holiday history \ Some details

Background: Halloween’s roots lie in an ancient pagan festival for the dead. Its origin is tied to the ancient Celtic tribes in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For the Celts, Nov. 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, lord of the dead. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the dead — ghosts, goblins and witches — returned to mingle with the living. In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires. When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also bobbed for apples and drank cider.

Christian tie-in: The Christian aspect came about in 835 when Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May 13 to Nov. 1. The change was made to Christianize the existing pagan time for remembering the dead. The night before Nov. 1 became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy evening.” The name eventually was shortened to Halloween. On Nov. 2, the Catholic Church celebrates All Souls Day. “Hallow” means holy and the word Halloween refers to the night before the feast of all holies, or All Saints Day.

Purpose: The feasts are a celebration of the “communion of saints.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that through the communion of saints “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.” Anniversaries of local and well-known martyrs were on the church calendar. By the mid-fourth century a feast of “All Martyrs” appeared. As persecutions faded, the feast was extended to include nonmartyr “witnesses,” Christians whose lives were “the gospel in action,” as St. Francis de Sales would later call the saints. About 1048, an influential abbot chose Nov. 2 to commemorate All Souls because it was an obvious companion date and extension of the Feast of All Saints. Both days are reminders that all people of faith, living and dead, are united in a living communion with Christ and one another. In the 16th century at the time of the Reformation, most Protestants discarded the doctrine of the communion of saints and the practice of praying for the dead. Now in Western Christianity, All Saints Sunday is a general commemoration of those in local congregations who have died.

Sources: www.americancatholic.org and www.wikipedia.org