Halloween Party Costume

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1. Kelli L - March 29, 2011 at 3:39 am

   Halloween is a Hebrew holiday. But yes It DID change or the centuries. Let me explain. In hebrew "hallo" means "holy" and "ween" means "night". It was meant to be a very peaceful holiday not a scary mean one! That is why some religions do not celebrate it anymore. All of the devils or demonds are wrong very wrong in alot of religions.

   I am a christian and Me? I believe that it is wrong. I am not allowed to be any thing scary for Holloween.

   I am glad you asked this question because a lot of people need to hear the true about this HOLY holiday!

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2. Fiona - March 29, 2011 at 3:39 am

   It is quite a mixture of different things. Its origins are in Rome where it began as the Catholic All Saints Eve (All Hallows Eve) which was the night before All Saints Day. Later the church added All Souls Day to honor the dead. The possible pagan influences on these holidays is questionable. All Saints Day was first widely celebrated (localized observances came first) on the same day as a pagan Roman holiday that dealt with the dead – May 13, which was Lemuria. Coincidence? No one knows. Some believe that All Saints ended up on November 1 to coincide with the pagan celebration of Samhain. Although Samhain and the Christian feasts did mix in Ireland (and Scotland) it is very unlikely that that the date of November 1 was chosen by the church for that reason – there simply isn’t much to support that idea. All Souls Day probably had some pagan influence since feast days to honor the dead have long been a part of pretty much every society, and the decorating of graves during the pre-Christain Roman feast days of Parentalia and Feralia, which were celebrated in February, are also a custom of All Souls Day.

   In Ireland All Saints and Souls became so mixed with pre-Christian and folk customs, including the feast day known as Samhain, that a new holiday was born. What most people believe about Samhain is incorrect. There was unquestionably a strong supernatural element to this feast day, but it involved a connection to the "fairy" realm and divination, not communing with the dead. In the stories and histories it is described as a day of feasting, games, supernatural activity, and heroic feats. After the Christinization of Ireland, the belief in spirits of the dead became mixed with the "fairy" beliefs of the native Irish. Today, Samhain is a pagan holiday to honor one’s ancestors and considered to be the new year by some pagans

   This Irsh/Scottish mix of pre-Christian and Christain customs would eventually become known as "Halloween" and was brought to North America in the 19th century by Irish/Scots immigrants. At first it retained a strong Gaelic flavor with things like divination games (especially to discover the indentity of one’s true love) and harvest style parties. However, it slowly became "Americanized" until it finally became known around the world as an American holiday – and an entirely secular one. North America added trick-or-treat, commercial haunted attractions, and Hollywood influences (a lot of this – from movie monsters and traditional horror movies to serial killers and insane asylums to perpetuating the false idea that Halloween is Satanic).

   What most don’t know is that different versions of All Saints and Souls exist all around the world – from South America, to Europe (where it has remianed mostly Christian in nature), to the Philippines, to Native Americans in the Northern US and Canada. In Mexico this mixture of Catholicism and native beliefs became the Day of the Dead. In some parts of South America it is Todos Santos (All Saints). Among some Native Americans in the Northern US the French Jesuits introduced All Saints in the 17th century and partially displaced the native Feast of the Dead. This gave rise to a new celebration known as the Ghost Supper, which is still celebrated today.

   Halloween is sooo much more than just a day to dress up and get candy.

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3. greenshootuk - March 29, 2011 at 3:39 am

   Hallowe’en is the Eve of the feast of All Saints Day. That is what the name means, why the feast started over 1000 years ago and what it still is in many countries around the world who remember those those who have died and gone to be with Christ in the Kingdom. These countries, from South America through Europe to the Phillippines, have developed customs around the dead such as decorating their graves, having picnics, lighting candles for them, holding religous services, having processions, ringing church bells etc. etc. It started in the 8th century in Rome. It did not replace an existing feast of All Saints, it was a alternative to an existing feast of "Mary and All Martyrs" in May. It spread around Europe in the following century reaching Ireland in the 9th century (by which time Ireland had been Christian for about 300 years)

   There is no evidence of anything particularly pagan about the festival. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that celtic people celebrated a day of the dead on Oct 31st. There are some references in old myths (though written down by Christian monks) to "Samhain feasts" but these appear to have been feasts put on by kings or nobles for their warriors to have a lot to drink and eat and to boast about their adventures. The word Samhain appears simply to have meant November – or Autumn – and there is nothing in the records to indicate anything religious about them, nor any mention of any customs which are current today.

   The secular evolution originated largely in the USA but with it’s origins in the UK. The British used to celebrate All Saints, starting on the Eve, Hallowe’en, in the sort of way Catholic countries do now – ringing church bells on the Eve, keeping the vigil – and lighting fires to keep warm and, perhaps, to welcome the spirits of the dead, making lanterns and then, on the day itself, having a solemn service followed by a feast and general rejoicing. The Protestant reformation lead to a movement against this sort of revelry and, from the puritans, a dislike of reverence for Saints. During the time of the commonwealth, All Saints celebrations were suppressed, ringing bells and lighting fires was forbidden (though some tried to keep them going), traditional customs like soul caking were banned. Church celebrations of the feast were diminished, though people still kept some fo the folk customs going, gradually forgetting quite why, though they were attacked by the puritans for being pagans, devil worshippers and other such nonsense.

   This idea of wickedness around Hallowe’en was taken to the USA by the early puritan settlers and, altough later settlers brought folk customs with them, that wicked Hallowe’en narrative has remained the dominant idea in the USA. Protestants have continued to think that and refuse to celebrate Hallowe’en so it’s become a sort of counter-cultural event. This US notion of Hallowe’en is now being exported to other countries as a secular thing, even those which still have the ancient Catholic idea of All Saints Day.

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