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 * All
Hallow's Eve Through The Ages *
Originally known as All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, 31 October, is one of the year's most excitingly
different festivals. We now celebrate the coming of winter by
dressing up in costumes, going to parties, carving pumpkins and
bobbing for apples, but Halloween was much
more serious and profound in ancient times. It is the day before
All
Saints Day, officially designated as such
by Pope
Gregory IV [827
- 844] --
All
Saints Day is followed by All Souls Day, when people from various Christian
cultures still visit the grave sites of their departed loved
ones, offering flowers, and frequently picnicking at the cemetery.
In the churches, special Masses of Requiem
are held, so that the souls of those in Purgatory
might finally be admitted through the Pearly Gates.
 * Samhain --
[also spelled Sanhain by some sources] -- The Celts
had two main magical portals in their year, the doorway of light,
on 1 May, and the dark doorway of Samhain,
meaning summer's end, on 31 October, which began a new cycle
--
Dunking
for Apples -- The apple tree was considered
sacred to the Celtic peoples -- the custom of dunking for apples originated
during samhain, when the first person to bite an apple would be
the first to marry in the coming year. A similar tradition was
carried out by lovers in the Victorian era, who together would
bite into a suspended donut with their hands tied behind their
backs.
 * Jack O'Lanterns -- Jack O' Lanterns were derived from an ancient
Irish and British tradition of placing a lit candle inside a hollowed
- out pumpkin or turnip to scare spirits away from one's home.
This popular name for an illuminated pumpkin
originates from Celtic folklore. According to legend, a blacksmith named
Jack made a pact with the Devil -- he would exchange his soul
for mastery of his trade.
In an attempt to save Jack, a saint named
Peter offered Jack three wishes, hoping Jack would choose wisely
and thus save his soul. Instead, Jack used the wishes to outsmart
the Devil, which angered both God and the Devil himself; consequently,
when Jack died, neither God nor the Devil wanted his soul. Confused,
Jack scooped up some burning coals and placed them in a hollowed
- out turnip he used as a lantern.
Today the legendary Jack is believed to
carry this lantern to light his way as he wanders the earth in
darkness, waiting for his final Judgement Day.
 * Trick-Or-Treating -- Dressing up in costumes and doing the rounds of
the neighborhood is based on a number of Irish and European
customs --
 * In England, boys and
girls would wear each other's outfits and beg door to door for
soulcakes --
 * During pagan times in Germany, taxes and wages were collected from people at the
end of autumn --
 * In Scotland, this custom was changed into a lighthearted door
- to - door begging called guising --
 * In Ireland, groups of Irish farmers in disguise would go from
house to house asking for food for their town or village. Those
who gave generously were left with good wishes for prosperity
-- those who were tight - fisted were cursed and threatened.
 * This custom, brought over
to the US by Irish immigrants during the potato famine of the
mid -1800s, continues as modern - day Trick-Or-Treating.
Click Here -->  <-- For
Benidictus Midi
 * All
Saints Day, 1
November, and All Souls Day, 2 November,
are important traditional Roman Catholic festivals
in Spain -- every year the doorman of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, where I had my office, would ask me if
I was going to visit deceased relatives at the cemetery -- unfortunately,
I didn't have any to visit! He and his family spent the entire
day there, planting flowers and having lunch at the grave sites.
 * In Mexico, Los
Dias de los Muertos [Days of the Dead -- from
31 October to 2 November] is a very popular, almost carnival
- like, folk festival, decorated with skeleton figures in baked
clay and other materials, attracting tourists from the world
over.
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