The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-02
HALLOWEEN AND ALL SAINTS.
The Myths Gathering Around the Festival
of An-Hallow Eve.


of All-Hallow Eve.
Henry Frederic Reddall in New York Advocate
Every one knows that All -Hallow Eve, or Hal
loyeen, falls tbs last day of October, and that
the day following, the lst of November, is set
apart in honor of saints and martyrs by the
Western churches-whence comes its name, All
Saints Day.
This feast was kept IN the Greek Church SO
early as the fourth century Of our era, though it
did not become common in the West till the be-
ginning of the seventh century.
The setting apart of one day sacred to the
memory of these sanity Departed ones arose
from the fact that the number of such became
greatly multiplied as the church grew and pros
pered and it was found too burdep6ome to de-
vote feast day to each. Indeed. so great was
the number of the canoniZed, that there were
'tsearce hours enough in the year to distribute
among them ALL So it was decided to coma
memorate on one special day those who had no
particular days of their own. In the English
Church the day is sometimes dalled All-Halow
mas. But it is with the eve of the festival that
We have 10 do
In the seventh century the Roman temple
dedicated to all the pagan gods and hence
called the Pantheon, was freshly eansscrated to
the worship of the Virgin and the Martyrs. The
new festival was held at first on May IA in each
year, but later it was shifted to Nov.
Halloween was thereby made to fall on the
same day as did an ancient festival among the
Druids, those strange priests of stranger
religion, who were scattered over many portions
of Northern Europe before Christianity became
its creed. They had many strange ceremonies.
For instance; three times in each year, on May
l. at the time of sowing; at the summer solstice,
June Il, for the rpening OF the crops, and on
Oct 81, at the harvest season, these priests
built fires on the hill tops in Britain, Ireland,
and in France in honor Of the sun god
AT the latter festival the Druids for leagues
round gathered ia snow white robes at the altar
of stones on some hill. Here rested an emblem
of the luminaFy they w0rshipad, and on the
altar was the sacred Are which had heeu care
fully kept alive during the past year. The
Druids grouped themselves around it. and at a
given signal quenched it, amid absolute silence
on the part of the assembled people
Then new FIRE was kindled on the eairn, the
multitude raised mighty shout and from every
eminence for miles around other fires blazed
into view The same night the fire was put out
in every cabin and farmhouse only to be
kindled with embers from the sacred fire of the
priests which was believed to protect each
homestead from peril as long as it remained
burning
In those days faith in the existence of fairies
and gOblins witches and sprites, was very
strong, and as the Dfuidic faith faded before the
advance of Christianity the heather festivals lost
much of their old grandeur and former signih-
canoe, and took on a lower character. So. on
the night of Oct 81, the simple country folk be-
lieved the fairies came out of their grottees,
witches and COLLINS gathered in forest glades or
plotted against mankind in the shadows Of ruin
Gus castles and keeps,
D5 q very hdtutal cPanSiolon the haLo"e en-
fire came to be looked on as a charm against
these sprites. So late as the seventeenth CEN
fury it was customary for farmers to make the
circuit Of their fields with lighted torch in
hand to protect them from harm during the
year, chanting az singing deggerel rhyme the
while.
For the reason, also, that these unseen magic
powers were deemed to be SO near at this season,
Halloween was thought to be the night of all
nights on which to pry into the secrets of the flu
ture, and thus arese all those simple ceremonies
be learned.
OF course, no sensible person now believes
that by cracking nuts, duckipG one'a head in a
tub Of water for apples, dropping melted lead ~
goblet pulling kale or eating an apple before a
mirror anything SUPERNATURAL or ghostly will be
seen or heard. But the pleasant freside revel-
ries survive. though they have lost their super
stitious significance.
! In England, in Scotland, in America, even in