Isle of Man.
On May Eve, the juvenile branches of nearly every family in the Isle of Man, used to gather primroses, and strew them before the doors of their dwellings, in order to prevent the entrance of fairies on that night. It was quite a novel sight to a stranger to the custom to see this delicate flower plentifully arranged at the door of every house he might pass, particularly in the towns on the night in question or early on the following morning. This custom is now abandoned: indeed, it was continued to a late date more through the habit and amusement of children than from superstition. Persons more advanced in life congregated on the mountains on May Eve, and to scare fairies and witches, supposed to be roaming abroad on that particular night in numbers greater than ordinary, set fire to the gorse or Koinney, and blew horns. Many of them remained on the hills till sunrise, endeavouring to pry into futurity by observing particular omens. If a bright light was observed to issue, seemingly, from any house in the surrounding village, it was considered a certain indication that some member of the family would soon be married; but if a dim light were seen moving slowly in the direction of the parish church, it was then deemed equally certain that a funeral would soon pass that way to the churchyard.—Train, History of the Isle of Man, 1845, vol. ii. p. 118.