The Mayflower Cybercafe
Mayflower: Floral Emblem of New Scotland (Nova Scotia);
Click to enlarge [jpeg:18K]
Bannock
The baking of bannocks or cakes had a particular folklore: for ritual
eating, at the festival times, bannocks had to be shaped on the palm of the
hand and the loose -meal from the shaping might not be put back into the
meal-chest or else the Cailleach was believed to come and sit on the chest
and eat up the family luck. On completion the, the bannock is laid on the
left palm while the right is turned deosil through the centre.
Many heroes and heroines, setting off on their adventures, are asked by
their mothers whether they will take a large bannock and no mother's
blessing, or a small bannock and a blessing. Those who choose the latter
achieve their quest, sharing their bannock with hungry strangers or
animals who later help them in turn.
Respect for bread, both fresh and stale, remains a strong part of domestic
folklore: the woman of the house will never cast bread away unused lest
want come upon her family.
From: Celtic Book of Days; 12th of June
The Bannock
[Back to MacKay Hall]
[Back to Mayflower Cybercafe]