Hide Article Text (OCR)
Hallowe’en Spooks Are Remnants Of Ancient Religious FestivalsCustoms and supersitions gathered through the ages go into our celebration of Halloween or Allhallows Even on Oct. 31. The day is so named because it is the eveof the festival of All Saints Day,observed by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches on Nov. 1.Pope Gregory III (31-741) assigned this date for celebrating the feast when he consecrated a chapel in St. Peter’s basilica toall the saints. Gregory IV extended the feast to the entire church in 834.Students of folklore believe that the popular customs of Halloween exhibit traces of the Roman harvest festival of Pomona and of Druidism.In ancient Rome the festival of Pomona, goddess of fruits and gardens, occurred at about this time of year. It was an occasion of rejoy cing associated with the harvest. Nuts and apples, as symbols of the winter store of fruit, were roasted before huge bonfires.It is easy to see the connections with the religion of the Druids in pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Celtic year ended on Oct. 31, the eve of Samhain, and was celebrated with both religious and harvest rites.For the Druids, Samhain was both the end of summer and a festival of the dead. The spirits of the departed were believed to visit their kinsmen in search of warmth and good cheer as winter approached. It was also the periodfor threshing and food preparation for the winter season.Certain divinations and predictions for the new year were practiced at Samhain. These magical practices concerned such questions as who would died during the next year, the identity of future marriage partners, and the chances of good fortune.It was also an occasion when fairies, witches and goblins terrified the populace. The agents of the supernatural were alleged to steal infants, destroy crops and kill farm animals.Huge bonfires were lighted on hilltops on the eve of Samhain. The fires may have been lighted to ward off or kill the witches. The Druids also believed that spirits of the dead roamed abroad and they lighted fires to drive them away. This Halloween fire ceremony persisted, particularly in Scotland, as late as the 19th century.There is little doubt that the church sought to eliminate or supplant the Druid festival of the dead by introducing the alternative observance of All Saints day on Nov. 1. This feast was established to honor all saints, knownor unknown, but it failed to displace the pagan celebration of Samhain.As Christianity spread gradually over Europe and the British Isles, it attempted to displace or suppress pre-existing pagan cults devoted to the worship of suchdieties as Apollo, Diana or Ymir.Though the church was able to destroy the temples and outward forms of worship of these religions, it could not completely eradicate the faith and beliefs of their priests and worshippers. These found an outlet during the middle ages in witchcraft, which was devoted to the worship of Satan.This cult included periodic meetings known as witches’ Sabbaths, which were given over to feasting and revelry. One of the most important Sabbaths was held on Halloween.Witches were alleged to fly to these meetings on broomsticks,accompanied by black cats who were their constant companions. Stories of these Sabbaths are the source of much folklore aboutHalloween.By the end of the Middle Ages the celebration of Allhallows Eve was an established part of the annual calendar of the Roman Catholic church. After the Reformation Protestants rejected this feast along with several others.Halloween folk customs of pagan origin still flourished in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, parts of England and in isolated localities such as the Orkney and Shetland Islands.In these places the inhabitants lighted bonfires on hilltops on the evening of Oct. 31 and played Halloween games such as “bob apple.” They also engaged in divination by such means as pulling kale, placing stones or nuts in the fire and throwing a shoe over the house.Some divination even occurred on the church porch. This was believed to be an especially reliable place to learn of future events.Pranks and mischief were common on Halloween in rural areas of Ireland and Great Britain. Wandering groups carried away gates and threw vegetables at doors. Girls and boys dressed in clothing of the opposite sex and visited neighbors to play tricks. These activities resembled the harmful and mischievious behavior attributed to witches, fairies and goblins.The contemporary trick or treat custom resembles an ancient Irish practice associated with Allhallows Eve. Groups of peasants went from house to house demanding food and other gifts in preparation for the evening’s festivities. Prosperity was assured for liberal donors, and threats were made against stingy ones.The traditional Halloween symbols and folk practices did not become popular in the US until the late 1800s. This may be because Halloween had long been popular with the Irish, and they migratedhere in large numbers after 1840.During the latter part of the 19th century Halloween pranks and mischief became common in the U.S. and often descended to vandalism. In rural areas fences were built across roads, wagons placed on top of barns, gates removed and farm animals hidden.In cities and towns spooks placed porch furniture on top of telephone poles, overturned garbage cans, opened water faucets and soaped windows in houses and stores.* * • • » ► * A.’ * • * • • *9 • • *.*« § ’ . » • _ “ - ~ -In the course of the 20th century the American people have become less tolerant of Halloween pranks. This is a result of a different way of life, our increased urbanization and general use of the auto. These factors have changed our enviroment and havelessened the vitality of folk beliefs and customs.In addition, Halloween mischief has become quite costly to property owners, and their complaints have in turn made it a serious concern to public officials.Civic authorities and private citizens have attempted to deal with this difficulty by both repressive and educational means. As early as 1908 some communities sponsored Halloween parties for the young, in the hope of preventing property destruction.Merchants have tried inviting the young to soap their store windows, offering prizes for the most artistic creation. All such efforts have had only limited success.Adults acquire a more rational outlook on life and lose interest in imagination and fantasy. But children delight in fantasy. Andblack cat, the leering witch swooping through the sky on her broom, with a skeleton or two rattling in the comer for good measure. Move over, kids. Put on yourmasks, and let’s bob for apples.
Newspaper Details
Mount Dora Topic
Mount Dora, Florida, US
Thu, Oct 31, 1963
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Susan R.
USA 04 Oct 2020
Other Publications Near Mount Dora, Florida
Mount Dora Herald
Mount Dora Topic
