Sweet Dreams on All Hallows' Eve: Dream Pillows, Lavender and Hops
Welcome along, fellow time travelers. Of all the nights of the year, our great-great-grandparents believed Halloween was the most magical for dreaming. Young Victorians went to bed on October 31 hoping a dream would reveal the face of their future sweetheart, and many tucked fragrant herbs under their pillows to help the dream along.
Halloween: a night for fortunes
In the 1800s, Halloween in Britain and America was less about spooks and more about fortune-telling fun. Party guests peeled apples, roasted nuts and gazed into mirrors, all hoping to learn about love and luck in the year ahead. One of the favorite customs was saved for bedtime: place a special token under the pillow, and your dreams would show you your future. Some young ladies used a sprig of rosemary, others a crooked sixpence or an apple, and many tied up a little bundle of sweet herbs.
The dream pillow
The dream pillow, a small cloth sachet filled with dried herbs and flowers, is far older than the Victorians. Herb pillows appear in European cottage traditions for centuries, and the Victorians, who loved anything sentimental, made them into keepsakes. Ladies stitched pretty little pillows from silk or linen, sometimes embroidered with moons and stars, and filled them with the dried flowers of their own gardens.
Lavender: the cottage favorite
Lavender was the queen of the dream pillow. Its name likely comes from the Latin lavare, "to wash," because the Romans scented their baths with it. Queen Victoria was a great admirer of lavender, and a royal warrant was granted to a lavender seller, Miss Sarah Sprules, in the 1800s. Victorian households tucked lavender into linen cupboards and pillows, where it was traditionally used to bring a calm, restful mood at bedtime.
Hops: the brewer's flower
Hops, the papery green cones famous for flavoring beer, have a long tradition in sleep pillows. Hop-pickers in the English countryside noticed how drowsy they became during the harvest, and folk tradition put hop cones into pillows. A popular story says King George III slept on a hop pillow, and herbalists of the 1800s recommended them widely. Hops were traditionally used in European folk practice to encourage relaxation in the evening.
Chamomile and lemon balm
Chamomile, with its sweet apple-like scent, was a cherished bedtime tea; Peter Rabbit's mother gives him a dose of chamomile tea in Beatrix Potter's famous 1902 story. Lemon balm, called "Melissa" after the Greek word for honeybee, was a monastery garden favorite with a bright lemony fragrance, traditionally used in calming evening teas.
Make your own Halloween dream pillow
Sew two squares of soft fabric together, leaving one side open. Fill with a handful of dried lavender, a few hop cones, some chamomile flowers and a pinch of rose petals, then stitch it closed. Tuck it beside your pillow on Halloween night and see what sweet dreams arrive!
Herbs of the evening
Several of these traditional evening herbs, including hops, chamomile, lemon balm and lavender, appear in our botanical blends. See the full ingredient lists for Dreamology and Relaxology at VitalogyShoppe.com.
So tell me, fellow time travelers: what would you hope to dream about on Halloween night?
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This post shares history, folklore and traditional uses only.
Postcard image: 1910s Halloween postcard, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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