*edit* I wanted to note that this was not an attempt to circumvent the closing of the other thread. I actually intended to start a different thread before that one was closed because that one had all sorts of other problems I didn't want to get involved with*
Every year the controversy over halloween returns. Every year I am forced to read all sorts of nonsense about various holidays and what their REAL origins are and what they REALLY mean..
Every year I try and set people straight, and every year those who actually need to be set straight refuse to listen.. you'd think I'd learn eventually.. but I guess not. At least not yet.
OK
Just for the purposes of background - I was raised in a family and a Church that thought role playing games were evil, rock music was of the devil, and all the Christian holidays were just pagan holidays dressed up by the Catholic Church.
I believed all that, until I actually began to study things for myself.. and I eventually found out that most of the "facts" used to support these views were completely made up, or were gross distortions of the actual truth.
I would also like to say, if you don't like something, that is your personal perrogative.. however, don't make your opinions into doctrines and then start excommunicating people because they don't dislike the same things you do.
Now, on to Halloween...
The common teaching on Halloween for years has been that Halloween was a pagan druid festival in which the evil druids went around to each house demanding gifts and tithes, and if they did not get their money, they would take one of the children (or other members) of the household and sacrifice this victim to the god of the dead Samhain, who also gave his name to the festival. Samhain was a night of fear and terror etc.
In this story the origin of the trick or treat was that the druids had to be paid off (treat) or they would sacrifice one of your children (trick).
Of course this is the short version.
The problem with this is that none of it is actually true. The first point that should be made is that the holiday in question originates with the ancient celts, who didn't have written histories, so information on any of their culture is hard to come by and mostly based on oral histories and legends which were recorded around the 7th century AD or later. A lot of information is also based on archeology, and histories written by the greeks and the romans.
given that caveat.. here is what is actually known historically about the ancient celtic festival of samhain.
The ancient celts, like all other ancient people built their lives, their culture and their religion around the seasons and specifically the agricultural year. The celts appear to have recognized two major seasons (summer and winter) with spring and fall being recognized as kind of sub seasons.
The two biggest holidays of the celtic year were Beltane and Samhain. Beltane marked the end of winter/beginning of summer and Samhain marked the end of summer/beginning of winter.
The celts also believed that times of transition were spiritually important. So sunrise, sunset of each day, and especially the transition between seasons.
The origins of the word samhain are not completely known, but the best evidence suggests that it comes from the gaelic phrase meaning "end of summer". Not only is the celtic god of the underworld/dead NOT named samhain.. there is NO celtic god named samhain at all.. this is completely made up.
As an interesting side note, there is at least one expert on the ancient celts who has argued that they were in fact Monotheistic and that they did not believe their 'gods' were not believed to be true deities, but rather were a kind of mythic history based around their heros and their ideas of virtues. While this is not a common view, there is at least some evidence for it.
Going on, there is no evidence that human sacrifice of any kind was ever associated with Samhain/Halloween, and the druids did not go around collecting tithes or gifts on samhain. Both of these ideas are completely made up.
So what actually was Samhain?
Samhain was the prelude to the celtic feast of the dead. This name sounds quite ominous to us, but keep reading.
On the night of Samhain, the transition from summer to winter, it was believed by the ancient celts that the curtain which seperated the physical world, from the "other world" (kind of like a spiritual realm) were especially thin, and they believed that both the spirits of their ancestors and also the spirits of their posterity not yet born could come and visit them.
The night of samhain was also the night which all households again plegded their membership and loyalty to the village, the clan, and the king. This was symbolized by the lighting of fires. In each community the head of the community lit one fire and then each member of the community would take a log from that one community fire and use it to light their own hearth fire at home.
They would then set out food so that if their ancestors or the future generations of their clan came to visit, they would find hospitality waiting.
When this was done, the community gathered for a feast at which the heros of the community were celebrated, and the stories of the community were told again and remembered.
It was in a sense a somber occasion, not because it celebrated those who had died, but because it was looking forward to winter. The point of holiday was to celebrate the heretige of the community, to remind themselves that they belonged to something larger than self.. and to remind themselves of where they came from, and also to remind themselves that their people had a future.
It also served the purpose of pledging loyalty to one another through the coming hardships of winter. It was, however, a time of great celebration, not fear.
When the celts converted to Christianity, the festival of samhain was also converted. The false ideas and superstitions were set aside, but the point of celebrating the heretige of our community, of remembering that we belong to a community and not just to ourselves etc.. was all carried over. This would eventually become All Saints Day, and All Hallows Eve.
Its the celebration of all the saints who have gone before us, all those who have died in Christ who are our brothers, and who now witness us as we run the race.
