Happy All Saints' Day!

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For those who don't know, Halloween was originally called All Hallow's Eve, which was a direct reference to November 1st, called All Hallow's Day. Now, its name has been changed to All Saints' Day, and many people - especially Christians - celebrate it in remembrance of the faithful who have moved on to Heaven. Roman Catholics tend to take a more strict approach, but I just wanted to wish everyone who believes in Jesus as the Messiah a phenomenal day. God Bless to you all, and keep the faith.

Actually, the Celts and the Gaels were celebrating Samhain ("sah-wen" or "sow-wen") before the Roman catholic church even existed. Contrary to a popular Internet-based (and Chick Tract-encouraged) rumor, Samhain was not the name of some ancient Celtic god of death, or of anything else, for that matter. Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain comes from the Gaelic “Samhuin,” but they’re divided on whether it means the end or beginning of summer. After all, when summer is ending in the north, it’s just beginning in the south (i.e. Australia).

Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the "Aos Sí") could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. It was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food.

Around the eighth or ninth century A.D., the Roman Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as "All Saints Day". This was actually a pretty smart move on their part -- the local pagans were already celebrating that day anyway, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday. All Saints' became the festival to honor any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints’ was called "Allhallowmas" -- the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as "All Hallows Eve", and eventually morphed into what we call "Hallowe'en".

Sláinte!

Like most "Christian" practices, its an unclean form of Demon worship that the "church" has "sanctified", (read Haggai Chapter 2 from verse 11 to get Gods view of sanctification).

It originally honours the wandering souls of the Nephalim that had their fleshly bodies taken from them in the Flood, that's why all the Demonic symbolism around the celebration of Halloween.

Thank you, and Happy All Saints' Day to you too. I am aware of what it was, but since I can't time-travel, I have to live with what it is.

Oh, I don't know about that, Ms. Sigh ... bringing back pagan traditions is my way of thumbing my nose at religious institutions and the dogmatic behaviors that they try to impose on the rest of us. The fact that the RCC "appropriated" a tradition that was little more than a way to mark the end of the growing season in order to "sanctify" it means (to me) that Samhain was and is something that can not and should not be repressed and subverted for commercial purposes.

So, light the bonfire, break out the cakes and ales, rosin up the fiddles, and have ye a merrie olde tyme!

In Mexico, when they celebrate the Day Of The Dead; El Dia De Los Muertos, the whole family fixes a big meal, goes to the local graveyard, and picnics on Grandma/Grandpa/Uncle Hector's grave.

And they have conversations with their late loved ones, and invite them to share the feast!

Sylkat.

Yes, a happy feast day to those who wish to celebrate it! Asperger's can be a lonely condition, full of anxiety. So it helps to know that, according to the beliefs of many, there are billions of good souls are in heaven, cheering us on as we struggle below.

YouGov did a Poll to measure Britain's attitude towards Halloween:-


The vast majority of people in Britain won't be celebrating Halloween and don't like trick-or-treaters coming to their door

As children get ready to dress up and celebrate Halloween this evening, a new YouGov poll reveals a very high degree of negativity about the holiday from most of the population. The festival, considered devil worship by some, has long been a fixture in the US calendar, but is a relatively new addition in the UK, with retail spending on Halloween having skyrocketed from £12m in 2001 to over £300 million last year.

Despite this rise in spending, the research reveals that only 22% of British adults will be celebrating Halloween, although the number is higher with 18-24 year olds (40%) and 25-40 year olds (31%).

If you thought it was ok for kids go out and knock on doors this Halloween; think again. The vast majority (70%) of UK adults would prefer it if kids don’t come to their door, just 23% are happy for them to.