Saturday, October 21, 2017

The Origins of All Hallows Eve & All Saints Day

Overview

The traditions of Halloween and All Saints Day are very ancient.  They may date as far back as 3000 BC with the Druid who started some of the traditions we still follow today.  Today people normally only celebrate Halloween; however, it use to be a three day observance in a few churches.  Halloween actually is All Hallows Eve and is to be celebrated the day before All Saints Day and then the following day is All Souls Day.  

Hallow means holy saint. So on the appearance this day sound like a good day to observe since there is nothing wrong with honoring the saints one day a year as long as you are not bowing down and worshiping them.  The New Testament refers to Israelites who are in Christ as saints.

Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ; to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” Phil 1:1

To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ Jesus, who are at Colossa.” Col 1:2

Therefore all our forefathers and mothers in Christ would be considered saints and there is a commandment to honor you fathers and mothers.  The bible does not use the words grandpa and grandma; so they are consider fathers and mothers also.

Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.” Exodus 20:12

Based on my research below, Halloween has been associated with the following:



According to old newspapers and internet articles these were the original events associated with Halloween:

·         Bell ringing
·         Ringing Church bells all night
·         The spirits are in the air and do mischief that night
·         Departed spirits visit the earth that night
·         Prayers for departed ancestors
·         Cleaning the cemeteries
·         Putting flowers on grave stones
·         Church services and fasting on All Saints Day
·         It is a night to identify your future spouse through divination
·         Making corn husk dolls dressed up as Maidens that were paraded house to house
·         Pranks on others
·         Pounding on doors
·         Cabbage throwing and putting it on door knockers
·         Apple bobbing
·         Bonfires
·         Burning nuts


My objective in this study was to learn about why Halloween was celebrated.  I believe it is important to understand the holidays we celebrate and why we have been celebrating them.  I wanted to give credit to my ancestors that they started this observance with good intentions. Below is an overview of how Halloween and All Saints Day were started and how they progressed.  I have many newspaper clippings that tell the history of these dates below.  The main issue I see with observing Halloween is some of the traditions are considered divinations and are not Christian.  Some of the pranks on Halloween are not Christian either.  As you will see though, I do believe that All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day originated with the Feast of Purim.

  

The Druids

Prior to reading all the newspaper articles and history of these days, I felt it important to document information about the Druids since this feast appears to be originated by them.  It is important to understand the timing of past events.

Noah’s flood occurred c. 3239BC.  Sometime after the flood Noah’s descendants sailed to England and built Stonehenge.  The construction of Stonehenge occurred sometime after c. 3100BC.  The early priests of Stonehenge were the Druids.  It is thought that the Druids were possibly the Chaldees of the bible (Stonehenge and Druidism by Raymond Capt, page 63).  The Chaldeans were descendant to Enoch, Noah and Shem; therefore they knew astronomy well.  The book of Jubilees, chapter 11, states that the Chaldeans practiced divination and astrology according to the signs of the heavens. 
Stonehenge was built prior to Moses receiving the law and the feast days documented in the law.  Prior to the laws of Moses being given, Noah’s descendants were to observe these feast days that are documented in Jubilees chapter 6:

·         March 21st - Spring Equinox – New Year’s Day – the start of their feast day and agricultural calendar – associated with planting
·         June 3rd - Feast or Festival of Weeks also called Pentecost – associated with ripening
·         June 20th - Summer Division or Quarter
·         September 19th - Fall Division or Quarter – New Year’s Day the start of their civic duties –associated with the harvest
·         December 19th - Winter Division or Quarter

The laws were given to Moses in about 1448BC and sometime after that some of the Phoenicians migrated to England and they were aware of all the laws.

The Druids and Phoenicians knew of the importance of having children; therefore finding a spouse would be important.  The newspaper articles below show that part of the Halloween observance had to do with finding a spouse. Part of the covenant that our Heavenly Father made with Noah was that his children were to multiply and fill the earth; therefore they needed a spouse to comply with this covenant.