The association of Halloween with witches and vampires and all that didn't actually come around until well into the modern era.
Every year the controversy over halloween returns. Every year I am forced to read all sorts of nonsense about various holidays and what their REAL origins are and what they REALLY mean..
Every year I try and set people straight, and every year those who actually need to be set straight refuse to listen.. you'd think I'd learn eventually.. but I guess not. At least not yet.
OK
Just for the purposes of background - I was raised in a family and a Church that thought role playing games were evil, rock music was of the devil, and all the Christian holidays were just pagan holidays dressed up by the Catholic Church.
I believed all that, until I actually began to study things for myself.. and I eventually found out that most of the "facts" used to support these views were completely made up, or were gross distortions of the actual truth.
I would also like to say, if you don't like something, that is your personal perrogative.. however, don't make your opinions into doctrines and then start excommunicating people because they don't dislike the same things you do.
Now, on to Halloween...
The common teaching on Halloween for years has been that Halloween was a pagan druid festival in which the evil druids went around to each house demanding gifts and tithes, and if they did not get their money, they would take one of the children (or other members) of the household and sacrifice this victim to the god of the dead Samhain, who also gave his name to the festival. Samhain was a night of fear and terror etc.
In this story the origin of the trick or treat was that the druids had to be paid off (treat) or they would sacrifice one of your children (trick).
Of course this is the short version.
The problem with this is that none of it is actually true. The first point that should be made is that the holiday in question originates with the ancient celts, who didn't have written histories, so information on any of their culture is hard to come by and mostly based on oral histories and legends which were recorded around the 7th century AD or later. A lot of information is also based on archeology, and histories written by the greeks and the romans.
given that caveat.. here is what is actually known historically about the ancient celtic festival of samhain.
The ancient celts, like all other ancient people built their lives, their culture and their religion around the seasons and specifically the agricultural year. The celts appear to have recognized two major seasons (summer and winter) with spring and fall being recognized as kind of sub seasons.
The two biggest holidays of the celtic year were Beltane and Samhain. Beltane marked the end of winter/beginning of summer and Samhain marked the end of summer/beginning of winter.
The celts also believed that times of transition were spiritually important. So sunrise, sunset of each day, and especially the transition between seasons.
The origins of the word samhain are not completely known, but the best evidence suggests that it comes from the gaelic phrase meaning "end of summer". Not only is the celtic god of the underworld/dead NOT named samhain.. there is NO celtic god named samhain at all.. this is completely made up.
As an interesting side note, there is at least one expert on the ancient celts who has argued that they were in fact Monotheistic and that they did not believe their 'gods' were not believed to be true deities, but rather were a kind of mythic history based around their heros and their ideas of virtues. While this is not a common view, there is at least some evidence for it.
Going on, there is no evidence that human sacrifice of any kind was ever associated with Samhain/Halloween, and the druids did not go around collecting tithes or gifts on samhain. Both of these ideas are completely made up.
So what actually was Samhain?
Samhain was the prelude to the celtic feast of the dead. This name sounds quite ominous to us, but keep reading.
On the night of Samhain, the transition from summer to winter, it was believed by the ancient celts that the curtain which seperated the physical world, from the "other world" (kind of like a spiritual realm) were especially thin, and they believed that both the spirits of their ancestors and also the spirits of their posterity not yet born could come and visit them.
The night of samhain was also the night which all households again plegded their membership and loyalty to the village, the clan, and the king. This was symbolized by the lighting of fires. In each community the head of the community lit one fire and then each member of the community would take a log from that one community fire and use it to light their own hearth fire at home.
They would then set out food so that if their ancestors or the future generations of their clan came to visit, they would find hospitality waiting.
When this was done, the community gathered for a feast at which the heros of the community were celebrated, and the stories of the community were told again and remembered.
It was in a sense a somber occasion, not because it celebrated those who had died, but because it was looking forward to winter. The point of holiday was to celebrate the heretige of the community, to remind themselves that they belonged to something larger than self.. and to remind themselves of where they came from, and also to remind themselves that their people had a future.
It also served the purpose of pledging loyalty to one another through the coming hardships of winter. It was, however, a time of great celebration, not fear.
When the celts converted to Christianity, the festival of samhain was also converted. The false ideas and superstitions were set aside, but the point of celebrating the heretige of our community, of remembering that we belong to a community and not just to ourselves etc.. was all carried over. This would eventually become All Saints Day, and All Hallows Eve.
Its the celebration of all the saints who have gone before us, all those who have died in Christ who are our brothers, and who now witness us as we run the race.
The association of Halloween with witches and vampires and all that didn't actually come around until well into the modern era.
