Saturday, October 31, 2020

Quarter & Cross Quarter Days, All Hallows Day Explained

 The children of Noah celebrated the 1st day of each quarter which was called a ‘quarter day’ and they celebrated the ’cross quarter days’.  In the past each nation that descended from Noah established traditions they followed on these dates, probably based on the teachings of Noah.  After Christ came and died, traditions were later changed as part of the Pope’s Christianization of the nation’s process. The Pope changed previously established holidays to new holidays.  Today the TV tells us our traditions with ads paid for by corporations and the corporations always benefit.

 

The ancient quarter days and cross quarter days are as follows:

Dead Sea Scroll Date

Georgian Calendar Date

Holiday

Type

1/1

About Mar 20th

Religious & Agricultural New Year’s Day, Easter (East Star), Lady Day

Quarter Day

2/15

About May 1st

May Day, Beltane (bright fire), beginning of summer when cattle moves to the summer pastures, maypole. Greek All Saints Day.

Cross Quarter

4/1

About Jun 17th

Midsummer Quarter

Quarter Day

5/15

About Aug 2nd

Lammas Day or Loaf Day (first fruits of the harvest), Lughneasadh (begin Harvest, make corn dolls) Athletic Contests

Cross Quarter

7/1

About Sep 18th

Michaelmas Quarter, Feast of Trumpets, pair sheep, make wine

Quarter Day

8/15

About Nov 1st

All Hallows Day, Samhain ‘Sow-in’ (Final Harvest In, Herds In), Hunting. Rome All Saints Day

Cross Quarter

10/1

About Dec 16th

Christmas Quarter, Festival of Lights & Feast of  the Dedication

Quarter Day

11/15

About Feb 1st

Candlemas, Imbolic (start of Spring, spring cleaning, & crosses paraded house to house) & Dutch Ground Hog’s Day

Cross Quarter

 

Pictured below are the quarter days with a blue cross and the ‘cross quarter days’ with an orange ‘x’ according to the Dead Sea Scroll Temple calendar which is the same as the Enoch calendar. Festival examples are given within the blue boxes for some 1st day of the quarter traditions and in orange boxes are the traditions for the ‘cross quarter days’. There are more examples of other nations celebrating quarter days and cross quarter days than what is given in this picture.  The dates in red are the Dead Sea Scrolls Temple dates; for example 8/15 is the eight month, 15th day according to the bible and/or the Dead Sea Scrolls. Bible verses and feasts are also in red.



To see a larger pdf version of the picture above, click here.

Examples of cultures that celebrated the quarter days and cross quarter day included:  Bible (Noah & Israelites), Ancient Celts, Saxon (Dutch & Europe), ancient Greek, ancient Rome, Old English, Irish & Scottish, Ancient New Mexico Tewa Indians & the Pope’s Holidays (Holy Days).

 

The Quarter Days in Jubilees

 

The First Day of each Quarter was declared a festival (feast) day and these dates are called Quarter Days:

 

“And on the beginning of the first month, and on the beginning of the fourth month, and on the beginning of the seventh month, and on the beginning of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained as a testimony for ever. And Noah ordained them for himself as feasts for the generations for ever, so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him. And on the beginning of the first month he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the earth became dry and he opened (the ark) and saw the earth. And on the beginning of the fourth month the mouths of the depths of the abyss beneath were closed. And on the beginning of the seventh month all the mouths of the abysses of the earth were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. And on the beginning of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah was glad. And on this account he ordained them for himself as feasts for a memorial for ever, and thus are they ordained. And they placed them on the heavenly tablets, each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial, from the first to the second,  and from the second to the third, and from the third to the fourth. And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete. Thus it is engraven and ordained on the heavenly tablets. And there is no neglecting (this commandment) for a single year or from year to year.” Jubilees 6:23-31

 

Notice that according to the Book of Jubilees celebrating the first day of each quarter is mandatory and today there are many local festivals surrounding these dates (Spring Festivals, Fall Festivals, etc). 

 

The calendar described in the above verses is just like the one described in the Dead Sea Scroll calendar and book of Enoch.  It is a year with Fifty two weeks and four divisions/quarters:

 

Spring

Festival – first day of First Month

13 Weeks

Autumn or Fall

Festival – first day of Seventh Month

13 Weeks

Summer

Festival –first day of Four Month

13 Weeks

Winter

Festival – first day of Tenth Month

13 Weeks

 

 

Cross Quarter Days

 

The instruction to celebrate the cross quarter day festivals are not documented anywhere that I have found; however there is lots of proof they were celebrated.  Two crossed sticks in ancient paleo Hebrew (t or x) means owner’s mark, sign or signal; Therefore it would show the owner ship of our Father in Heaven.  Below are two mentions of cross quarter celebrations in the bible.

