Halloween, a day the church almost banned

Halloween is a day that the veil was said to be at its' thinnest. The two worlds could easily cross over and back, one to the other. The land of the living and the land of the dead. Knowing what we know about quantum physics today and how there are somewhere between 11 and 13 dimensions (depending on who's theory you subscribe to), then we realize that the other side, or rather sides, are in fact very near, and may even run through us.

We know that matter is always moving and changing, and that nothing is actually solid. We know about the zero point field, and that energy cannot be destroyed...does this take the fun out of Halloween??? Not at all! It is wonderful to know that science is finally getting it!

The basics of Halloween were that on "All Hallow's Eve" (remember celebrations always started the sundown on the day prior, the Jewish faith still follows that practice), the veil was thin and we had to protect ourselves from the evil of the other side. Today we see the other side as having good , bad and in between, in the old days, it was all bad.

We can trace roots back to Rome, and the Celts in the British Isles. From the goddess Pomona to the festival of the dead, Parantalia. We can go back to Samhain (pronounced Sow Win), Old Irish for "Summer's End". The Scots also began the tradition of "guising" , they would sing or dance for treats. Their costumes were to fool and scare off the dead souls. They lit lanterns made of turnips (not pumpkins) to stave of the darkness and built bonfires at crossroads (where you most easily could be assailed by evil spirits).

Going door to door for treats actually goes back to Wassailing time (which became Christmas) . Wassailing was to collect for the poor however, not for yourself. Christmas has now become gifts for friends and family, and there is no need to go door to door. The old ways and celebrations were incorporated into the church to get people to come. From Halloween (All Saints Day) to Christmas (yes even Christmas), to Easter (which was Oestre, a fertility celebration). The church wanted the pagans , so they borrowed their celebrations. It really didn't work all that well, we still have the pagan ways today in Easter eggs and rabbits, in Christmas gifts, and Halloween! Since the church viewed Halloween as evil and "pagan" they tried to ban it and trick or treating and such stopped for quite a few years. Then in the early parts of the 1900's it had a resurgence that began in Canada. Today Halloween is celebrated in many countries from all of Great Britain, to Germany, Italy, and the US.

On Halloween in the days of old, people would walk their animals between two bonfires to purify them, and brave young men would leap over the fires to keep the evil spirits from following them. Halloween has become the biggest holiday in the US, the holiday where the most money is spent on the day, it has surpassed Christmas. I guess we all like a good scare.

So dress to scare the evil spirits, and disguise yourself so they won't know who you are if you need to be out and about. Be careful jumping over bonfires however, there are things other than goblins that can hurt you.

Good Samhain!


Peshaui Wequashimese


(C)2011 Dr. R M Wolf. May not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission.