ABSTRACT
ONCE the solemn procession has passed through the church or churchyard, the blessed candle is laid at the altar, to be divided into small pieces and allotted to every family when the service is ended. After taking these, each person returns home and on the following day all the children assemble, fasting. They kneel and, with the candles lit, the father bestows a blessing on them in the form I have mentioned, from the Book of Numbers, Ch. 6. He singes the tips of the hairs of his children’s heads in the shape of a cross and then extinguishes the candle after each one has been blessed. 1 If the smoke ascends, like that of the righteous Abel, the father claims it as a token of good obedience and caresses the youth or girl, encouraging that child to live virtuously, because the rising of the smoke means that a long, good life is in store. When they have seen this the young people become more eager to persist and advance in excellent habits and obedience. But if the smoke twists towards the ground, the youngster is shocked by fear into improving his ways and always avoiding bad company. By this means countless young people are restrained from vices and a great many are strengthened in good living.
