lanterns and disguise
The traditions associated with souling included soulers visiting houses with "hollowed-out turnip lanterns" with a candle inside which represented a soul trapped in purgatory. Smith (1989) notes that in parts of Yorkshire, "children still appear on door steps with turnip lanterns and disguised as witches, ghosts and skeletons".Smith, Julia (1989) Fairs, feasts and frolics: customs and traditions in Yorkshire. Smith Settle In Northern England, people sometimes went souling in disguise wearing long black cloaks.English Folk Dance and Song Society (1932) Journal, Volumes 1-3 At times, children went out souling in disguise.Lore and Language, Volume 3, Issues 6-10. 1982Ashton, Kate (2005) Mother and Child. M Q Publication According to the Folk-lore Society publication of 1940, children went souling in costume.Publications of the Folk-lore Society, Volume 106 1940 Such masquerading in costume was either a tribute to saintsKirk, Connie Ann (2006) The J.K. Rowling Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press or imitated spirits.Exclusively Yours, Volume 53 (1999) Patten Company
Bonfires and candles
Bonfires were also lit on Halloween and during Hallowtide which Roud (2008) suggests may be related to the purgation of souls by holy fire.Roud, Steve (2008) The English Year. Penguin UK Fires known as Tindle fires were made by children on All Souls' night in Derbyshire.The reliquary: depository for precious relics, legendary, biographical, and historical, Volume 7 (1867) In Lancashire, bonfires were lit on Halloween which were known as Teanlay fires which were lit on many hills to observe the fast (feast) of All Souls and the night was called Teanlay NightWilkinson, John and Harland T.T. (2018) (reprint) Lancashire Folk-LorePickering, W (1879) Archaeologia Cambrensis (after which the Teanlowe Shopping Centre is named in Poulton-le-Fylde).Storey, Christine (2012) Poulton-le-Fylde Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited
According to Hardwick (1872), the burning of fires on Halloween may also be related to earlier practices.Hardiwck, Charles (1872)Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore, (chiefly Lancashire and the North of England:) Their Affinity to Others in Widely-distributed Localities; Their Eastern Origin and Mythical Significance. A Ireland. In the English countryside, people lit bonfires to ward off evil spirits.Clifton D. Bryant, Dennis L. Peck (2009) Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience. SAGE Publications Glassie (1969) believes that fires on Halloween were lit into modern times in the Celtic areas of "northern and westernmost counties of England".Glassie, Henry, H III. Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 14 Lycoming College (1969) During the 1850s, in Carleton, Lancashire, fires were lit to "defend the corn from darnel".Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Volume 4 (1852)