Soul Cakes

The soul cake is an old British Halloween tradition, probably an early English version of the modern custom of giving out treats to youngsters.

What Are Soul Cakes?

Soul cakes are small, sweet buns containing a mixture of fruit and spices - the exact recipe varied between regions. These would be baked for Halloween and given out to those who came to the door. Depending on the locality these visitors ('soulers') could either be children or beggars - or both.

The giving of soul cakes wasn't just an act of charity, it was connected with Halloween as a night of the dead as well as with The Day of the Dead/All Souls Day. Each cake was thought to represent the soul of someone recently departed. In the Christian tradition this would be someone waiting in purgatory, in pagan terms it's more likely to have been a soul trying to find it's way after death. Each cake handed out would assist one such lost soul in finding its way and continuing its journey in the afterlife.

In Christian times the soul cake was sometimes decorated with icing on the top in the form of a cross. It's interesting to note the similarity between this form of soul cake and the Easter hot cross bun.

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