And God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth. And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into your hand.” Genesis 9:1

The newspaper articles state that the Druids kept three feasts a year and the bible states that three feast were to be kept each year.

Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.” Exodus 23:14

The Druids kept the bonfires going and the bible states the fire was to be ongoing.

The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.” Leviticus 6:12-13

The Original ‘All Saints Day’ in February

The Festivals of Parentalia, Feralis, and Carista

According to newspaper accounts below, the Romans originally called All Saints Day - Feralis and it was celebrated February 13th to the 21st. Feralis means god or a sacred place and is associated with the dead, corpses and funerals.  The February 13th through 20th observance was called the Parentalia Festival for honoring their dead ancestors and the yearly renewal of the rite of burial. 

On Feralis Roman citizens were instructed to bring offerings to the tombs of their dead ancestors which consisted of at least "an arrangement of wreaths, a sprinkling of grain and a bit of salt, bread soaked in wine and violets scattered about." Additional offerings were permitted, however the dead were appeased with just the aforementioned. Ovid tells of a time when Romans, in the midst of war, neglected Feralia, which prompted the spirits of the departed to rise from their graves in anger, howling and roaming the streets. After this event, tribute to the tombs were then made and the ghastly hauntings ceased. To indicate public mourning, marriages of any kind were prohibited on the Feralia, and Ovid urged mothers, brides, and widows to refrain from lighting their wedding torches. Magistrates stopped wearing their insignia and any worship of the gods was prohibited as it "should be hidden behind closed temple doors; no incense on the altar, no fire on the hearth.

Caristia was celebrated on February 22nd and was to honored family or ancestors. It followed the Parentalia, nine days of remembrance which began on February 13 and concluded with the Feralia on February 21. For the Parentalia, families visited the tombs of their ancestors and shared cake and wine both in the form of offerings and as a meal among themselves. The Feralia was a more somber occasion, a public festival of sacrifices and offerings to the Manes, the spirits of the dead who required propitiation (cover over sin). The Caristia in recognition of the family line as it continued into the present and among the living. Caristia was a day of reconciliation when disagreements were to be set aside.

From Parentalia to Caristia all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and "magistrates appeared without their insignia," an indication that no official business was conducted. 

Feast of Purim

The Feast of Purim was declared in the Book of Esther to be celebrated as a memorial forever.  It was to be celebrated to remember that they defeated their adversaries.   It was to be celebrated in the twelve month which was later named February.  Purim comes from the Latin word pūrum which means to cleans or purify.

For in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived. In that day the adversaries of the Judeans perished: for no one resisted, through fear of them. For the chiefs of the satraps, and the princes and the royal scribes, honoured the Judeans; for the fear of Mardochaeus lay upon them. For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom. And in the city Susa the Judeans slew five hundred men: both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga, and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca, and Marmasima, and Ruphaeus, and Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus, the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaean, the enemy of the Judeans, and they plundered their property on the same day: and the number of them that perished in Susa was rendered to the king. And the king said to Esther, The Judeans have slain five hundred men in the city Susa; and how, thinkest thou, have they used them in the rest of the country? What then dost thou yet ask, that it may be done for thee? And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Judeans so to treat them tomorrow as to hand the ten sons of Aman. And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Judeans of the city the bodies of the sons of Aman to hang. And the Judeans assembled in Susa on the fourteenth day of Adar, and slew three hundred men, but plundered no property. And the rest of the Judeans who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies: for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth day of Adar, but took no spoil. And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness. And the Judeans in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day and rested [this day is a normally a Sabbath rest day]; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness. On this account then it is that the Judeans dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar as a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.” Sep Est 9:1-19 

Queen Esther establishes the Feast of Purim to be forever memorialized in the twelve month, now called February, on the 14th and 15th.

