DCHP-2

colcannon kɒlˈkænən Colcannon, caulcannon, colecannon, caulcannon, kale cannon, kole cannon DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1a n. — Newfoundland, Food

  mashed potatoes cooked usually with green cabbage or kale.

  Type: 4. Culturally Significant — Colcannon is a borrowing from Irish Gaelic in Newfoundland English (Clarke 2010b: 109). The dish is traditionally served on October 31st, Halloween night (see the 1894 quotation), hence the term colcannon night (see meaning 1b). On that night, symbolic tokens such as thimbles or rings may be hidden in the dish. See also COD-2, s.v. "colcannon" (2), marked as "Cdn (Nfld)".

• 1b n. — Colcannon Night, social customs

  a nickname for Halloween.

  Type: 4. Culturally Significant — In Newfoundland, Colcannon Night, together with Snap-Apple Night, are the traditional names for Halloween, which was not a common name there (see the 1896 and 1942 quotations). Customs include the burying of symbolic items in a dish of colcannon (see meaning 1a), such as a ring, a coin, an old maid's thimble and a bachelor's button (Casselman 1998: 29) to convey messages predicting romance or otherwise.