Halloween originated in Celtic cultures the day before Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic winter. It focused on death blending in the supernatural. The Catholic Church incorporated non-Christian traditions into its holidays to bring people to the church. It scheduled All Saints (Nov 1 ) and All Souls (Nov. 2) after Halloween. All Soul’s focused on those who had died without the supernatural. All Saints celebrated all who believed and were baptized. The word saint originally meant “holy”. Later it became a feast day commemorating all martyrs.
2024 Sun Oct 27
How do we get Halloween (Oct. 31) from All Saints (Nov. 1) and All Souls(Nov.2)?
What is the Halloween connection ?
Halloween originated in Celtic cultures and spread to Christian.
The word Halloween is a contracted form for All Hallows’ (holy persons or saints) Evening- the day before All Saints.
Halloween has been on Oct 31 because of the Celtic traditions. Halloween also focused not only on death but on the concept of death blending in the supernatural. The Church scheduled All Saints and All Souls after Halloween. The emphasis on All Soul’s focused on those who had died only and did not dwell on stories surrounding death.
All Soul’s did satisfy many Catholics’ interest in death and the supernatural. But the unchristian idea of wandering spirits persisted in some areas. Conceding that they could not completely get rid of the supernatural elements of the celebrations, the Catholic Church began characterizing the spirits as evil forces associated with the devil.
Celtic Tradition
Nov. 1 marked Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic winter. (The Celts lived as early as 2,000 years ago in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and northern France.) Samhain, for whom the feast was named, was the Celtic lord of death, and his name literally meant “summer’s end.” Since winter is the season of cold, darkness and death, the Celts soon made the connection with human death.
The eve of Samhain, Oct. 31, was a time of Celtic pagan sacrifice, and Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes that evening. Ghosts, witches, goblins and elves came to harm the people, particularly those who had inflicted harm on them in this life. Cats, too, were considered sacred because they had once been human beings who had been changed as a punishment for their evil deeds on this earth
The Roman conquest of England brought two other festivals commemorating the dead.
St. James of Jerusalem, Oct. 23
We celebrate James day on Oct. 23. He is known as St. James of Jerusalem (or “James the Just”). James was so respected by all, including even unbelieving Jews, that he was nicknamed “the Just”.
He is referred to by Paul as “the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19) and the equal of the other disciples. Matthew provides some clues in Matthew 13:55 on his identity. “Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?” with the story of Jesus less than enthusiastic reaction in Nazareth.
