Celebrating All Soul's And All Saint's Days

Today is All Soul's Day while tomorrow is All Saint's Day. Before Halloween became a big holiday , these two holy days were filled with remembrance and feasting throughout the Christian world. The souls gone and the saints who protect can still be remembered with prayers and food.

Today is huge in Mexico. It's a time when families visit cemeteries , bringing favorite foods for loved ones lost as well as for  themselves.The indigenous people originally celebrated in the beginning of summer and the holiday was then moved to coincide with the Christian days of remembrance after  Spanish colonization.Many celebrate the day with homemade tamales for both the living and deceased along with pan de los muertos., a type of sweet bread. Anise seeds flavor it , giving the same taste as the Italian biscotti.Drinks to toast and commemorate are Jamaican iced tea, a type of tea made with Jamaican hibiscus  plant's flowers and leaves along with pulque  -a type of alcoholic beverage made with the fermented sap of the agave plant. Other drinks are atole and champurrdo, corn or masa based drinks flavored with sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.Guatamalens make fiambre ,a kind of picnic course that includes sausages and cold cuts along with pickled baby corn, beets and onions.. There are also various cheeses, chicken and olives. Some families even include Brussels sprouts and pacaya flowers, from the pacaya palm. The last is dipped in egg batter and then fried.

Europe also celebrates  as it has since the Sixth Century AD. In Italy, France and Spain families roast chestnuts, cutting a cross in each one to allow steam to rise. This is symbolic of the soul leaving the body. The Spaniards also make pannellets or almond cakes. The dough is formed with mashed potatoes, sugar and almonds.and then rolled in  beaten egg and pine nuts. They resemble the Italian cookies, pignoli. In England, it's soul cakes, popularized in Sting's song of the same name. These are yeast breads , flavored with cinnamon and decorated with raisins. They were baked in the shape of men and women ,and given out to children who went begging.All Saint's day also gets special treats, especially in Italy and Sicily. Children who pray for the passed are rewarded with the homemade favi de morti , beans of the dead. These are almond paste cookies that have been spiced up with lemon and cinnamon.It's kind of like a baked marzipan that's have been rolled into long rolls then cut into pieces to resemble broad beans.

All Soul's Day  and All Saint's Day are a time of prayer and remembrance. They are also a time to celebrate those we have lost with good food and feasts. They are solemn days but days filled with flavor.

Soul Cakes

Today is All Soul's Day , a day reserved for remembering loved ones who have passed. Even though it is a solemn holy day it is celebrated. In Northern England and Scotland it is a day to go souling, or begging for something for those lost loved ones to eat.What is given out on this day? Everything from dried fruit to little cakes or soul cakes.

Begging for soul cakes goes back centuries. It's actually a precursor of Halloween when the poor or especially children would go knocking door to door, looking for something to eat. They were given these cakes and upon eating them say prayers for the giver's departed family. According to belief the souls would then be instantly released from Purgatory. They were also called harcakes in Lancashire and some other sections of Darbyshire . The Mexicans have something similar called Ppan de Muerto or bread of the dead. These are sweet buns that have bone decorations on them,. Usually a tear shaped piece such as an almond is also added to represent sadness. Soul cakes were also popularized in the song by the same name , first by Peter, Paul and Mary and most recently by Sting on his 2009 CD If On A Winter's Night .

There are recipes for these solemn treats. They're in the same family as a scone and have added dried fruits to them, along with allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Usually there are currants which are also put in the shape of across on top. There is also another recipe , redolent with saffron and egg yolk to give a yellowish cast. This could represent the dying autumn sun or the bonfires of the ancient Samhain or All Hallow's Eve when they were first made before Christianity hit Britain's shores. Soul cakes are made basically the same way as biscuits,kneaded lightly , cut out with a cookie cutter and then baked for only fifteen minutes until golden. Freshly baked soul cakes are served with wine as well according to tradition.

Soul cakes are an ancient and interesting way of celebrating loved ones who have passed. They represent Celtic ways and customs but also the solemnity of the passing of life and the seasons.
Bake them during these next few days as a sign of remembrance.