The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-11-22

Il / lialQFII reverence Tor 1lt4-lllnt ways
ana customs aud suIerStltion>. There
i Il fascination about witches. jack
olantern>. fortuue-teIIing. table rappiuc.
-~raveyards and all half-hiddcn and my>-
FERROUS things. particularly for the young
people. But u the aged who are near
ing their approach t. the undi>Jovere~:
country. this fascination has PASSED
away. and hence | could not enter into
the spirit and hilarity of the occasion.
| preferred Il lamp in the sitting room
to those caVernouS candle lights in the
parlor-thosc dismal. fiendi>h lights
that Shone through yellow eyes ana
nos and mouths of huge pumpkins aud
We're reminders Of ghosts. hobgobliu>
and raw heads and bloody bones. |
didn't see any fun or any reverence in
tiptocing away up into the old garnet
ana looking into Il broken mirror for Il
lover who was appear behind YOU. and !
am too old to walk doWn the stairs back
wards NJ the peril Of my corporo>ity. |
couldn't see any reason OF philosophy in
cracking nuts for good luck or bad luck
i'll love affairs. But | did enjoy some
Of the more sensible performances. such
az music. and writing questions and am
SwtrS. and the feast of fruits and cakc
and chocolate.
1t was Eliminating about this Hal
lowc'en business-how it ever came
about that the night of October 31st was
Il gala night for the fairies. and they
went abroad whispering love To the
young people and helping them To mate
and to marry. We are told that it orr
ginated III Scotland many centuries ago
and continues there yet. Halloween. of
course. means hallow eve and bears the
same relation to All Hallow's day, No
vember 1StD that Christmas eve does to
Christmas day-and there is the same
kin of fooliShneSs carried on. 1t Is the
romance of the mind to nave Il ShadoWy
faith III superStltlOnS. Some folks still
believe that the COWS all go to prayer
the twelfth night after Christmas, and
some believe in ..conjurin' and witch
craft. The Puritans believed that witch
es were always females. and they never
drowned Il man for bewitching anybody.
Poor woman. How she has suffered
from her lord and master. then | remcm-
Der We'll how one of them beWitched me
III the long ago.
Now this "Hallov's day is simply Il
contraction of All Hallow's day" and
that for All the hallowcd saints day"
or All Saints day Away back IL
the eighth century the calendar of saints
got pretty full. for the bishops sainted
nearly every Christian who died or was
4 martyr. Every church recorded their
names. and Il brief sketch Of his or her
life and good deeds. EuSebiuS and
Origen began it, and their catalogues are
still preserved. Later on III the cen
turtles these saints were multiplied to
the disgust Of some of the popes. and
an edict was passed that nobody should
be sainted or canonized unless he or she
had napfDrmal at laaSt two 1nir1ol,S an1
left some relics to the church. Well.
that put Il stop to il. of course. for i
miracle IS 4 right hard thing to perform.
But the making Of saints by the Roman
Catholic and by Greek and
eastern churches had been go
ing on for 10 centuries. I'M
til there We're rs many dead saints III the
church as there were living sinners out
side. The Belgium government began
to catalogue them 300 years ago, after
the art Of printing was begun. \ learn
ed Jesuit by the names of holland was
employed. and in five years he made
three volumes and died. His successor
made five more volumes and died. and
50 they have been making volumes and
dying until now they have fifty-Sevon
volumes II are not near done. | tell
YOU heaven is crowded if they are all
OIL tiitll lntGt. We KNOW iHII III the
days of the apostles and for Il good while
after all who - the Christian
churches were called saints, and the
Apostles creed says. L believe in the
communion of saints and even in our
day the hymns written by English
churchmen call Christians saints. Just
Il hundred years ago George Keith wrote
that beautiful hymn. How Firm Il
Foundation 1e Saints of the Lord But
in IauIS day the name was changed at
Antioch to Christians. | reckon that
there was some suspicion that the mem
berS Of the churches were not all sancti-
fled: and that suspicion, | am sorry TO
say. still continues to our time and pco-
pie.
All Saints" is 4 festival Of very an
Gent origin and is obcycd with great
reverence by Roman Catholics and Fps
copalians. 1t was instituted in the fourth
century. Pope Boniface gave it permu-
hence and renoWn in the seventh cen
fury when he dedicated the Pantheon
Of Jupiter to the worship Of the :Tu4
God under the invocation Of all The
saints. SO many churches had been
built and dedicated to the more noble
and illuStrious saints. such as Paul and
Peter and John and James and SAINT
Cecilia, that the people felt sorry for
the thousands who had not been honor
ed. and he took them all III ut once and
called the first day of November M
Saints Day subsequently the next
day was chosen rs "All Souls day"
when the mass Of requiem is said for
the rest and peace of the dead who have
not gone to heaven. but are in Il state Of
purgatory. III Germany the people visit
the g~raveyards on this day and strew
flowers on the graves Of their friends.
The conservation of tn" Pantheon to
all the saints was very like Henry K.
Jackson's sympathetic appeal TO our
people who were building monuments
to our iIluStrious heroes all over the
South. This is Well he said. nut
now let Us build somewhere in this con
Gucred land i higher and grander and
more beautiful monument 10 the mem
DRY Of the unknown and unrecorded
dead The Roman Catholics believe
that the saints in heaven have great
Influence with the Almighty Father
in procuring 4 remission Of sin and hence