In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I decided to write a blog on the past and present celebrations of Halloween. I am sure not many know where this holiday of frights came from and why it was named Halloween. I will also describe other celebrations around the world that tie into this widely known holiday.
Halloween has been celebrated by the American public for many years with parades, candy, costumes, and monsters. With this business-driven holiday increasing profits of costume and candy companies, it strays farther and farther away from its origins. For the people who don’t know, the holiday of Halloween originated from the Pagan festival called Samhain, which was celebrated by the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. They believed that during the time of the celebration, spirits could make contact with the physical world. They also believed that magic was stronger and more abundant at this time. When the Scottish and Irish immigrated to the United States, they carried the celebration over with them. Even though these immigrants came over many centuries, their celebration only emerged as a different celebration when it was adopted by society in the late twentieth century. It changed from a spiritual celebration to a money making ploy to target children and young adults. When you think about it, you can see the tie between this circumstance and fast food restaurants in “Fast Food Nation”. Doesn’t it seem that even holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter are straying from their true purpose and becoming just another money maker for companies like Mars and Hershey?
You may be thinking now, “Why Halloween is named Halloween?” The answer to that is very simple and it requires a look at another celebration that many Christian’s celebrate. The celebration I am talking about is called “All Saints Day” and “All Hallows Eve” in which “Hallow” means “saint”. This event is celebrated by a feast on November 1st or the first Sunday after Pentecost which commemorates the achievements and lives of past saints. Even though this event is celebrated by most Christians, the idea of who is considered to be a saint is left open. In western Christianity, people believe that “All Saints Day” celebrates those who have gone to heaven, while the next day, “All Souls' Day”, commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet reached heaven. These differences in celebration also change between countries.
In Portugal, Spain and Mexico, ofrendas (offerings) are made on this day. These offerings include food and material objects. They also normally place pictures of the deceased within a collage of flowers, burning incense, and candles. In Spain, the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain people bring flowers to the graves of dead relatives.
In the countries of Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Hungary and Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.
In the Philippines, the day is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where they offer prayers, lay flowers, and light candles, often in a picnic-like atmosphere.
In many of the English speaking countries, the festival is traditionally celebrated with the hymn "For All the Saints" by William Walsham How. The most familiar tune for this hymn is Sine Nomine by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
As you can see, candy, monsters, and trick-or-treating is just a tip of the iceberg of this world-wide Christian celebration. If you are a christian and you do not know about this celebration, I recommend you to go to your pastor or cardinal and learn about it. I hope you enjoyed learning about the holiday you thought you knew and what its true purpose and meaning are. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a very Happy Halloween!!!!!
I have included a recent article on Mars' treatment of animals, and a website that explains the ties of Halloween to Christianity.
I would also like to give credit to Wikipedia for the vast amount of information given on the subject.
Halloween has been celebrated by the American public for many years with parades, candy, costumes, and monsters. With this business-driven holiday increasing profits of costume and candy companies, it strays farther and farther away from its origins. For the people who don’t know, the holiday of Halloween originated from the Pagan festival called Samhain, which was celebrated by the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. They believed that during the time of the celebration, spirits could make contact with the physical world. They also believed that magic was stronger and more abundant at this time. When the Scottish and Irish immigrated to the United States, they carried the celebration over with them. Even though these immigrants came over many centuries, their celebration only emerged as a different celebration when it was adopted by society in the late twentieth century. It changed from a spiritual celebration to a money making ploy to target children and young adults. When you think about it, you can see the tie between this circumstance and fast food restaurants in “Fast Food Nation”. Doesn’t it seem that even holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter are straying from their true purpose and becoming just another money maker for companies like Mars and Hershey?
You may be thinking now, “Why Halloween is named Halloween?” The answer to that is very simple and it requires a look at another celebration that many Christian’s celebrate. The celebration I am talking about is called “All Saints Day” and “All Hallows Eve” in which “Hallow” means “saint”. This event is celebrated by a feast on November 1st or the first Sunday after Pentecost which commemorates the achievements and lives of past saints. Even though this event is celebrated by most Christians, the idea of who is considered to be a saint is left open. In western Christianity, people believe that “All Saints Day” celebrates those who have gone to heaven, while the next day, “All Souls' Day”, commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet reached heaven. These differences in celebration also change between countries.
In Portugal, Spain and Mexico, ofrendas (offerings) are made on this day. These offerings include food and material objects. They also normally place pictures of the deceased within a collage of flowers, burning incense, and candles. In Spain, the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain people bring flowers to the graves of dead relatives.
In the countries of Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Hungary and Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.
In the Philippines, the day is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where they offer prayers, lay flowers, and light candles, often in a picnic-like atmosphere.
In many of the English speaking countries, the festival is traditionally celebrated with the hymn "For All the Saints" by William Walsham How. The most familiar tune for this hymn is Sine Nomine by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
As you can see, candy, monsters, and trick-or-treating is just a tip of the iceberg of this world-wide Christian celebration. If you are a christian and you do not know about this celebration, I recommend you to go to your pastor or cardinal and learn about it. I hope you enjoyed learning about the holiday you thought you knew and what its true purpose and meaning are. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a very Happy Halloween!!!!!
I have included a recent article on Mars' treatment of animals, and a website that explains the ties of Halloween to Christianity.
I would also like to give credit to Wikipedia for the vast amount of information given on the subject.
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