Frances Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I see that turnips are pushed as the classic Manx way - I wonder just how old this tradition is as Basil Quayle writing in 1812 says: "ABOUT thirty years have elapsed since the introduction of turnips as an article of field culture in this island. At present it is extending, but not in the degree they merit. ..."(see www.manxnotebook.com//fulltext/tq1812/ch07.htm#s12) - maybe it is actually a fed back version of the american pumpkin lantern ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie kelly Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 In the late 1970's we used to wander around Peel with a turnip (swede to all those foreigners out there)singing this Peel / Douglas mixture, because it seemed to generate the most money: Hop-tu-naa- I met an old woman Hop-tu-naa - She was baking bonnags Hop-tu-naa- I asked for a bit Hop-tu-naa - She gave me a bit, as big as my toe. Hop-tu-naa She dipped it in milk Hop-tu-naa -She wrapped it in silk Hop-tu-Naa, Tra-la-laa Jinny the Witch went over the house To fetch a stick to ladder the mouse Hop-tu-Naa, Tra-la-laa My father's gone away and he won't be back until the morning Give us a penny and we'll fly away By the light of the mooooooon! We used to use the stalk of the turnip as a handle / candle holder and the root as a hat / lid. A friend who had moved to Peel from Douglas used to use string, but, her turnip always split before the night was over, so we were never converted. We never wore costumes - nobody did. When hollowing out the turnip, we started out with knives, for the first few cuts, then continued with desert spoons, all of which were bent by the end of the night. Eating the sweet flesh as we carved was a wonderful treat. A scary face was always the main design and was put on the best side of the turnip, with smaller designs, such as cats, stars, a moon and cobwebs around the remaining sides. We took care not to put a hole all the way through the turnip as the thin flesh glows beautifully when lit from behind once the outer peel is removed. It also stopped the candle from blowing out to often. The hollowed out root was placed on top as a hat, and a chimney cut to prevent the lid shrinking too quickly. I remember every child would head straight for Mr Jerry's house because he always gave us homemade fudge instead of money - a novelty in those days when money was the norm. The smell of candles slowly cooking the turnips and the resistance style exchange of information regarding which houses to visit (or not) are amongst the memories that of my childhood that I will always treasure. To this end, I will be teaching my daughter to sing hop-tu-naa and will help her to calve her turnip. Those who turn up at my door saying "trick or treat" will be asked to sing Hop tu naa. If they can't or won't they will receive a sweet and a copy of the words. Those who make the effort to hollow out a turnip and sing "hop tu naa" will get a few coins and a hand full of sweets. I have tried this for the last few years. I have never had any complaints and have often been thanked. sorry to quote the whole post but just wanted to say that this brought back loads of memories that had been mostly forgotten. I now remember even going out in the rain and re-lighting the turnip lanterns at each house because the chimney hole was too big to keep them dry. Also I used to eat loads of the turnip when we were carving them out but have never eaten it at any other time that hop tu naa! aah, I can even remember the taste of Mr Jerry's fudge now - thanks for writing this Dreemskerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staaue Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 My family celebrate the Celtic new year eve on the 12th November, It is simply a gathering of family members where we get a big fire going out the back, carve some Turnips during the day for that night, We’ll bake chestnuts and beech nuts, and a few baked spuds if we fancy, not to mention all the other great food made in the run up to Hop tu naa, especially the homemade fudge and toffee apples. Most importantly it is a family get together. Did I mention the beer, lots of it….. This is where we Manksies need to tell Halloweeners’ to get it right. Give the kids who come calling with a turnip lantern and singing the correct Manks festive song some money, and when the trick or treat’ers come, give them an apple or something small like a handful of boiled sweets, the grapevine will soon circulate the fact that by using the correct custom, they will get a decent reward. Or failing that, lock your gate. Lol. --------------------------------- That's a very interesting point Frances, Hop tu naa has probably been transforming for several centuries. It is constantly under attack from outside influences as are all traditions everywhere, especially with modern media. Pumpkins are American in origin (1) and I believe they are in wide use now-a-days as more new islanders try to emulate there English (or other) origins, who in turn are trying to emulate Americans. I don’t think it wise to argue semantics on the issues of whether it should be a Pumpkin or a Turnip. Hell, lets debate the fact that a Manks Turnip should be called a Rutabaga or Swede and what kind of cabbage was it crossed with???? (4) I would encourage any readers to go away and read A,W,Moore ‘The November – May year in Man’ (2) This is one of the best articles I’ve read concerning the subject of why we ‘really’ celebrate Hop tu naa, as well as the other great Celtic festivals. You’ll also find a link to another interesting articles below (3). And for those of you, who go to church and call yourself a good Christian, then be forewarned this event is a Pagan one and is nothing less than Sun worship. I love it.. (1) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/opinion/24mcwilliams.html (2) http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mquart/mq06537.htm (3) http://www.linguatics.com/origins_of_halloween.htm (4) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantan...ers/turnip.