Why I'll always carve a neep lantern at Halloween in memory of my dad
Lidl has opened up a neep patch this autumn to return a bit of tradition to Scottish Halloween - and I’m rooting for them.
Halloween was always a big deal in our house where the bizarre got good currency and Scotland’s traditions were always honoured. Hogmanay was the biggest date on the calendar - but Halloween was fully celebrated too.
At the heart of this was my dad, a man who cared deeply for his country, its culture and its history. He was a man of words and a man of the soil. He could be a tough crowd - but he was also someone who had a deep fun-loving streak.
He embraced a bit of mischief and Halloween pleased him very much. Treacle scones dangling on string over the bath? Absolutely. Being sent round the neighbours to sing the Skye Boat Song for 10p? Of course. Dooking for apples in a giant soup pot? Yes A neep lantern? Aye.
Hours would be spent carving out the neeps with anything that would shift the insides. A screwdriver was one of the tools once used in desperation, hands red raw as the cold, solid flesh remained stubbornly in situ.
But the joy of the candle lighting up its simple, scary face is something I can still clearly remember. My dad is long away now and so he missed the rise of the pumpkin and folk choosing them because ‘they are so much easier to carve’. I can imagine my dad would be wholly unimpressed by this. So am I.
The pleasure of the neep lantern comes partly from the toil involved. I am aware of how Scottish this sounds.
He would probably have enjoyed the fact that Lidl is promoting neep lanterns this year at a field in South Lanarkshire to bring back the tradition that was honoured generation after generation. Of course, times shift, but customs by their nature survive change. As Halloween becomes shiny and monied with new ways borrowed from the US, there is something reassuringly humble about the neep lantern. It keeps us grounded.
Now, I must admit, I have sought out my own solutions to the hard neep challenge and have cracked it. Stab it with a fork and put it in the microwave for ten minutes or more. It comes out with its skin a little withered with the root hairs on show, adding a little more ghoulishness. And, yes, it is easier to carve after that.
Meanwhile, those innards never go to waste as they are put straight to that big soup pot, just like dad would have done.
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