Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
Halloween is closely associated with the Catholic Church’s celebration of All Saints’ Day. It was evolved from a variety of pagan celebrations, especially as practiced by the Celts in Ireland. In the new world, it morphed into the celebration of the Day of the Dead. This latter celebration is related to All Souls Day, the first day in November; it celebrates those who have died and are living in a undefined state in the after life. In the United States, this religious observance has become the secular celebration of Halloween, which reflects a commercialization of this holiday.
More than other aspects of Halloween, All Saints’ Day is celebrated differently by the Western churches and the Eastern Orthodox churches. By and large, the eastern observations have maintained a closer observance to the religious traditions than in the western cultures. Read more about these differences in body of this posting.
So, let’s get into an exploration of All Saints’ Day. As you read the following material, think about both the religious and secular observances to draw you own conclusions about these celebrations… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 1918 Words ]
Quotations Related to Halloween:
“They are not all saints who use holy water.”
— Proverbs quote
“For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.”
— William Penn
“God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.”
— Soren Kierkegaard