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Crabster Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Very quaint. Give a man a little knowledge of 'secret lore' and he'll piss his life away following it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staaue Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 That's a fine retort Mr Crabster, why don't you improve it by letting us know what you do on Hop tu Naa; or is it Halloween? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsbot Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 People in the Isle of Man are celebrating the annual festival of Hop Tu Naa, known as the Celtic New Year. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/6102524.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Here are a couple of good links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_or_treat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hop-tu-Naa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Also its not long after Hop Tu Naa that you get the Penny for the Guy scams. Some of the have already started. There's a couple of kids on Bucks Road that seem to spend all of their money on sweets bought from the shop they're sitting outside of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahc Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Also its not long after Hop Tu Naa that you get the Penny for the Guy scams. Some of the have already started. There's a couple of kids on Bucks Road that seem to spend all of their money on sweets bought from the shop they're sitting outside of I was quite impressed by the Guys on the Terrace. And if you give them some money they give you a sweet in return! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I see that turnips are pushed as the classic Manx way - I wonder just how old this tradition is as Basil Quayle writing in 1812 says:"ABOUT thirty years have elapsed since the introduction of turnips as an article of field culture in this island. At present it is extending, but not in the degree they merit. ..."(see www.manxnotebook.com//fulltext/tq1812/ch07.htm#s12) - maybe it is actually a fed back version of the american pumpkin lantern ? How classic do you want to get after 194 years? Edited for crap maths! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Tradition or not, pumpkins do look pretty cool. Turnips on the other hand have a look about them that's almost despondent, and they're a little dishevelled. Using them for your celebrations is tantamount to carving a spooky face into a little tramp, and no one should want to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Carved out a 'moot', put a face on it & hung it outside the house earlier this evening. Had a few callers round singing - a few had some sort of a trick or treat rhyme, but after asking them if they knew hop-tu-naa they all had a crack at it and were justly rewarded. They were also all very polite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
immortalpuppet Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I got cleaned out this year! It made a change from having none at all for the past few years, all the kids had made a really big effort too, none of the teenages who had just bought a 35p mask and drape a bin bag over there sholders. Good to see so many parents participating with the kids too, it always worries me about kids walking around at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Would echo both of the last posts. Still got lots of sweets though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjDan Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I got cleaned out this year! It made a change from having none at all for the past few years, all the kids had made a really big effort too, none of the teenages who had just bought a 35p mask and drape a bin bag over there sholders. Good to see so many parents participating with the kids too, it always worries me about kids walking around at night. I'm up in governors hill... which is as expected a nice children area for hop-tu-naa. We had maybe 15 visits... which was pretty good. Lots of young children with parents hovering in background. I have to say though, i was disappointed with the approach now... that being "trick or treat" has replaced our tradition. I'd say 80% of the kids were saying "trick or treat" and i had to ask them to sing for me! which most of them then did. I did have two teenagers (lookin about 17) who just put a mask on their face and said "trick or treat". Very disappointed... half of me wanted to shut the door, but i thought i humiliated them enough in the end by first asking them to sing - to which they quietly replied "er... we don't" and then just staring at them, i gave them one small choc. sweet each and they walked away. I hate that. Overall... not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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