Transcript
HALLOWEEN
HALLOWEEN•Definition: an annual “holiday”
observed on October 31, with roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced ‘Sow-win’), and the Christian holy day of All Saints.
•It is a largely secular celebration, strongly associated with activities like the wearing of costumes, trick-or-treating, and the telling of scary stories.
HISTORY
PAGAN CHRISTIAN
HALLOWEEN
PAGAN
•Definition: an ancient expression of spirituality based on worshipping nature and/or a variety of spirits connected to the land.
•Belief that at the end of the summer harvest season, the ‘curtain’ separating the living & the dead was especially thin--allowing for the spirits to cross over into our world.
•Spirits may take on different forms & wander about. They should be treated kindly/respectfully, or they may cause trouble.
•Symbols became associated with these spirits--the black cat, the carved gourd or pumpkin, etc.
PAGAN
CHRISTIAN
•Definition: a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4bc--33ad). Jesus is accepted as the Son of God in the flesh; the promised one; the Savior of the world.
•Exact dates vary, but it is generally accepted that England & Ireland were “Christianized” in the 7th century.
•Yet in spite of this, many Pagan beliefs & practices remained in the land.
•In an effort to ‘re-direct’ these beliefs, the Church established ALL SAINTS day as a celebration of the departed (dead) faithful who--while no longer in the physical world--nonetheless still exist, but now in the heavenly realm with God.
CHRISTIANITY
October 31st
All Saints Eve
November 1st
All Saints Day
November 2nd
Calendar
or “all hallows eve”....hallowbeing a word that means
holy
All Saints Eve
|“All Hallows” Eve
|
Hallows Eve|
Hallowe’en
Halloween
Halloween TODAY
•secular celebration, strongly associated with activities like the wearing of costumes, trick-or-treating, and the telling of scary stories.
•primarily for KIDS, but some adults also love to get in the ‘spirit’ of things.
“Trick-or-treating”
•Definition: The culturally-allowed practice of “begging” for candy or other goodies. The age-old implication of the phrase is that one must give the ‘treat,’ or one may be subjected to pranks (aka, the ‘trick’).
Images of trick-or-treat
From the movie Arsenic & Old LaceFilmed: 1941
From 1997 History Channel‘The Haunted History of
Halloween’
Misc. images ofHalloween
The end
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