page_title: Soul cake
section_title: Cakes
hierarchical_section_title: Soul cake / Souling / England / Traditions / Cakes
caption_attribution_description: Not so fancy, but with a story: Representing the 4 quarters of the moon, soul cakes have been a part of Samhain, and since the middle ages of all soul's eve, for decades. Probably not very known anymore, but these do have had a major influence on history, especially in the United States (though also on the Dutch). "Explanations on the origins of soul cakes vary. Some say that cakes were baked for the bonfires and that they were a lottery: pick the burnt cake, and you get to be the human sacrifice that ensures good crops next year. Or, soul cakes may have been tossed around an area to appease evil spirits condemned to wander in animal form." (NPR.org) By the 8th century they were given to beggars going from door to door, and promised to pray for the giver's soul in return for the cookie. They came in al shapes and sizes, some more cake-y, some more like cookies, others hard as rock. Thick, thin, with or without cross, gingery or saffrony: it's really hard to give _the_ recipe. I like these, because of the moon reference, and the sun because of their yellow look caused by the saffron and egg yolks (hard to tell on the pic though). I'll put two on my altar and bury them later. The rest I will eat with my housemate and boyfriend =P The next batch had twice the thickness, btw.
context_page_description: A soul cake, also known as a soulmass-cake, is a small round cake which is traditionally made for Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day to commemorate the dead in the Christian tradition. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, are given out to soulers who go from door to door during the days of Allhallowtide singing and saying prayers "for the souls of the givers and their friends". The practice in England dates to the medieval period, and was continued there until the 1930s, by both Protestant and Catholic Christians. In Sheffield and Cheshire, the custom has continued into modern times. In Lancashire and in the North-east of England soul cakes were known as Harcakes.
  The practice of giving and eating soul cakes continues in some countries today, such as Portugal, as well as the Philippines. In other countries, souling is seen as the origin of the practice of trick-or-treating. In the United States, some churches, during Allhallowtide, have invited people to come receive sweets from them and have offered "pray for the souls of their friends, relatives or even pets" as they do so.
context_section_description: Soul cakes formed a key part of the Souling traditions. In Staffordshire, the cakes were also called Soul-mass or "somas" cakes. In East Yorkshire, "somas loaves" were traditionally distributed. In some counties, the Soul-mass cake was "made on All Souls' Day, November 2nd, and always in a triangular shape". Soul-mass cakes were often kept for good luck with one lady in Whitby being reported in the 1860s having a soul-mass loaf one hundred years old. According to Atkinson (1868), soul-mass loaves "were sets of square farthing cakes with currants in the centre, commonly given by bakers to their customers". Sometimes, oat cakes were given in Lancashire and Herefordshire. In Warwickshire, during the 1840s, it was traditional to consume seed cakes during Halloween which coincided with "the end of the wheat seed-time".
caption: Soul cakes
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