Re: National holiday customs (was: The Pebble)

[Guest guest]

Halloween evolved over time, probably from a Celtic ritual. The Celts believed in a night of the dead as well, a night when the spirits came back. They would use torches and candles and such to frighten off the bad spirits. This day of the dead was Christianized into a day of rememberance of the dead which followed All Saints Day, or something like that. Essentially the Christian day came first and it is the one where churches are technically unhollowed for that night. The next day was the day most people would celebrate in a more festive way. Over time, things got changed around a bit. All Hallows Eve, the Christian holiday, eventually became called Halloween.

It eventually become more festive as well. To make a long story, one that I don't remember all that clearly, short, The big change came in the West, mainly the US and after WW2. Use see, they had all these kids running around and something had to be done with them. UP until that point, Halloween had been an sdult holiday and could be rather somber. So through a combination of needing to do something with the kids and marketing tactics, Halloween as we know it was born. A good bit of the credit, or blame, goes to retailers and manufacturers looking to sell costumes and candy, and people just plain looking to have fun.

[Guest guest]

At 11:11 PM 10/24/04 +0200, Inger Lorelei wrote:

>It is true! For some reason, it was belived that all witches flew on their

>broomsticks to a place called Blåkulla on the Skärtorsdagen (the day before

>Good Friday - don't know if you have an English word for that day)

Maundy Thursday (For a long time, I thought people were calling it " Monday

Thursday " which I found quite confusing)

> to have

>orgies with the devil. How this turned into a custom of dressing up children

>as witches and knocking on doors to get candy is totally beyond me. Rather

>similar to Halloween actually, now that you mention it, except we don't do

>trick-or-treat. When I was a kid you were encouraged to draw your own Easter

>cards and give that in return for any candy you got. Fairly bizarre

>actually, to mix such heathen customs with a Christian one. And don't ask me

>what painting and eating eggs or putting birch brances with coloured

>feathers indoors has to do with Christ either.

We do the eggs in America and are told that eggs, chicks, bunnies and such

are about " new beginnings " and " rebirth " -- thus related to the

resurrection of Christ. But scholars admit that the eggs are from a pagan

holiday honoring the goddess Oestre (from which the word " Easter " comes)

We don't do the birch branches and feathers bit, though. That sounds lovely!

>We also oddly celebrate the Catholic Saint Lucia on Dec 13, even though we

>are a Protestant/secularised country.

Do you do it with the white dress and crown of candles on the head like

some other countries? I remember reading about that as a child and seeing

photos and thinking how lovely it looked but being very concerned that the

girl woudl get wax in her hair or catch herself on fire!

>And have also adopted Halloween now.

>:-( I hate all these traditions that no longer serve any useful purpose and

>try my best to ignore them. The only ones I like are Christmas and Easter

>because there are really some extra nice vibes in the air at that time. But

>that doesn't make me eat eggs or do any of the other things that have little

>to do with the original reason for celebrating.

I think the original original reasons are so lost in the mists of time....

>Also not fond of traditions that seem invened solely for commercial reasons,

>such as Valentines day. (If I love someone, I certainly don't need a special

>day in the calendar to show it on.)

Valentine's Day started (as far as I know .. it may go even earlier) as the

Idea of February celebration. (The Romans routinely held celebrations on

certain portions of each month such as the idea, the nones, etc.) It was a

fertility celebration caleld Lupercalia that involved the slaughter of a

goat and the priest would smear the goat blood on naked boys who would run,

laughing, through the crowd, hitting women with a leather thong called the

Februa (from which the name February comes) which translates to " purifier "

and the purification of the whip was supposed to make those women conceive

children that year. Also, the tradition of valentine cards comes from

Lupercalia when all the single men and women put their names in boxes and

drew the names out and were paired up according to the names they drew.

Later, Christianity chose to re-name and re-shape the holiday after St.

Valentine, a Christian martyr.

>Birthdays are quite a pain in the ass too. (I celebrate my own only once a

>decade, just to make my relatives happy.)

I have a bad habit of forgetting when my birthday is and forgetting how old

I am. Sometimes I even have to count up from the year I was born to this

year to be sure how old I am.

> And anniversaries! Argh. Who wants

>even more dates to keep track of?

I've been having a hard time with my genealogy documentation because my

parents aren't able to tell me when they married. They never celebrated

their anniversary. The best my dad could tell me was that it was sometime

in September. My mom told me once that she was still single when Kennedy

was assasinated (November, 1964) and I know that my brother was born in

July, 1965 so I know it was impossible for them to have married in

September unless they did it after my brother was born. Somewhere, someone

isn't remembering right or is lying to me so I can't send off for a copy of

their marriage certificate (which I would need to apply to a particular

genealogical society that I want to join.)

If only they had celebrated their anniversary, I might at least have

another clue! LOL

Sparrow

[Guest guest]

There is also an egg on Pesach (Passover). No one has an explanation

for it, but I think that dipping the egg in saltwater may be a symbol

of an eye with tears.

The day six days after Pesach is Hosha'na Rabah (Big Hosanna). I'm

not sure what it means, but I think it's a final day of prayer for

the sins repented for on Yom Kipur (Day of Atonement) eleven days

earlier. It involves a lulav, which is three branches, willow, palm,

and myrtle, tied together. It is beaten against the side of the bimah

(pulpit). This probably has a connection with the birch and the flail.

As to commercialization, Hanukah has definitely become

commercialized. Originally it was a minor holiday, but with the

modern commercialization of Christmas, it became necessary for Jews

to find something to compete with it.

Hanukah is on the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev. I don't know

about the coincidence of the number 25, but I suspect it is another

example of Christians getting ideas from Jewish customs. Unless

someone has a better explanation.

[Guest guest]

>

> There is also an egg on Pesach (Passover). No one has an explanation

> for it, but I think that dipping the egg in saltwater may be a symbol

> of an eye with tears.

I think I've heard (with what authority I don't know) that the hard-boiled egg

represents

the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, and yes, that the salt water represents tears.

-Estel

[Guest guest]

At 11:23 PM 10/24/04 -0000, collin237 wrote:

>

>

>There is also an egg on Pesach (Passover). No one has an explanation

>for it, but I think that dipping the egg in saltwater may be a symbol

>of an eye with tears.

The karpas (a green plant, often parsley) is dipped in salt water to

symbolize life immersed in tears. The roasted egg is to symbolize that the

roasted sacrifice can no longer be given in the temple because the true

temple has fallen so there is no sacrifice to make one righteous before God

(or G-d as a frum Jew might type).

>The day six days after Pesach is Hosha'na Rabah (Big Hosanna). I'm

>not sure what it means, but I think it's a final day of prayer for

>the sins repented for on Yom Kipur (Day of Atonement) eleven days

>earlier.

I thought Yom Kipur was in Autumn and Passover was in Spring???

>Hanukah is on the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev. I don't know

>about the coincidence of the number 25, but I suspect it is another

>example of Christians getting ideas from Jewish customs. Unless

>someone has a better explanation.

I was taught in a mythology class many, many years ago that December 25th

was celebrated as the birthday of Mithras (a God who was born of a virgin

called the " Mother of God " in a stable, was died and re-born, was called

the " Light of the World " by his followers and had several other

similarities to the Christ mythos)

(Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas in January, by the way.)

Sparrow