What usually happens when ancient customs change to modern ones is ) that the custom stays the same, but the reasons that people give tor doing it change. The Medieval Church knew this and worked to give folk customs Christian meanings rather than trying to eliminate them outright.

The Church gave Halloween its name when it changed the celebration of the Roman Festival of the Dead from February to November 1-a Church holiday known as All Saint's Day. Another way to say All Saint's was All Hallows because the term "hallows" means "holy people." The evening before the holiday, October 31 became known as All Hallows Eve, and the church service performed on that evening was called All Hallow e'en.

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR BEGAN WITH WINTER

The end of October was the end of summer and the end of the year for the Celts. The last of the harvest was brought in, and the cattle were rounded up from their summer pasture and brought into their winter shelters. The souls of the dead were also thought to be on the move as the days grew colder. It was only natural that people who had just stocked up for winter felt they should offer something to the shivering ghosts.

Halloween was thought to be the time when communication with dead ancestors was most likely because the barrier between our world and the spiritual world was supposed to be weak and easy to cross. It was a night of fear instead of fun. People thought the devil was at his most powerful and that witches might be seen riding through the air on brooms or galloping along the roads on the backs of their black cats which they had transformed into black horses.

THE JACK-O'-LANTERN

Any trick or treater knows that there's candy at a house with a glowing Jacko'-lantern on the porch. The light of the Jack-o'-lantern was originally a lamp lit to guide dead souls to the meal left out for them. The "Jack" in Jack ("of" or "with a") lantern was originally a name for a night watchman carrying a light. But it also came to mean a spirit who floated through the dark as a mysterious ball of light or ghostly glowing face who tried to trick travelers into following him away from the road and to their doom.

THE FIRE FEAST OF THE SUN

As winter approached and the sun grew weak, Druid priests performed magic ceremonies to restore the sun's power with the heat and light of fire. Al fires in homes were put out and then relit from the sacred alter fires of the priests. Bonfires burned at night to strengthen the sun. Blazing torches were paraded through the streets.

In some parts of Britain, bonfires are still lit on high hills, surrounded by a circular trench that symbolizes the round sun. The high school homecoming celebration bonfire may be a last vestige of Celtic sun worship surviving in the US.

Halloween was also the best night of the year for fortune telling. It was a particularly good night for discovering who you might marry. Some fortunetelling rituals have survived today as party games.

An example: Lead a blindfolded person to a table with three bowls. Have them choose one bowl by dipping their fingers into it. Mix up the bowls and have them try again for a total of three times. -a bowl with dirty water means you'll marry

someone who has been married before.

-an empty bowl means you'll be single.

a bowl with clean water means you'll marry a young and good looking person.

TRICK OR TREAT IN ANCIENT BRITAIN

Adults, and not children, were originally the ones who went door to door asking for food or money, which was given out as an offering to the dead. Giving gifts to ghosts was thought to bring good luck and

keep the spirits from doing mischief.

Masks and costumes may have been worn during this time in part to keep the roving spirits from knowing who you were.

In England costumed people called "mummers" performed short plays on holidays for their neighbors. When they performed on Halloween the mummers were called "Soul Cakers" after the small cakes handed out as offerings to the souls of the dead.

A Gallery of Useful Gho

Ghosts haunt people's imaginations all around the world. This collection of colorful

spirits filled widely different needs for the people who invented them. ZAR (a kind of genie) a demanding spirit who attacks women.

The spirit will depart if beautiful clothing. jewelry and other luxuries are provided. Husbands of women bothered by these spirits are said to be somewhat suspicious of its demands (Middle East)

Gremlin-a spirit that causes breakdowns in modern technology, especially aircraft.

WWI pilots liked to blame technical problems on

Gremlins. (US, Europe) BOGEY, BOOGIE MAN, BUG-ABOO, BOO, BOGGART, and simular names-a huge horrible, evil spirit that lives in a hole and comes out at night. Adults use this spirit to frighten children into good behavior. (British)

GRATEFUL DEAD-this is more than the name of an aging 60s Rock band. Folktales told of ghosts who rewarded kindness. In one, villagers refuse to bury a poor man, but a traveler passing though the village kindly pays for the man's funeral. Later when the traveler runs into trouble he is saved by a mysterious stranger-the ghost of the person he helped bury-one of the GRATEFUL DEAD. (Medieval Europe)

POLTERGEIST-an annoying, attention seeking spirit fond of making knocking noises and throwing small obiects. Investigations of these hauntings often uncover an unhappy teen or employee in the household who , is suspected of creating the effects. (US, Europe) DEMON QUELLER

-a protective spiritsometimes fierce and sometimes comicaldedicated to fighting evil demons. (Chinese, Japanese) Ghost were often invented to explain natural processes

The last person to including death. it wandered about became about the

ANKOU.Ragged or bony with a swivel head so no one could escape it it wandered about seeking people whc were about to die. (Celtic-Brittany)

DAIMON OR DEMON-A ghost attached to a single person that functions somewhat like an inner voice or conscience. It usually gives good advice but might give really bad advice . ... just to see what will what will happen. (Ancient Greece)

DOMOVIK-a grandfatherly spirit with a long grey beard that lives behind the stove in a Russian household and watches over the family. Similar spirits protect other living areas, such as the CHLEVNIK who lives in the barn,A the OVINNIK who likes the kitchen and the BANNIK who prefers the bathroom.
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This article was purchased by LTM Party.

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