“And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Judeans, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off, to establish these as joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar; for on these days the Judeans obtained rest from their enemies; and as to the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it in good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor. And the Judeans consented to this accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them, shewing how Aman the son of Amadathes the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to destroy them utterly; also how he went in to the king, telling him to hang Mardochaeus: but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Judeans came upon himself, and he was hanged, and his children. Therefore these days were called Phrurae (now called Purim), because of the lots; (for in their language they are called Phrurae;)because of the words of this letter, and because of all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them. And Mardochaeus established it, and the Judeans took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon those that were joined to them to observe it, neither would they on any account behave differently: but these days were to be a memorial kept in every generation, and city, and family, and province. And these days of the Phrurae, said they,shall be kept for ever, and their memorial shall not fail in any generation.  And queen Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, and Mardochaeus, wrote all that they had done, and the confirmation of the letter of Phrurae. And Mardochaeus and Esther the queen appointed a fast for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their own health. And Esther established it by a command for ever, and it was written for a memorial.” Sep Esther 9:20-32

Later in the Book of Maccabees a decree was made to memorialize the 13th day of the twelve month, now called February, as a day to remember that they defeated their adversaries.

Maccabeus seeing the coming of the multitude, and the divers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of the beasts, stretched out his hands toward heaven, and called upon the Lord that worketh wonders, knowing that victory cometh not by arms, but even as it seemeth good to him, he giveth it to such as are worthy: Therefore in his prayer he said after this manner; O Lord, thou didst send thine angel in the time of Ezekias king of Judea, and didst slay in the host of Sennacherib an hundred fourscore and five thousand: Wherefore now also, O Lord of heaven, send a good angel before us for a fear and dread unto them; And through the might of thine arm let those be stricken with terror, that come against thy holy people to blaspheme. And he ended thus. Then Nicanor and they that were with him came forward with trumpets and songs.  But Judas and his company encountered the enemies with invocation and prayer. So that fighting with their hands, and praying unto God with their hearts, they slew no less than thirty and five thousand men: for through the appearance of God they were greatly cheered. Now when the battle was done, returning again with joy, they knew that Nicanor lay dead in his harness. Then they made a great shout and a noise, praising the Almighty in their own language. And Judas, who was ever the chief defender of the citizens both in body and mind, and who continued his love toward his countrymen all his life, commanded to strike off Nicanor's head, and his hand with his shoulder, and bring them to Jerusalem. So when he was there, and called them of his nation together, and set the priests before the altar, he sent for them that were of the tower, And shewed them vile Nicanor's head, and the hand of that blasphemer, which with proud brags he had stretched out against the holy temple of the Almighty. And when he had cut out the tongue of that ungodly Nicanor, he commanded that they should give it by pieces unto the fowls, and hang up the reward of his madness before the temple. So every man praised toward the heaven the glorious Lord, saying, Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled. He hanged also Nicanor's head upon the tower, an evident and manifest sign unto all of the help of the Lord. And they ordained all with a common decree in no case to let that day pass without solemnity, but to celebrate the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, which in the Syrian tongue is called Adar, the day before Mardocheus' day. “ Sep 2 Maccabees 15:21-36 

Therefore, now the Feast of Purim was to begin on the 13th day just like the feasts of Parentalia and Feralis which became the All Saints Day until it was moved to May.   It was a day to remember all those who had died in the Book of Esther and it 2nd Maccabees.

February Means Purification

The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual held on February 15th.  The purification ritual was the Feast of PurimThe month of February was also called historically called Kale-monath which is also known as cole or cabbage.  According to The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, Volume 10, the Saxons called the month of February ‘spout-kale’.   


As shown below in newspaper reports regarding Halloween, cabbage was part of the observance.  It appears cabbage was thrown on All Hallows Eve.    Many European names for cabbage are derived from the Celto-Slavic root cap or kap, meaning "head". The late Middle English word cabbage derives from the word caboche "head".  Some verities of cabbage are called capitata which is a reference to the word head.  Slang use of the word of the word cabbage is "cabbage-head" which means a fool or stupid person and "cabbaged" means to be exhausted or, vulgarly, in a vegetative state.  In Maccabees above Nicanor’s head was decapitated and he was pronounced a blasphemer therefore he was vulgar.  The word decapitated and capitata both refer to the word head just like the word cabbage.  Therefore, the cabbage throwing tradition may have started with this event in 2nd Maccabees. 

