It’s Halloween again. Cities, towns and villages across the country are braced for the onslaught of sweets-seeking spooks aged from 1 to 31.
Jack o’Lanterns are carved.
Jack o’Lanterns are carved.
Spooky sounds fill the air.
Little brats are everywhere.
Truth to tell, Halloween is one of the last pagan holidays hijacked by the Catholic Church.
The first to go was Eostre (Easter).
Then went The Feast of Sol Invictus (Christmas).
Soon following was the Celtic celebration of Samuin, was Celtic New Year, in commemoration of the darker half of the year. On this day, Celts believed that the separation between the world of the living and the dead was especially thin. Thin enough, they thought, to have some cross visitations. Costumes were used to disguise oneself from harmful spirits.
The festival continued after the Christianization of Western Europe, much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church.
So they hijacked it.
The Church had special days set aside to honor individual saints. November 1st was vacant so it was designated as a day to honor all of the saints.
Or All Saints Day.
Or All Hallows Day.
The day before All Hallows Day, then became All Hallows Eve. And you can probably guess how the name became mangled to the present-day Halloween.
Halloween is celebrated throughout the Bible Belt, ironically, despite what Pat Robertson has tried to do to deter good Christians from participating this year.
I think he does miss the point though. After all, this is something that an entrepreneur like Pat Robertson should be well aware of. Halloween is a huge cash cow. Everyone but everyone cashes in.
Especially the Episcopalians.
Little brats are everywhere.
Truth to tell, Halloween is one of the last pagan holidays hijacked by the Catholic Church.
The first to go was Eostre (Easter).
Then went The Feast of Sol Invictus (Christmas).
Soon following was the Celtic celebration of Samuin, was Celtic New Year, in commemoration of the darker half of the year. On this day, Celts believed that the separation between the world of the living and the dead was especially thin. Thin enough, they thought, to have some cross visitations. Costumes were used to disguise oneself from harmful spirits.
The festival continued after the Christianization of Western Europe, much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church.
So they hijacked it.
The Church had special days set aside to honor individual saints. November 1st was vacant so it was designated as a day to honor all of the saints.
Or All Saints Day.
Or All Hallows Day.
The day before All Hallows Day, then became All Hallows Eve. And you can probably guess how the name became mangled to the present-day Halloween.
Halloween is celebrated throughout the Bible Belt, ironically, despite what Pat Robertson has tried to do to deter good Christians from participating this year.
I think he does miss the point though. After all, this is something that an entrepreneur like Pat Robertson should be well aware of. Halloween is a huge cash cow. Everyone but everyone cashes in.
Especially the Episcopalians.
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