Question for Keith

[82Rigger]

Keith,

Is it true that Halloween originated from a Christian holiday?

It appears to me that the word "Halloween" or "Hallowe'en" is a contraction for "hallowed evening".

I read somewhere that the original holiday was "All Saints Day" (November 1st???).

Also have heard that the holiday has Celtic or Druid origins.

What's the story? :cd:

[HARDCORE]

Found this and thought you might like it!!

Mrs. Hardcore
***********************


History of Halloween
By Amanda Casciaro
10-30-2004


The tradition of jack-o-lanterns may have emerged from the ancient Celtic practice of lighting bonfires, which were used during sacrificial ceremonies before the emergence of Christianity. "Bob Crisp/The Daily Home"
Children and adults who crowd the streets in neighborhoods across the country Halloween night dress in costumes, beg for candy and may try their best to scare passersby.
While Halloween has turned into a celebration filled with haunted houses, ghoulish costumes and bonfires, it hasn?t always been that way.

Well, maybe a little.

There are many debates on exactly when the celebration preceding popular culture?s version of Halloween developed, but the most popular tale indicates it originated as a Celtic holiday.

Halloween derived from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which took place in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France more than 2,000 years ago, according to historychannel.com.

Samhain, a New Year celebration observed on Nov. 1 because it was the beginning of winter, was based on the belief that spirits of the dead returned to Earth and "mingled with the living" before making their journey to the underworld at that time of the year, according to the Library of Congress Web site.

To aid the dead with their travels, the Celts lit bonfires and sacrificed fruits, animals and vegetables in their honor.

According to encyclopedia.com, "people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits to avoid persecution."

But once the Romans began moving into the territory, much of the ceremonies? significance diminished. Two Roman holidays were combined with Samhain.

The History Channel Web site states the two holidays were, "Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead" and "a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees."

Pomona?s symbol, an apple, may correspond to today?s practice of bobbing for apples on Halloween, the Web site states.

It wasn?t long before Christian missions slowly moved into the territory.

In 609 A.D., Pope Gregory I issued an edict to his missionaries saying they should use the beliefs and customs of local people in order to convert them to Christianity.

The Library of Congress reports Celtic priests, also known as druids, were branded as pagans and "church holy days were purposely set to coincide with native holy days." For example, Christmas was assigned to Dec. 25 because it coincided with the mid-winter Celtic celebration.

The missionaries? work to diminish the importance of Celtic beliefs eventually worked to win much of the population over to Christianity, but didn?t eliminate beliefs associated with the Samhain celebration.

Pope Boniface IV eventually designated Nov. 1 as All Saints? Day in an effort to "replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday," reports historychannel.com.

The celebration on the night before the holiday was also called All Hallows Eve until it eventually became known as Halloween. Since 1000 A.D., the holiday has been celebrated with bonfires, parades and costumes such as saints, angels and devils, according to historychannel.com.

So in truth, what many more conservative churches may consider a stray from the Christian faith is actually a celebration of its saints.

"They have church basement re-invented versions of it," said Dr. Russell McCutcheon, department chair of religious studies at the University of Alabama. "It seems to be a pretty typical thing, either dominant or marginal groups take what is already going on in the world and tweak it for their own purpose."

Whatever particular groups believe about Halloween, it?s obvious that its original purpose has totally diminished after hundreds of years of celebration.

"It?s just become a secular holiday. We don?t know anymore that that name is sacred," said Dr. Richard Penaskovic, professor of religious studies at Auburn University. "It?s analogous to Mardi Gras, which is three days before Lent and fast. It?s about enjoying life and having a good time, and people don?t even know it precedes the season of Lent when you?re supposed to fast.

"Halloween has a sacred significance in it. I think people have lost sight in that."





About Amanda Casciaro Amanda Casciaro is a staff writer for The Daily Home.


Contact Amanda Casciaro Phone:
Fax:
256 299-2113
256 299-2192

[Keith_Hixson]

This is probably the best I can do. Brenda's research is very similar to mine.

Halloween is a pagan holiday.
All Saints Day and All Souls Day were established by the Christian (Catholic) Church to replace the pagan holiday. However, it didn't work, its still around.

Halloween isn't Christian.

Keith


History: The Celtic festival of Samhain is probably the source of the present-day Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland, and northern France. Their new year began on November 1. A festival that began the previous evening honored Samhain, the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and decay. It naturally became associated with human death. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for this evening.

On the evening of the festival, the Druids, who were the priests and teachers of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a huge new year's bonfire of oak branches, which they considered sacred. They burned animals, crops, and possibly even human beings as sacrifices. Then each family relit its hearth fire from the new year's fire. During the celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.

The Romans began the conquest of the Celts in A.D. 43 and ruled much of what is now the United Kingdom for about 400 years. During this period, two Roman autumn festivals were combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. One of them, called Feralia, was held in late October to honor the dead. The other festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Apples probably became associated with Halloween because of this festival.



What is All Saint's Day?
All Saints' Day. Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the people became Christians. During the 800's, the church established All Saints' Day on November 1. The people made the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy day. The Catholic church later began to honor the dead on November 2. This day became known as All Souls' Day.

[82Rigger]

Thanks to both of you!

I guess I had it backwards...it apparently originally was a pagan rite that the Christians tried unsuccessfully to replace.

But at least now I know where jack-o-lanterns and dressing up in scarey costumes came from.

Very interesting.

Thanks again!