The throwing of cabbage still occurs today on St. Patrick’s Day.  Today St. Patrick’s Day is held on March 17th; however on the biblical calendar that day would have been the twelfth month, February, on the 31st day.  Back then the twelfth month did have 31 days and that day would have been New Year’s Eve celebration.  Today St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with corned beef and cabbage; therefore, cabbage has been a tradition for the month of February for a long time.  On this page an explanation of why cabbage is thrown today on St. Patrick’s Day is given stating it dates back to the potato famine that occurred in 1845; however, that cannot be true since below I have posted a newspaper article showing that in 1844 the cabbage throwing tradition had already been established. 


A Young girl that caught cabbage at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Orleans.

Another reason cabbage maybe of importance is because cabbage plant is part of the Cruciferae family and comes from the word crucifer which means ‘cross bearer’ and a cross bearer is part of a religious procession.  Plants from the Cruciferae family have four petals so when the flower blooms they look like a cross.


Cross bearing flower sources:

More February Feasts

Merriam-Webster dictionary states that that the last week of the year was the feast of purification. In the ancient Roman calendar March was originally the first month of the year and hence February was the last. The last weeks of the year were a time when people made up for their wrongdoing to the gods and purifications were performed. These rituals were called februa in Latin, and from them the month took its name, Februarius.  This is probably where we get the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions since normally resolutions are to correct a wrong doing in our life.

It is also said that February is the month of purification since Mary finished her 40 day purification process on February 2nd after Jesus was born (Leviticus 12 and Luke 2:22).  This is based on the fact that Jesus was born on December 25th; however, Jesus was born on September 29th so Mary’s purification process would have ended on November 9th.   Churches have been celebrating this date of February 2nd though in honor of Mary’s purification and this celebration is called Candlemas.

It is thought that Rome decided to observe Candlemas in February to combine this celebration with the Feast of Imbolc and the Feast of ending the Bear hibernation.  Rome liked to combine pagan tradition with Christian traditions.  They may have done this in order so that the pagan traditions would be forgotten.  Pagan simply means rural people or people living out in the country and not in a city.  

On February 1st, the festival of Imbolc was held by the Celts in Ireland and Scotland. At Imbolc, Brigid's crosses were made and a doll-like figure of Brigid, called a Brídeóg, would be paraded from house-to-house. The doll was made from corn husks and made up to be a Maiden (more about the corn doll here or here).  Brigid was said to visit one's home at Imbolc. To receive her blessings, people would make a bed for Brigid and leave her food and drink, while items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless. Brigid was also invoked to protect homes and livestock. Special feasts were had, holy wells were visited and it was also a time for divination.  The goddess Brigid was associated with purification and fertility at the end of winter. Peasants would carry torches and cross the fields in procession, praying to the goddess to purify the ground before planting. (Prays to a goddess are of course not Christian.)



From antiquity to the Middle Ages, the Celts celebrated the end of hibernation of the bears at the end of January and beginning of February. This was around the time when the bears would leave their dens and see if the weather was mild. This festival was characterized by bear costumes or disguises.  For a long time, the Catholic Church sought to stop these pagan practices. It is thought that this is why they instituted the Feast of Purification of the Virgin Mary called Candlemas on February 2nd; however the truth is that they probably wanted this feast and the feast of Purim stopped. The celebrations of the bear and the return of light continued, with bonfires and other torchlight processions. Today on our calendar we celebrate groundhogs day on February 2nd instead of Candlemas or the bears coming out of hibernation.



For more information Bear culture:

Greeks Observed All Saints Day the Sunday after Pentecost

According to a newspaper report below, the Greek’s celebrated All Saints Day the Sunday after Pentecost.  The Sunday after Pentecost is actually called Trinity Sunday.  Since the church calculates when Pentecost is observed based on when Easter is observed this date moves each year.  Trinity Sunday normally is observed close to Memorial Day which used to be called Decoration Day.  Decoration Day was a day that Christians had picnics at cemeteries and placed flowers on their markers.  It was a day they remembered their ancestors.  Many people still celebrate Decoration Day in this manner on Memorial Day.  This would be one way to honor our fathers and mothers before us.

