Hop tu Naa

By Crusader1307

A Celtic Festival found on The Isle of Man (The Irish Sea), ''Hop-tu-Naa'' is a celebration to mark the end of Harvest and beginning of Winter. It is close in ritual to ''Halloween'', as practiced in both Modern Europe and The Americas. Traditionally 1,000-years old, it is a Custom to carve imagery into large hollowed-out Turnips (normally illuminated with a candle). The practice is similar to ''Pumpkin Carving'' (another tradition of Halloween). Children dress in costume, carrying The Turnips and go from House to House knocking on doors. They ''hope'' that The Owner will ''like'' their Turnip Art the most and reward them with sweets (and even money at times). This particular tradition is seldom practiced today though. Another tradition of Hop-tu-Naa, was for all to assemble in the Streets with their Turnip Lanterns and dance communally. This, in Ancient Times – was said to ''drive away'' Evil Spirits. The specialized dance is still performed today. Hop-tu-Naa was also a very important night to perform Divination on The Isle. In Paganism, the night was seen as the optimum time by which The Spirits and The Realm of The Living could be breached. As such, ''Magic'' was more easily performed and produced. In cases of Hop-tu-Naa foods eaten for the special night, a concoction called ''Mrastyr'' is made and consumed. Derived from a paste of fresh Fish, Potatoes and Herbs, any ''leftovers'' are ''left out'' for The Fairy Beings (for continued Good Luck thru the remaining of the year).