Saturday, October 31, 2020
ALL HALLOWS EVE - HALLOWEEN
"All Hallows Eve" and "All Saints Day" is a Christian event that originated from the pagan festival of "Samhain", a Celtic tradition dating before Christianity arrived in Britannia. Samhain (pronounced as "sow-in") translates from Gaelic as "end of summer".
Pope Gregory I sent a letter to Bishop Mellitus in the 6th century suggested that non-Christian historical places and traditions be consecrated as Christian.
In his book Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Nicholas Rogers states:
Festivals commemorating the saints as opposed to the original Christian martyrs appear to have been observed by 800. In England and Germany, this celebration took place on 1st November. In Ireland, it was commemorated on 20th April, a chronology that contradicts the widely held view that the November date was chosen to Christianize the festival of Samhain.
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