All Saints Day Moves to May

In the year 607 AD, Phocas, a Byzantine Emperor, moved All Saints Day observance to May 13th; however one of the newspaper reports below reflect the observance was moved to May 1st.  The feast may have been moved to May 13th since the ancient Roman feast of Lemuralia or Lemuria was held that day to performed rites to purge the wicked and fearful ghosts of the dead from their homes. The unwholesome spectres of the restless dead, the lemurs or larvae were propitiated with offerings of beans. On those days, the Vestals would prepare sacred mola salsa, a salted flour cake, from the first ears of wheat of the season. I do wonder if the cakes were originally made from corn since Lemuriamay be had corn and also since Halloween has been associated with candy corn and corn balls. 

The other newspaper article mentioned above maybe referring to the Walpurgis feast that started in Germany.  Celebrated on April 30th was Walpurgis Night by the Dutch and German names, so called because it is the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia. In Germanic folklore, Walpurgisnacht, also called Hexennacht, literally "Witches' Night", is believed to be the night of a witches' meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The tradition was with bonfires to fence off the witches going to the Brocken is observed as Saint John's Eve. It was essentially a midsummer celebration "with witches". The current festival is, in most countries that celebrate it, named after the English missionary Saint Walpurga (c. 710–777/9). As Walpurga's feast was held on 1 May (c. 870), she became associated with May Day, especially in the Finnish and Swedish calendars.  Therefore, some of our Halloween traditions come from this feast. 


Above is a poster for a theatrical performance of Goethe's play showing Mephistopheles showing supernatural creatures on the German mountain, the Brocken (or Blocksberg), which according to the tale is the scenery for the Walpurgisnight, from 30 April to 1 May.

All Saints Day Moves to November

About 837AD, Pope Gregory IV moved the day of observance of All Saints Day to November 1st.   The Church communities then observed these days:

·         October 31st, All Hallow Eve:  they cleaned the cemetery markers
·         November 1st, All Saints Day:  Attended church services and visited the saint’s burial sites. Some churches had a procession from the church to the cemetery.  The Catholic Church required fasting on this date.
·         November 2nd, All Souls Day:  visit relatives’ burial sites and bring flowers.

All Saints Day is called ‘Day of the Dead’ in Mexico now and they follow the Roman Catholic dates for observing this day.  Mexico use to celebrate All Saints Day in the middle of August since they use to follow the Aztec calendar.  Therefore, their original date use corresponded to the Feast of Pomona. 

It is thought that the Roman Church moved All Saints Day to November 1st so that it would replace the Festival of Pomona.  Pomona was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. Pomona was said to be a wood nymph. In the myth narrated by Ovid, she scorned the love of the woodland gods Silvanus and Picus, but married Vertumnus after he tricked her, disguised as an old woman. She and Vertumnus shared a festival held on August 13.  The pruning knife was her attribute. 


Pomona, by Nicolas Fouché, c.1700

Old Newspaper Articles regarding Halloween and All Saints Day

11/6/1848 news – All Saints Day Origin – New Orleans, Louisiana





11/1/1850 news – Hallowe’en or All Hallow’s Eve – New York



11/1/1855 news – All Hallow E’en Events – Maryland




10/31/1856 news – All Hallow Even – New York



11/1/1860 news – Scottish  Hallowe’en – Chicago, Illinois


11/17/1891 news – All Hallow Eve Myths – Ironton, Missouri




10/26/1890 news – All Hallow Eve – Fort Worth, Texas

Below is just part of the article, see column 6 for full article. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86064205/1890-10-26/ed-1/seq-16.pdf


6/16/1892 news – All Saints Day in France

The Greeks celebrated it the Sunday after Pentecost.




