Allantide ( kw, italic=yes, Kalan Gwav, meaning ''first day of winter'', or ''Nos Kalan Gwav'', meaning ''eve of the first day of winter'' and ''Dy' Halan Gwav'', meaning ''day of the first day of winter''), also known as Saint Allan's Day or the Feast of Saint Allan,
is a
Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on the night of 31 October, as well as the following day time, and known elsewhere as
Allhallowtide.
The festival in Cornwall is the liturgical
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of
St Allan (also spelled St Allen or St Arlan), who was the bishop of
Quimper
Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Administration
Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department.
Geography
The ...
in the sixth century. As such, Allantide is also known as Allan Night and Allan Day. The origins of the name Allantide also probably stem from the same sources as Hollantide (
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
) and Hallowe'en itself.
![Traditional Cornish Jack-o'-Lantern made from a turnip](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Traditional_Cornish_Jack-o%27-Lantern_made_from_a_turnip.jpg)
As with the start of the celebration of Allhallowtide in the rest of
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
,
church bells
A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and ...
were rung in order to comfort Christian souls in the
intermediate state
In some forms of Christianity the intermediate state or interim state is a person's existence between death and the universal resurrection. In addition, there are beliefs in a particular judgment right after death and a general judgment or last ...
.
Another important part of this festival was the giving of Allan apples, large glossy red apples that were highly polished, to family and friends as tokens of good luck. Allan apple markets used to be held throughout West Cornwall in the run up to the feast.
The following is a description of the festival as it was celebrated in
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
at the turn of the 19th century:
In his book ''Popular Romances of the West of England'', Robert Hunt describes Allantide in
St Ives:
There are a number of divination games recorded including the throwing of walnuts in fires to predict the fidelity of partners, and the pouring of molten lead into cold water as a way of predicting the occupation of future husbands, the shape of the solidified lead somehow indicating this.
[Simon Reed - ''The Cornish Traditional Year'' 2009]
In some parts of Cornwall "Tindle" fires were lit similar in nature to the Coel Coth (Coel Certh) of Wales.
Before the 20th century the parish feast of
St Just in Penwith
St Just ( kw, Lan(n)ust), known as St Just in Penwith, is a town and civil parish in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. The parish encompasses th ...
was known as Allantide.
A. K. Hamilton Jenkin
Alfred Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin (29 October 1900 – 20 August 1980) was a British historian with a particular interest in Cornish mining, publishing ''The Cornish Miner'', now a classic, in 1927.
Birth and education
He was born in Redruth on ...
- ''Cornwall and the Cornish'' 1932
See also
*
Calan Gaeaf
''Calan Gaeaf'' is the name of the first day of winter in Wales, observed on 1 November.Davies (2008), pg 107. The night before is ''Nos Galan Gaeaf'' or ''Noson Galan Gaeaf'', an ''Ysbrydnos'' ("spirit night"Jones (2020), pg 161.) when spirits ...
- Wales
*
Dziady
Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals ...
*
Hop-tu-Naa
Hop-tu-Naa ( ; gv, Oie Houney; ga, Oíche Shamhna ) is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. It is the celebration of the traditional Celtic festival of Samhain, the start of winter. It is thought to be the oldest unbr ...
- Isle of Man
*
Nickanan Night
Nickanan Night (sometimes called Hall Monday or Peasen Monday) is a Cornish feast, traditionally held during Shrovetide, specifically on the Monday before Lent.
Sometimes called roguery night in West Cornwall, England, UK, this event was an excus ...
*
St Allen
St Allen ( kw, Eglosalan (hamlet), Pluw Alan (parish)) is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The church town of St Allen is an isolated hamlet and the main settlement in the parish is Zelah which is situated on the A30 trun ...
References
{{Halloween
Cornish culture
October observances
Halloween
Autumn festivals
Festivals in Cornwall
Apples
Cornish festivals
Traditions involving fire
Autumn events in England