Soul Cakes

Soul cakes, a term used for the gifts of sweetened bread, anciently distributed at the church doors on All-souls'-day (Nov. 2) by the rich to the poor. They were frequently stamped with the impression of a cross, or were triangular in form. They were given away with inscriptions on paper or parchment, soliciting the prayers of the receivers for the souls of certain departed persons, whose names were thus put on record. Some of the earliest specimens of block printing consist of "soul papers," as they were termed.