42 KIRKBEAN FOLKLORE. 
celebration of the feast of the Kirn, or simply “ The Kirn” or 
‘“‘ Harvest Home,” was very general, and occasioned much enjoy- 
ment among the young folks. There seems to have been nothing 
unusual in the feasting and enjoyment in the parish, and readers 
of Scottish literature are familiar with the references to the Kirn 
in song and story, so that itis unnecessary to detail here the feast- 
ing and dancing with which the ingathering of the harvest was 
welcomed. The Kirn is now almost obsolete in the parish. 
‘‘ Hallowe’en,” celebrated on 31st October, was a red-letter 
day in the calendar. During the day the children amused them- 
selves by singing : 
Hallowe’en ; the nicht at e’en 
The fairies will be ridin’. 
A variation of this, which was in use in Kirkbeana number of years 
ago, was, it seems, as follows: 
Hallowe’en ; the nicht at e’en 
The fairies will be scraighin’. 
Din Doup had a wife, 
Her name was Peggy Aiken. 
It was at night, however, that the celebration was in full swing. 
The young folks gathered together and burned nuts in the fire. 
As now, the two nuts were put in together. If both burned 
brightly the young man and woman whom the nuts were supposed 
to represent are or will be true lovers, and have happiness in their 
married life. If one jumps away that one was unfriendly or 
unfaithful. The pulling of the kail stock was a part of the celebra- 
tion now quite obsolete in the parish. The young folks were 
blindfolded, and made their way to the garden of a bachelor or old 
maid, where they pulled the first ‘“ kail stock” they touched. On 
re-entering the house the ‘‘ stocks” were eagerly examined to see 
what fortune was in store for those who had pulled them. If the 
stalk was tall and straight the future husband or wife would be 
comely and straight. On the other hand, if short and crooked, the 
partner would be unattractive. If the pith was bitter the husband 
or wife would be bad tempered ; if sweet, of an agreeable disposi- 
tion. If only a little earth adhered to the root the spouse would 
be endowed with but little of this world’s gear, but if a consider- 
able quantity of the soil was lifted, there would be a fortune. 
The stocks were then placed over the door, and the first person 
who entered the house afterwards was supposed to be of the same 
