Well, as an historian, Halloween was the holiest and most significant day in
the Medieval
Christian liturgical calendar. It's a contraction of "All Hallowed Eve."
"Hallowed" in
Medieval English meant sanctified or sacred. It was the beginning of All
Saints Day (my
birthday by the way). It was a Christian adaptation of the pagan Roman
celebration of
Feralia celebrated Pantheon whereby all of the gods were celebrated at once and
intended
to give peace to the dead. It was originally celebrated at the end of February
until
Gregory III changed it to November 1 to signal the end of the summer and autumn
and the
beginning of the "dead of winter." It was the holiest because while Jesus had
a distant
imperial stature, the saints, led by Mary, were the immediate advocates of the
common
people with Jesus.
The trick and treat were a Christian adaption of Druid practice of "souling"
(receiving
food in return for prayers for the dead) that were made as a reenactment of
Jesus'
temptation in the desert. The Druid influence of trick and treat was the
temptation of
the faeries, who were particularly active at this time of the year.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier
http://therandomthoughts.edublogs.org/
Department of History
http://www.newforums.com/Auth_L_Schmier.asp
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\____/\ \/\
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//\/\/ /\ \_ /
/___\/\ \ \
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/\"If you want to climb
mountains \ /\
_/ \ don't practice on mole
hills" -/
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