10/25/1896 news – Hallow Eve & Mexico’s All Saints Day – Riverside, California

Column 1 is about Hallow Eve in England, Ireland & Scotland.  Below is only a portion of the article.
Column 4 is about All Saints Day at the capital in Mexico and the English tradition of ‘soul cakes’.  Below is only a portion of this article also.




11/1/1900 news – All Hallows’ Day – Kalispell, Montana



11/2/1901 news – All Saints Day – Saint Martinsville, Louisiana



11/1/1902 news – All Saints Day – Denton, Texas


11/07/1903 news – All Saints Day & Decoration Day – Saint Paul, Minneapolis

The Irish Standard



11/4/1905 news – All Saints Day – Baton Rouge, Louisiana



11/9/1906 news – All Saints Day England – Denver, Colorado



11/3/1907 news – Hallowe’en History – Riverside, California

Below is part of article, full article starts in Column 1 http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1907-11-03/ed-1/seq-32.pdf



11/16/1907 news – All Saints Day – Williams, Arizona



10/23/1910 news – All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day – Denton, Texas



11/5/1910 news – Martin Luther on All Hallowe’en – Chapel hill, North Carolina

Martin Luther started the Protestant reformation against the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church on Halloween.  Maybe he knew that All Hallows Eve was a time for purification.


10/31/1911 news – All Saints Day & Hallowe’en – Santa Fe, New Mexico



10/28/1912 news – Origin of Hallowe’en – Urbana, Illinois



10/23/1915 news – All Saints Day – Baton Rouge, Louisiana



10/28/1916 news – All Saints Day – Baton Rouge, Louisiana



11/4/1916 news – All Saints Day – Baton Rouge, Louisiana



10/13/1920 news – Traditions and Customs of Hallowe’en

Presbyterian of the South News
Column 1 http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/10021978/1920-10-13/ed-1/seq-6.pdf



10/31/1919 news – Hallowe’en on New Year’s Eve - Columbia, Missouri

This article agrees that Halloween use to be in February which used to be the last month of the year.


10/23/1921 news – All Saints Day




Conclusion

All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day definitely are of Christian origin; however not everything done on Halloween is considered Christian.  Many traditions were added as Rome moved the date of the celebration; therefore All Hallow Eve is a collection of many feast days. New traditions are being added to Halloween today that are not considered Christian. 

It appears that All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day were originally the Feast of Purim, New Year’s Eve and New Years Day celebrations and memorials.  It was a time for purification and preparation for the New Year.   The New Year use to begin in spring when the earth becomes new again with spring flowers and leaves on the trees.

The Feast of Purim and New Year’s Eve Observance Days do not all fall in February any more since Pope Gregory shifted the calendar by 12 days.  The correct date for these feasts are reflected on this page.

It would appear that the original intentions of All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day that is actually the Feast of Purim were as follows:

·         Honor your father and mother and your ancestors
·         Restoring family togetherness
·         Keep the cemeteries in good condition so that they would be prepared for Jesus’ return and the dead to be risen (lots of rural cemeteries in America could use help)
·         Prayer and asking our Heavenly Father  to forgive the sins of our ancestors
·         Honor the covenant that our Father in Heaven made with Noah to multiply
·         Keep HIS feast days
·         Keep your fire burning for Christ by reading the bible
·         A time to purify your soul and make resolutions

It appears that the Roman Catholic Church's intentions were to confuse our feast days and traditions.  Separating us from our traditions is part of the reason we forgot who we were.

Some do believe that All Saints Day was a replacement celebration for the Feast of Trumpets.  I can see the similarities.  They ring bells all night instead of blowing trumpets.  They held processions to the cemeteries that would be like a parade.   Maybe our ancestors were preparing meals for their dead and so forth to prepare for this verse to occur that night?

Therefore as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God: neither shall corruption possess incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet  shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed.” DR 1 Corth 15:49-52


I hope you enjoyed this article; I did enjoy researching Halloween and All Saints day.  I learned a lot.   If you choose to celebrate, keep it biblical.