Moms bible study, 10-27-10

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