Happy holidays , Oomesh!
On the Austrian countryside we had a custom on this day, unknown in the towns already 50 years ago and now probably unknown to younger people.
On the evening of that day, a very old wonen would appear and empty a coarse bag from the door into the room, throwing in apples, nuts and rarely a cookie or sweet - we had no industrial food in villages when I was a kid.
The origin was darker, she was leading “the Wild Chase” unrestful deads, forced to roam the earth that night. (Long before zombies became popular).
The danger in her presence was still communicated, the apparion was scary and menacing, that she threw in gifts, was a bit of luck.
When my mother was a child, the custom was scarier still. Her brother, a small boy, was full of bravado the whole day, how he would approach the crone and try to see her face. When she finally appeared, covered in rags and scarves, he gave way, went a step back, two more steps backwards and pluff, the boy fell into the trough, where his mother was washing laundry on the floor.
My mother profited from the distraction to collect all the apples and nuts herself.
...
I could call most of my guests for free, even on their mobile phones, but would not do it. Calling is not really In any more for people under 40. Without reason, I would not even call close friends. Calls from strangers? No, thanks. It’s maybe different where you live, @Oomesh-Kumarsingh0, but in Europe the only calls we get are from people trying to sell something. It’s associated with annoyance now. I offer access to the free phone service to my guests, to call home if they like. It’s used once a year, to call a bank for a credit card problem.
