from _Februa_, _Februta_, or
_Februalis_, names of Juno, who presided over the purification of
women; or, according to other authors, from _Februis expiatoriis_,
sacrifices for purging souls, there having been a feast on the second
day of this month, when sacrifices were offered to Pluto for the souls
of the dead. This day was kept by certain Christians as a solemn
festival, in memory of the humiliation of the Virgin Mary, who
submitted to the injunction of the law under which she lived. They
offered up thanksgiving on this day, and paraded about with flambeaux
and candles--proceedings which some thought were too close imitations
of the Pagan customs of _brenning_--in honour of Juno. There is in
this instance a resemblance to the Pagan superstition; and from the
burning of candles on the day we are referring to, they were, and are
yet, lighted on occasions of danger, to avert evil. Persons in this
country have been known to light candles, as a charm against thunder
and lightning; and lighted candles, when once charmed (which it is
supposed can be done), are considered by the ignorant at home and
abroad, to possess virtue sufficiently powerful to frighten away evil
spirits. Such candles are sometimes placed in the hands of persons
while in the agonies of death, to protect them from the evil one.

Shrove Tuesday, or Fasten's Eve, is a day observed in many lands. In
olden times, after the people had made confession at this season, they
were permitted to indulge in festive amusements, although not allowed
to partake of any repast beyond the usual substitutes for flesh; and
hence arose the custom of eating pancakes and fritters, and partaking
of brose, in Scotland, at this time. The brose was then made of
oatmeal and butter, with a ring in it. The bicker of brose being set
in the middle of a table, the unmarried members of the family, and
invited friends who had not entered the matrimonial state, seated
themselves around and partook of the repast. They took spoonful about
till the ring was found, and then it was put into a second dish of
brose, and again into a third, and he or she who found the ring twice
left the table, assured of being married before another Fasten's Eve.
At a later hour of the evening, pancakes, sometimes called "sauty
bannocks," were made, and through their magical virtues future
husbands and wives were discovered. A large cake or bannock was
prepared, in which a ring or other small article was put, an