Unless otherwise specified, all writing here on my blog is my own original work. If you refer to something I've written here, please be sure to give me proper credit.

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

On the Level w/ HandyGramps - Hallowe'en Part 2



So, where does the Church fit into all this?  Well, by the fifth century various churches throughout Christendom were celebrating a special feast day to remember the martyrs.  The actual date varied, but the most common was May 13.  Soon after, saints other than martyrs were being included in the feast.  Although history is a bit sketchy on this, it is likely that during the pontificate of Gregory III (A.D. 731-741) a feast for saints was established on November 1.  Later, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) moved the May 13 martyrs’ celebration to coincide with the November 1 feast, thus creating a feast for All Saints.  By the eleventh century All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2, added to include the souls in Purgatory) had been permanently linked.  Once the Feast of All Saints had come into its own in the mid-ninth century, All Hallow’s Eve – Hallowe’en – became its vigil.

From the Middle Ages on the customs of Hallowe’en evolved to what they are today.  The idea of “Trick-or-Treat” was founded on the practice of placating mischievous spirits to prevent their prankishness.  The costumes, once meant to hide the folk from being recognized as mortals by the impish spirits, became parodies of saints for those poorer congregations who could not afford the stipend for real relics of saints.  Along the way, angel and devil costumes entered the picture to help complete the concept of God’s justice for humanity.  Thus, Hallowe’en became a sort of morality play in which everyone could play a part.  By acting out the various things that could happen after one dies, a somewhat primitive theology was taught to an illiterate populace.

Hallowe’en gave us a chance to reflect on the mercy and justice of God, to witness in pageant form the promise of life after death that we celebrate on All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  It reinforced the simple precept of faith that God is, after all, in charge and that there is nothing  in creation that can escape His justice.  In short, no matter what, good will always conquer evil.

Since then, Hallowe’en has, sadly, degenerated into a purely secular fun day.  The central meaning has been lost, replaced by a superficial celebration completely separate from any festival of saints.  Therein lies OUR failure.  Our task now, as parents and educators, is to somehow restore what was lost.  Instead of criticizing Hallowe’en as something evil and hideous, instead of trying to shout it down as the work of Satan, instead of pulling the plug on it, we should be going out of our way to dress our children in costumes – saints, angels, devils, skeletons, ballerinas, princesses, pirates, hoboes, and scarecrows – and sending them out with a sense of what life and death are really about.  No child is too young to understand as long as we tailor the lesson to their level of comprehension.  We do this all the time with other things in life, so why not in this matter of faith?

There is one thing we can do that will certainly place Hallowe’en in its proper perspective, something that will benefit not only our children but us adults as well.  Before Hallowe’en arrives, we can set the stage for a celebration of the “Triduum of Saints” – a three-day celebration of life, death, resurrection, and eternity.  This would be a marvelous way for an entire parish to celebrate the meaning of eternal life, to incorporate the true meaning of Hallowe’en into the vigil Mass for All Saints, celebrate All Saints Day, and cap it off with a special Mass on All Souls Day.    It would be a marvelous time for a parish party, complete with bobbing for apples, prizes for best costume, and all the other trappings of a good, Christian celebration of Hallowe’en.  And, if it can’t be done for whatever reason at the parish level, do it at home.  Have special family prayers on Hallowe’en before you send the kids out in costume.  Help them understand just what their costumes and activity are all about.  Then, attend Mass the next two days as a family.

Our faith enjoys a rich tradition, much of it based on pagan customs and rituals that have been turned to Christian purpose.  We would be remiss, indeed, if we allowed such a heritage to slip through our fingers, all because we have misunderstood or forgotten the real reason behind it all, or – worse – because we have allowed the dark side of our humanity to take control.  God has given us a wonderful gift, the ability to make decisions in perfect freedom.  We, in turn, have the responsibility to make those decisions wisely.  Let’s decide now to make Hallowe’en a more meaningful holiday than ever.

Long live Hallowe’en!
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Bibliography

“The (Columbus Diocese) Catholic Times”; reprint of article published October 28, 1988.

Hallowe’en; [?] “Enquirer”; Charles Durrett; no date.

Is Hallowe’en a Christian Feast?; “Religion Teachers’ Journal”; October 1980, pp. 4-5.

All Souls Day; “New Catholic Encyclopedia”; 1961 (1981 edition); Vol. 1, p. 39.

The Story of Hallowe’en;  “St. Anthony Messenger”; October 1996; pp. 54-55.

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November 4, 2004
October 23, 2014

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Deo Gratias

  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmWC0xzWdo85CoaTymct-DPUVIesyQO84RARauQ38_rEGBhogYluEZH0R8VbLnHEOrcNWHuTcxoRUiJ_8p4-UWgU7JFjHOfY939JA4yvSH5rL9aPljyuu_1ysGsch71M0FyqBkT2ZUMI/s1600/deo-gratias+buttom.jpg
"If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart


Colleen, from her inspiring blog Thoughts on Grace, hosts this wonderful meme each Wednesday. She says, "Deo Gratias is Latin for Thanks be to God. Remembering to give thanks for all of our blessings, big & small, helps us to find God in our everyday moments and gives us an attitude of gratitude!"

Each week, I join Colleen in remembering & sharing the many blessings in my life. This is such a great exercise for me, helping me to focus on the good that truly is happening in my life, no matter how many trials & stresses I may have.
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1) The weather has finally been cooperative enough for me to paint our kitchen, which I did yesterday. Deo Gratias! 

2) At choir practice last night, I was blessed to sing w/ the husband of a dear friend. He has a beautiful voice & it was wonderful to sing w/ him. Deo Gratias!

