SC - Yellow Man

[Phil & Susan Troy]

Christine A Seelye-King wrote:
> 
> Oh, this is sooo cool!  I just got back with all of these cookbooks from
> GB, and I have not even had a chance to look through them, and here is
> another recipie that is from them.
> Yellow Man is a traditional candy served at Ol' Lammas Faire, held in
> Ballycastle, North Ireland.  The faire itself dates from 1606, and is one
> of Ireland's oldest traditional faires.  (Held August 1st = Lammas)
> Although bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) was introduced in the
> nineteenth century, so this candy is not period in this form, it might
> have forerunners, who knows?!

I believe Puck Fair is held the same day in another part of Ireland. The date
also coincides with Lughnasa, so I'm curious about linguistic connections. My
dictionary says it celebrates the first wheat harvest each year in the British
Isles, and adds that as a Roman Catholic feast day (hence the "-mas" at the
end of the name) it celebrates the release of St. Peter from some prison.

It may well be that the "-mas" was added or corrupted onto the name later, as
well as the St. Peter motif, but Lughnasa seems to have most of the
non-Christian functions of Lammas already installed. By the way, by Irish
custom, there is a Lughnasa practice that I find to be one of the most
civilized I have ever encountered: what amounts to a toast with food. You're
supposed to take the first bite of your Colcannon, a dish made with potatoes,
cabbage or kale, and leeks or scallions, and say, preferably in Gaelic, "Death
to the Red Hag!", who is the personification of Hunger.

I've seen less worthy toasts...

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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