 

2/15 - May Day, Beltane, Bright Fire

 

On the first cross quarter day of the year which is the 2nd Month 15th Day our Father in Heaven provided Israel quails to eat for dinner.  The bible does not mention that it is a feast date; however, it is interesting that quail were provided this date and all other days they only received Manna:

 

“And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.” KJV Exo 16:1

 

“And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.” KJV Exo 16:13

 

8/15 - All Hallows Day, Samhain, Final Harvest

 

The Kingdom of Israel instituted a feast that was already being celebrated in the Kingdom of Judah on the eight month, eighteenth day.  Jeroboam sacrificed a calf on the altar so that it would become wholly or in other words Hallow.  Sacrificing to a calf he made, of course, is against the law.  This feast day became All Hallows Day which much later the Pope declared it to be All Saint’s Day.

 

“And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.” KJV 1 Kings 12:32-33

 

Definition of Hallow:

To hallow is "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.  The noun form hallow, as used in Hallowtide, is a synonym of the word saint.

The word 'to hallow' itself in English is now archaic; does not appear other than in the quoted text in the Lord's Prayer in the New Testament (Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2).”

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallow

 

According to the Laws of Moses a ‘Feast of Ingathering’ was to be observed.  Some people think this feast is different than the Feast of Tabernacles and some think it is the same as the Feast of Tabernacles.  If it is an end of year final harvest feast just like the Celtic people celebrated, than it is probably the feast that the Kingdom of Judah was celebrating on the 15th day of the eighth month.  I know my small garden still had produce to be harvested until All Hallows Day.

 

“And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.”  KJV Exo 23:16


Halloween Traditions

 

The word Halloween is a combined word that means ‘All Hallows Even’ which is the day before ‘All Hallows Day’.

 

Halloween gets part of its traditions from the Feast of Purim that occurred in February at the end of the year.  February comes from the ancient Latin word meaning Purification. At the end of the year they set aside time to purify their lives.  This started the tradition of New Year’s resolutions.

 

·         Carista: day to honor family and ancestors.   Put all disagreements aside and make reconciliation.

·         Parentalia:  families visited tombs and renewed their rites of burial.  Flowers, grains and salt offered at grave sites.

·         Feralia:  sacrifices for the dead who required propitiation (sin’s covered).

 

The New Year’s resolutions tradition moved to January 1st when New Year’s Day changed.

 

In 607 AD, Phocas, a Byzantine Emperor moved Carista, Parentalia and Feralia traditions to the Greek All Saints Day on May Day.

 

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 cemeteries

·         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.

 

The German traditions of Walpurgis Night moved with the Greek All Saints Day to the November 1st All Hallows Day observance.  The Pope did like to move feasts or create feast over the top of existing feast so that we would forget what the original feast was about.   So Halloween became a mix of several traditions.

 

1844 news – Holy Eve or Hallowe’en Celebration – Pennsylvania



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.  He knew the church needed purification or hallowing.  The Puritans later wanted to purify the churches of traditions that were not bible based.  Today we have stopped protesting the Catholic Church and now have joined in on their many practices that are not true or biblical. 

 



 

Conclusion

 

The Quarter Days and Cross Quarter Days are ancient traditions that were religious and had to do with the agriculture seasons.  It is interesting that the old cross quarter traditions reflect that our seasons were started on cross quarter days instead of Quarter Days.  All of these celebrations are okay to observe today as long as they do not violate the laws of Moses.  All of these festival dates celebrate the seasons our Father in Heaven created for us to enjoy.  It appears that All Hallows Day was originally a ‘final harvest in’ celebration with thanks and praises to our Father in Heaven.  Yesterday, October 30th I did harvest my sweet potatoes as part of my final harvest and the first freeze date is November 7th; therefore the date of All Hallows Eve is a good date to plan to have all your harvest done and your herd brought for winter hay feeding.

  

Today we prepare for Halloween by buying costumes and candy; however, I cannot find where the ancients did these traditions.  Today the corporation ads and displays at stores tell us that we should buy costumes and candy.  We really need to resist these temptations and instead be busy harvesting and thanking our Father in Heaven for the harvest.


Sources & More Information:

Purim is All Hallows Eve’s Origin https://kingdomhereamerica.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-origins-of-all-hallows-eve-all.html

Cross quarter days mark the beginning of the season https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/halloween-derived-from-ancient-celtic-cross-quarter-day#:~:text=In%20modern%20times%2C%20the%20four,quarter%20day%20of%20the%20year

England, Ireland & Scotland quarter & cross quarter days https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_days

Aug 1st First Fruits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammas

Christmas; the feast of Dedication https://kingdomhereamerica.blogspot.com/2017/12/christmas-epiphany-feast-of-dedication.html

.Tewa Indians of New Mexico https://www.amazon.com/Astronomy-Ceremony-Prehistoric-Southwest-Anthropological/dp/091253513X

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day


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