3) The boys made their own costumes for tomorrow night's Trick or Treat. They are each being characters from Minecraft & used boxes to make their heads. The did a great job! Deo Gratias! 

4) I gave the Blessings the week off school. With the great weather for painting, Trick or Treat, & our All Saints' party, I thought it would be a nice break for them. Deo Gratias!

5) I'm thankful for our neighbors. We've lived in our house for 13 years & it's only been in the last couple that we've really connected w/ a couple of the families. It's nice to know that we're all there to help one another out & that our kids get along so well. Deo Gratias!


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

On the Level w/ HandyGramps - Hallowe'en

It's been a while since I've posted any of HandyGramps' articles. I figure w/ Halloween coming up this week, it would be the perfect time to share this one he wrote in 2004 & updated a bit this year. It's a longer than a normal blog post, so I will split it in two parts...one today & one on Thursday. I will include the Bibliography w/ each post, to cover legal aspects! Please share your thoughts...he'd love to hear them!

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The Facts in the Matter of Hallowe’en

By "HandyGramps"

“Witchcraft!  Satanic!  Devil worship!  Evil!  Pagan!  Corrupts children!”

Every October we hear the same litany, proclaiming that Hallowe’en is a bad influence on our children, and we must do away with it.  And every October we miss a wonderful opportunity to express our Christian faith in ways that would help our youngsters understand more fully the sacred wonder of death and resurrection.  It all boils down to a better understanding of what Hallowe’en is all about.  Have we as parents and educators dropped the ball in fostering the true meaning of the holiday?  Most of us – and, mea culpa, include me in that number – probably have.  What can we do to remedy our failure?  Well, that’s what we’re here for now.

Hallowe’en – a contraction for “hallowed evening” – All Hallow’s Eve: the very name itself should evoke a sense of the holy.  It is the Eve of All Saints.  The original purpose of the Christian celebration was to introduce and focus on the following day, the Feast of All Saints, just as Christmas Eve draws us into the celebration of Christ’s birth on Christmas Day.  It is a vigil, not unlike the Easter Vigil, a time to rejoice at yet another wonder our God has done for us.  Its celebration is just one of many occasions (Christmas and Easter included!) in which the Church took a pagan holiday and re-formed it into a Christian purpose.  As we shall see, the beginnings of Hallowe’en are found in the dim reaches of history before the coming of Christ.

Over two thousand years ago, Celtic holy men – priests – known as Druids observed nature and the annual cycles of life.  Through their primitive understanding they came to recognize certain patterns, including the transitions between seasons.  Seeing these patterns as the workings of their gods, the Druids began to form rituals for the purpose of honoring the gods – or perhaps to appease the deities whom they saw as having such control over their lives.  One such ritual was the festival of Samhain (pronounced sah-WHEN), a word meaning “end of summer” and which eventually became the name of that particular god – their god of the dead.  The holiday was observed on what we now call October 31 (remember, the calendar as we know it hadn’t been devised yet).  It was a time when life seemed to ebb, what with plants dying and animals disappearing thanks to hibernation or migration.  As the days grew shorter, the Celts feared that Samhain would slay the sun god, leaving their world in darkness, setting free to roam the earth all the fearsome creatures of darkness.  They eventually came to believe that in the long nights spirits of the dead returned to be with their families.  But, along with these good spirits came myriad other creatures – demons, hobgoblins, fairies, witches, and the like.  It was truly a frightful time of the year as these denizens of the dark world prowled about, stealing babies and young children and committing sundry other acts of mischief and terror.

To counter the effects of these creatures, all fires were extinguished and new fires – bonfires (“bone” fires, from the dried skeletons of sacrificed animals) – were kindled by the Druids on outdoor altars.  Everyone gathered around these fires for safety as sacrifices were offered to Samhain in an attempt to change his mind about slaying the sun god.  (And, of course, this always worked, since the days began to get longer on December 21.)  The Celts would set out lanterns to guide their family spirits, and food to make them feel welcome.  The head of each household would carry a burning coal from the bonfire to enkindle a new fire in the home to ward off the evil spirits; and everyone would wear masks and costumes on their way home to fool the spirits, reasoning that the evil ones would not bother their own kind.

Some centuries later, when the Roman Empire extended its reach into the British Isles, the Romans took the Festival of Samhain and associated it with their own god, Pomona, god of the harvest.  In doing so, they also continued the sense of death along with the costumes and darkness.  Even after Christianity had found its way into the Celtic-Roman culture the people continued to cling to the old ways as much as possible.  Over time, well into the Middle Ages, the custom gradually fell to prankishness – usually playful, but too often destructive and frightening (such as stuffing a chunk of sod in someone’s chimney and causing the house to fill with smoke).  By the late nineteenth century, immigrants from England and Ireland were bringing these customs to America where they became firmly entrenched in our holiday culture.  In truth, there is much more to the story, including many variations.  However, for all practical purposes, this is at least a reasonable compendium of the multi-faceted history of Hallowe’en.

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Bibliography

“The (Columbus Diocese) Catholic Times”; reprint of article published October 28, 1988.

Hallowe’en; [?] “Enquirer”; Charles Durrett; no date.

Is Hallowe’en a Christian Feast?; “Religion Teachers’ Journal”; October 1980, pp. 4-5.

All Souls Day; “New Catholic Encyclopedia”; 1961 (1981 edition); Vol. 1, p. 39.

The Story of Hallowe’en;  “St. Anthony Messenger”; October 1996; pp. 54-55.

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November 4, 2004
October 23, 2014