All Hallow's Eve
Note: This article was origianlly posted on the thirty-first of October of the two thousand and fifth year of our Lord.
Ahh, Halloween, the time of year when children dress as their favorite cartoon character, candy sales reach an all time high, and people find new and creative uses for toilet paper. And yes, there amidst all the fun and festivity is the inevitable cry of certain sects of Christianity of the evils of the holiday, and how it's the day of Satan and other such garbage. While I might that the modern celbration of Halloween is a clever plot by the candy companies, the evil stops there. But what's the truth about this severely misunderstood holiday? Let's take a look.
Most historians agree that the orgin of the October 31 festival dates back to the Druidic Celts (located in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales). The festival was known as Samhain (pronounced Sow- as in cow -an as in, uh, an.) It was a festival of the dead, in which the divide between the world's narrowed enough that the two worlds sort of mingled, allowing the dead to walk the earth for that night. The festival lasted for three days, Oct 31- Nov2. The carving out of turnips and lighting them with candles was used for the frightening away of evil spirits. (The pumpkin came into vogue in America when Irish immigrants brought the tradition of Halloween with them.) Food offerings would be left for the dead (which would sometimes be snatched by mischevious children dressed as ghouls, thus adding to the mischevious orgins of the holiday) Communities would also dress as ghouls and goblins and the like so that they could blend in with the dead.
When the Romans began to conquer Celtic lands, the harvest aspect of the feast was added, taken from the Roman festival for Pamona, goddess of the orchards. Thus we get the drinking of cider and bobbing for apples that we still recognize today.
Now, when the Catholic missionaries came to the Celtic lands they found many converts, and Catholocism was well recieved. However, the locals would hardly be willing to give up their native traditions. One might think that this would be a conflict with the new found Church in Ireland, but not so. The Church merely decided to "baptize" the festival and refurbish it with a Christian flare. So it was the decision of Pope Gregory IV to move the celebration of martys from May 3, to November 1, falling right in the middle of the feast of Samhain. November 2 became All Soul's Day, and October 31, the eve of All Saints, became known as All Hallow's Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween. The tradition of honoring the dead was still kept, as we remember the Saints who have died before us, and many other traditions of the Celts and Romans were perserved. The Church was happy, the natives were happy. It was the ultimate win-win situation, and has preserved a culturally rich holiday.
Anyway, so when your or your child gets one of those little comic book witness tracks dissing Halloween, assure the giver that while some dark individuals may have added a Satanic flare to the holiday, thus creating the need to keep close watch on your children, it is well rooted in Christian and Irish tradition, and has no Satanic orgins at all. Oh, and send the giver to this blog. They might find this educational. Trick or treat!
-Vincent Christian
But don't just take my word for it, check out this informative site written by Roman Catholic Brian Paul. http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.5/story1.html
Ahh, Halloween, the time of year when children dress as their favorite cartoon character, candy sales reach an all time high, and people find new and creative uses for toilet paper. And yes, there amidst all the fun and festivity is the inevitable cry of certain sects of Christianity of the evils of the holiday, and how it's the day of Satan and other such garbage. While I might that the modern celbration of Halloween is a clever plot by the candy companies, the evil stops there. But what's the truth about this severely misunderstood holiday? Let's take a look.
Most historians agree that the orgin of the October 31 festival dates back to the Druidic Celts (located in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales). The festival was known as Samhain (pronounced Sow- as in cow -an as in, uh, an.) It was a festival of the dead, in which the divide between the world's narrowed enough that the two worlds sort of mingled, allowing the dead to walk the earth for that night. The festival lasted for three days, Oct 31- Nov2. The carving out of turnips and lighting them with candles was used for the frightening away of evil spirits. (The pumpkin came into vogue in America when Irish immigrants brought the tradition of Halloween with them.) Food offerings would be left for the dead (which would sometimes be snatched by mischevious children dressed as ghouls, thus adding to the mischevious orgins of the holiday) Communities would also dress as ghouls and goblins and the like so that they could blend in with the dead.
When the Romans began to conquer Celtic lands, the harvest aspect of the feast was added, taken from the Roman festival for Pamona, goddess of the orchards. Thus we get the drinking of cider and bobbing for apples that we still recognize today.
Now, when the Catholic missionaries came to the Celtic lands they found many converts, and Catholocism was well recieved. However, the locals would hardly be willing to give up their native traditions. One might think that this would be a conflict with the new found Church in Ireland, but not so. The Church merely decided to "baptize" the festival and refurbish it with a Christian flare. So it was the decision of Pope Gregory IV to move the celebration of martys from May 3, to November 1, falling right in the middle of the feast of Samhain. November 2 became All Soul's Day, and October 31, the eve of All Saints, became known as All Hallow's Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween. The tradition of honoring the dead was still kept, as we remember the Saints who have died before us, and many other traditions of the Celts and Romans were perserved. The Church was happy, the natives were happy. It was the ultimate win-win situation, and has preserved a culturally rich holiday.
Anyway, so when your or your child gets one of those little comic book witness tracks dissing Halloween, assure the giver that while some dark individuals may have added a Satanic flare to the holiday, thus creating the need to keep close watch on your children, it is well rooted in Christian and Irish tradition, and has no Satanic orgins at all. Oh, and send the giver to this blog. They might find this educational. Trick or treat!
-Vincent Christian
But don't just take my word for it, check out this informative site written by Roman Catholic Brian Paul. http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.5/story1.html
posted by Vincent Christian | 1:30 PM
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