Halloween Traditions in Vintage Postcards

Good morning, Tina here, with some more vintage postcards. These are about various traditions which were popular "way back when". 

The card above is just about the only one with a man wanting to see the future. Almost all the rest are for women. Heaven knows we women are desperate to find a man! Especially on Halloween...

A bit of planning ahead for this one, above. Make sure you have roasted a goose to get the wishbone and carved a pumpkin and saved the seeds.  Got to work in order to earn your man!

For this one you need walnuts and two beaus. Maybe she should just be happy with what she has and play the field for a while?

This one doesn't explain much, but from checking into the traditions, it appears that the yolk of an egg in water is supposed to tell you your future.

I wonder when the traditions of Halloween stopped including desperation on an "old maid's" part, you never hear anything about trying to figure out who or when you will marry in our day and age.

Above is a card that tells us to pull a root... carrot, turnip, beet???  and somehow we will know our fate. (What do you want to bet it has something with when we will find a man!)

Above and below are cards which use candle flames and smoke to either paint a portrait or spell the name of the lucky man you are going to trap with all this mumbo jumbo. 

Now, getting to the more common traditions. Below are cards using apples and apple peels to find our love.

One of the traditions is to peel an apple, without breaking the peel, and then toss it over your shoulder to see the initial of your future husband.

Another tradition was to sit in a room in front of a mirror, just before midnight. Cut an apple into nine pieces. Sit with your back to the mirror, and in the light of a lit candle, eat eight of the pieces, and throw the ninth over your left shoulder as you ask a question. Then look over your left shoulder into the mirror and you will see the answer to your question (which of course is about who you are going to marry... what else would you want to know?)

Above, seeds, apples, candles, peels, and of course the hoped for wedding ring.

Combined above, the peel toss and the candle to look into the mirror to see the man of your future.

I am not sure what is supposed to happen if you see a jack-o-lantern. You stay an old maid?

Here we have simplified the whole thing, or else she already peeled and ate her apple (they are there in the border after all...) Looks like she is happy with what she sees.

Happy at least for now, she must see that evasive perfect man,

Well, he isn't exactly handsome, but then, either is she!

I think the jack-o-lanterns are getting a kick out of all these gullible women.

Apples and candle... All is Vanity.

Hmmm, stairs added now to this equation. Hope she treads carefully.

Oh oh, she doesn't look very happy with that jack-o-lantern. Look behind!! Cute little boy...

Well, depends on what your idea of "bonny" is.

I hope all these ladies are happy with their futures.

The tricks on her, is she going to marry a mouse? But I guess it's okay, it's a fireman mouse.

This gentleman sent his lady a card hoping his face would appear! How romantic! Forget the mirror, lady, grab him quick!

I guess by now you have gotten the idea. I hope you enjoyed our look into the hopeful future of the past, written in vintage Halloween postcards.