If like us you're already planning your Hallowe'en costumes and carving your pumpkins, you’ll be interested to know about Scotland’s involvement in the modern festival of Hallowe’en, and about Perre’s spooky jewellery pieces! Our beloved festival of Hallowe’en interestingly dates back to the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain or Samhuinn, which marked the end of harvest and the bountiful Summer, and the beginning of the colder and harsher months of Winter. Gradually, this festival began to be known as Hallowe’en as a shorted version of ‘All Hallows Eve’ – the day before the Catholic All Saints’ Day, which honoured the saints and involved remembering the dead. For this reason, the very end of October and beginning of November was believed to be a time when the boundary between the living and dead was at its thinnest, and evil spirits were able to walk amongst us!
This superstitious belief led to many protective practices which we still enjoy today. Neep (turnip) lanterns – the ancestor of our carved pumpkins – were carved and lit in an effort to ward off evil spirits, as were large communal bonfires. There was no ‘trick or treating’ but rather ‘guising’, where children would (dis)guise themselves in order to blend in with any evil spirits walking among them, and go from door to door performing tricks, jokes or songs in return for a treat. Another fun practice was ‘dookin for apples’ – another common practice today – now known as bobbing or ducking for apples. A final and quite sweet tradition was nut burning. As people gathered around the bonfire, newly engaged couples would throw nuts onto the fire. If the nuts burned quietly, their marriage would be a happy one. If the nuts burned loudly or violently – well, then maybe they weren’t supposed to be sweethearts at all!
Being in Edinburgh, with its rich history and gothic, spooky appearance, it’s easy to see why darker skies and harsher weather brought fears of the supernatural. Edinburgh itself is home to many (supposedly) haunted places, like the underground vaults and Greyfriars Kirkyard. If you’re planning on visiting these hair-raising sites, why not pop into one of our stores and try on some of our collections?
Our spooky pieces truly evoke eerie and wintery Scottish nights when animals come out to find their prey… One of our most popular collections at this time of year is our hair-raising Bat Collection, depicting a sterling silver bat carrying a piece of black onyx, with hypnotic blue eyes. If you're looking for a piece which captures the essence of the Scottish wintery countryside, have a look at our haunting Black Onyx Pendant with Deer, as a large piece of onyx silhouettes a sterling silver deer and bird in flight. Another collection which features beautiful black stones is our Bird on Branch Collection, lovingly handmade using sterling silver and black zirconia to present a bird perched on a bare tree. Or if you prefer your jewellery to have a splash of colour, take a look at our Blue Topaz Bird Branch Collection or our All-Knowing Owl Collection -featuring a silver owl complete with mesmerising blue topaz eyes and synthetic opal body - very unique collections, and sure to turn heads! And finally, one of our most popular pieces is our Silver and Gold Owl Earrings - scarily cute and versatile studs which will take you straight from work to party!
We hope you all have a wonderful Hallowe'en and enjoy our scarily gorgeous collections. If you enjoy this time of year but would prefer something less spooky, why not read our post about our Autumn pieces?
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