WVSU Yellow Jacket — The great Hallows Eve
By Sean Rose
Halloween cometh. Halloween means Hallow’s Eve, or the day before All Saints’ Day. All Saints’ Day is observed by Roman Catholics and others in order to honor the saints in Heaven.
Halloween is also related and some say started by the Druids of Scotland, Whales and Ireland. The Druids and Celtic folk celebrated Halloween as a new year’s eve party, honoring Samhain, the lord of the dead.
Samhain was to release the souls of the dead from the year prior that had been condemned to live in animals as punishment for evil living. Some people believed it was merely a day for the dead to walk the Earth, and they were deathly afraid of the day. They would build bonfires and wear evil looking masks, make-up and costumes to scare or fool the dead spirits.
Druid priests would sacrifice horses and humans to the sun god and Samhain, tying them in wicker cages and lofting them into the bonfires they had set. Texts recorded by the Romans cite this as one of the main reasons they should conquer the Celtic people.
Ah, but the new-age Wiccans say "NO!" According to a modern witch, there was no god Samhain, it is merely the name of the Celtic holiday. The eve of the new year was thought to blur the lines between the worlds of the living and the dead, and the priests were said to be especially psychic then. The bonfires and animal sacrifices were to appease the gods and help power the foresight of the priests, who were trying to predict the future of the clans through the coming winter. The hearth fires were re-lit from the bonfires so that they may burn strong and warm the winter through.
The Romans did conquer the Celts, and in Roman fashion they merged their culture with the culture of the people they reigned over. Hallow’s Eve was combined with Feralia, a day to remember the passing dead, and with a celebration of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona’s symbol was the apple, hence our tradition of "bobbing for apples."
With the spread of Christianity, Pope Boniface IV officially named Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day in an attempt to replace the pagan festival of the dead with a church sanctioned holiday. Modern ideas of trick or treating come from England’s All Saints’ Day parades where the poor would beg for food from the procession and the crowd. They were given "soul cakes" in exchange for prayers for the family’s dead relatives. Young women would play tricks (the magic kind) in order to gain insight about their future husband. The immigrants coming to America brought all this tradition and folklore and it has "melted down" into the holiday we have today.
Halloween is one of the world’s oldest celebrated holidays and it is a great time to celebrate with your family and friends. Just remember there is nothing demonic about the day, aside maybe from the commercialism that’s eating every American holiday, so dress up, wear your masks and makeup and head out in search for "soul cakes." Just remember to thank the people you meet, give as well as receive and pray for the dead that have passed on, as we will all meet that fate someday. Happy Hallow’s Eve to all!
All venacular tongued scripts and horrorshow photos to srose@cycline3.com
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