Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1867-10-31
Halloween and All Saints Day.

ilized world, but more especially in
England, Ireland, Scotland and many
parts of the United States, for it is Oh
the evening of that day (Halloween),
that the time honored observances
recur which make the family hearth
jocund with social mirth and pleas
ure. Both old and young join
in the sports and pastimes incident
to that occasion, consisting partly in
games with nuts and apples, which
are made to serve the double purpose
of contributing to the qualification Of
the palate and the pleasing supersti-
tions of the mind.
A contemporary who has written
upon this subject, says:
The leading idea respecting Hal
loween is, that it is the time of all
! others when supernatural influences
prevail. It is the night set apart for
the universal walking abroad Of
spirits, both Of the visible and in
visible world. Divination is this
night believed to attain its highest
power, and the gift asserted by Glen
dover Of calling spirits 'from the
vastly deep" becomes available to all
who choose to avail themselves of the
| privileges of the occasion.
There is uniformity in the fire.
| side customs of this night in the old
country, and many parts Of the
United States. Nuts and apples are
called into requisition, and consumed
in immense numbers. Indeed, in the
north of England, Halloween is
known by the name of Nutcrack
Night, indicating the predominance
| of these articles in making up the
entertainments of the evening. They
are not only cracked and eaten, but
are made the means of vaticination
in love affairs. And here we quote
from Burns's poem of Halloween
The suld guidwife's we'll -hoordet nits
Are round and round divided,
And mony lads and lasses' fates
Are there that night decided:
Some kindle, couthie, side by side
And burn thepither trinity:
Some start ava, VII saucy pride,
And jump out owre the chimly
Fu' high that night.
Joan slips in twa wi tentie e'e;
Whn twas she wadna tell;
But this is Jock, and this is me,
She says in to herself;
He bleezed owre her, and she owre him
A. they wad never NOR part;
Till, fluff he started up the lum,
And Jean had cen sair heat
To sect that night.
Tomorrow, (All Saints Day)-a
day commemorative of far different
usages and ceremonies-is much
more familiar to us of this region,
than Halloween. 1t is on All Saints
Day that we are accustomed to wit
ness the solemn and imposing mass
peculiar to the celebration Of the oc-
casion, which is performed in all
Roman Catholic Churches, and to
bend our steps to their cities of the
dead thronged with those who go, or
should 60 to those consecrated places,
to "bathe their souls in holy medita-
ton, as they offer up prayers at the
burial affairs Of departed friends and
relatives, and decorate with holy
tapers and incense and flowers, the
tombs of the loved ones who have
passed into the silent land" Thrice
blessed and beautiful ceremonies !
Who, but can stand humbled in the
presence of his Maker in the midst
Of so much heart devotion
The festival of All Saints Day
was instituted in honor of all the
saints and angels of Heaven, and is
| recognized and celebrated in the
Protestant and Lutheran churches,
but not to so marked an extent as in
the Catholic Church. The same
festival has also been observed in
the Eastern churches since the fourth
century. 1t originated with Pope
Boniface TX, in COZ, on the occasion
of converting the Pantheon at Rome,
IA temple built by Marcus Agrippa,
B. c., rs, in honor of Jupiter, the
Avenger Of all the gods), into a
Christian church and dedicating it
to the worship Of the true God, cum
der the invocation of the Virgin