ON GHOSTS
COMPILATION AND
COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
OCTOBER 31,
2019
THIS IS A FAIRLY SHORT
AND NOT TOO SCHOLARLY ESSAY ON THE SUBJECT OF HALLOWEEN AND ALL SAINTS DAY IN
EUROPE, AND THE DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO. FOR DAY OF THE DEAD, SEE: THE PRINT
ARTICLE
https://insider.si.edu/2016/10/5-facts-dia-de-los-muertos-day-dead/,
AND A SHORT YOUTUBE VIDEO, WHOSE IMAGES ARE REALLY LOVELY.
RELIGIOUS
PEOPLE DOWN THROUGH TIME HAVE BEEN SOMETIMES HIDEBOUND AND AUTOCRATIC, NOT TO
MENTION SHELTERING THOSE MEN WHO LIKED LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS MORE THAN ADULT
WOMEN FROM PRISON, BUT THEY WERE ALSO INTELLIGENT AND DID GREAT SERVICES TO MANKIND. VERY OFTEN THEY WERE THE
ONLY PEOPLE WITHIN MANY MILES WHO COULD READ AND WRITE, INCLUDING THE ROYALS.
BEING A SCRIBE WAS AN IMPORTANT JOB, AND OF COURSE, THE WHOLE SOCIETY WAS
DEEPLY AFRAID OF “GHOSTIES AND GHOULIES AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT,” SO
THE HOPE FOR HELP FROM A POWERFUL DEITY WAS SINCERE.
THE WISE MONKS
AND NUNS WHO CHRISTIANIZED THE BRITISH “SAVAGES,” THE SCOTS, IRISH, AND OTHER
SUCH TRIBES, ALLOWED THEM TO KEEP QUITE A NUMBER OF THEIR OLDEST TRADITIONS, SANCTIFIED
THEIR PAGAN WORSHIP INTO HOLY DAYS, AND INCORPORATED PARTS OF THE ASSOCIATED RITUALS
AND CEREMONIES INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. OF COURSE, THE CHRISTIANIZED CITIZENS
HAD TO ELIMINATE THE BLOOD RITUALS, HUMAN SACRIFICE, SPELL CASTING BEHAVIOR AND
ORGIES, WHILE ACCEPTING THE CHRISTIAN ONES AS WELL. THE PUNISHMENT FOR PRACTICING
THE OLD WAYS WAS LIKELY TO BE A PRETTY HORRIBLE DEATH.
SO, HOLY MAGIC
WAS SUBSTITUTED FOR ANCIENT OR EVIL MAGIC. INTERESTED AND RESPECTFUL THOUGH I
AM ABOUT RELIGIONS IN GENERAL, BLACK MAGIC IS A STEP TOO FAR FOR ME. THE
CATHOLIC CLERGY KEPT THINGS LIKE HALLOWEEN (SAMHAIN) ALIVE, IN WHICH PEOPLE WENT
AROUND IN GROUPS DRESSED IN A FRIGHTENING WAY, CUT LARGE TURNIPS OR BEETS INTO
SCARY FACES, PLAYED PRANKS, ETC., MORE OR LESS AS TRICK OR TREATING IS DONE
TODAY.
FOR THIS AND OTHER SPECIFIC INFORMATION, GO TO: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain
-- “TRICK-OR-TREATING IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN DERIVED FROM ANCIENT IRISH AND
SCOTTISH PRACTICES IN THE NIGHTS LEADING UP TO SAMHAIN. IN IRELAND, MUMMING
WAS THE PRACTICE OF PUTTING ON COSTUMES, GOING DOOR-TO-DOOR AND SINGING SONGS
TO THE DEAD. CAKES WERE GIVEN AS PAYMENT. HALLOWEEN PRANKS ALSO HAVE A
TRADITION IN SAMHAIN, THOUGH IN THE ANCIENT CELEBRATION, TRICKS WERE TYPICALLY
BLAMED ON FAIRIES.”
THE PEOPLE BELIEVED
THAT THERE WAS A BARRIER BETWEEN A WORLD OF THE DEAD AND THE ONE OF THE LIVING,
AND THAT ON ALL HALLOWS EVE (SAMHAIN) THE BARRIER BECAME THINNER AND MORE PERMEABLE,
THUS ALLOWING SPIRITS OF THE DEAD TO PUSH THROUGH INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE
LIVING. THAT’S PRETTY FRIGHTENING. I SAW THAT DEPICTED IN ONE OF THE BETTER
HORROR FLICKS, “THE OLD ONES.” SEVERAL WRITERS HAVE USED THE IMAGERY OF “THE
OLD ONES,” BUT THE MOST INFORMATION I CAN FIND IS LOCATED AT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_One_in_fiction#H._P._Lovecraft.
SO WHEN THE
MONKS CAME TO CONQUER OLD EUROPE, FINALLY, THE PAGAN ACTIVITIES WERE STILL DONE,
BUT OFTEN IN TANDEM WITH CHRISTIAN EVENTS FOR THAT DAY; CHURCHES WERE BUILT MANY
TIMES ON LOCAL PLACES THAT WERE CONSIDERED HOLY TO THE PAGANS; LOCAL DEMIGODS
WERE ELEVATED IN STORY TO CHRISTIAN SAINTHOOD BY REDEFINING SOME OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
WITH CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM; NOVEMBER 1 AND 2, IN WESTERN EUROPE ARE CALLED ALL
SAINTS AND ALL SOULS DAYS, RESPECTIVELY, ON THE FIRST AND SECOND OF NOVEMBER, PROBABLY
TO BALANCE OUT THE RECURRING AND USUALLY DARKER PAGAN PRACTICES. I USE THAT
QUALIFYER “USUALLY” BECAUSE BURNING DISBELIEVERS AT THE STAKE AND PUTTING LARGE
ROCKS ON THEIR SUPINE BODIES UNTIL THEY WERE CRUSHED TO BE PRETTY DARNED “DARK,”
ALSO.
ANCESTOR
WORSHIP, WHICH IS THE BELIEF THAT I THINK MAY BE INVOLVED WITH THIS, IS OFTEN ONE OF THE EARLIEST FORMS OF
WORSHIP. THERE WAS A LIST OF STAGES IN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND BELIEFS IN A COMPARATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE WHICH I TOOK AT UNC-CHAPEL HILL. ANCESTOR WORSHIP WOULD WORK WELL TO FORM A GLUE TO KEEP SOCIETY TOGETHER AND IT WOULD HONOR DECEASED
FAMILY MEMBERS. IN LATIN AMERICA, THE DAY OF THE DEAD IS CELEBRATED ON THE SAME
THREE DAYS, INCLUDING CLEANING AND DECORATING THE GRAVES, PERSONAL ALTARS TO
THE DEAD WITH MEMORABILIA AND CANDLES.
CHILDISH THOUGH
IT MAY BE, I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED HALLOWEEN AS I LOVE ALL DRAMATIC AND MYSTERIOUS THINGS.
DO I STILL WATCH SVENGOOLIE ON MANY SATURDAY NIGHTS? I DO. I BELIEVE IN GROWING MORE MATURE AS WE AGE, BUT NOT IN GROWING STALE. SEE THIS
ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N_ACvveTFw.
UNFORTUNATELY THE PRESENTER HAS A FAIRLY THICK FRENCH ACCENT, BUT I AM ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND MOST OF IT, AND IT IS VERY INTERESTING IN MY VIEW.
IF YOU PREFER
READING TO FILMS, AND YOU LOVE CLASSIC WRITINGS, PICK UP A COPY OF “THE RETURN
OF THE NATIVE,” BY THOMAS HARDY. IT’S ONE OF THE VERY BEST BOOKS I’VE EVER
READ, THREE TIMES. IN A WAY, IT’S ABOUT A MAN FINDING HIMSELF AND COPING WITH A
PHYSICAL DISABILITY. IT TAKES PLACE IN RURAL VICTORIAN WALES, AND THERE ARE A
NUMBER OF ELEMENTS OF ANCIENT CELTIC, AND PROBABLY PRE CELTIC, RELIGION INCLUDED
IN THE NOVEL. ALSO, THE FOLLOWING
FROM WIKIPEDIA WILL GIVE SOME INFORMATION IF YOU DON’T PLAN TO FOLLOW UP THE
SUBJECT IN DEPTH. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY IT.
“Halloween or
Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening),[5] also known
as Allhalloween,[6] All Hallows' Eve,[7] or All Saints' Eve,[8] is a
celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western
Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of
Allhallowtide,[9] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the
dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful
departed.[10][11]”
. . . .”
Halloween is
the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (also known as
All Saints' or Hallowmas) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November, thus
giving the holiday on 31 October the full name of All Hallows' Eve (meaning the
evening before All Hallows' Day).
. . . .”
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