Reclaim Hallowe'en as Lite-Nite, says bishop

[davidinalameda]

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/26/nhall26.xml

Hallowe'en has become associated with the occult and should be reclaimed by Christians and even renamed "Lite-Nite", a Church of England bishop says.

The Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Rev David Gillett, says that Hallowe'en was not originally an occult celebration but has picked up "dangerous" traits over the centuries.

He also criticises the practice of trick or treat, in which children knock on neighbours' doors and threaten to play practical jokes unless they are rewarded. In an article in Crux, the Manchester diocesan magazine, he says that many people worry about intimidation and violence when they open their doors.



Halloween has always been an "occult" celebration--anyone ever hear of Samhain? One of the holiest of days in the Celtic year

This guy has his cassock on way too tight

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Oh yes

I was going to post about Samhain, and how it is one of the holy days of the Druids. Part of the ancient tribute to death/rebirth/sacred cycle.

[Wickerman]

2. lite night?

not across my palate, thank you. This almost reads like an Onion piece.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. And November 1

is All Soul's Day, which is basically creepy in itself.

[davidinalameda]

4. All Saints Day is the 1st

All Soul's Day is the 2nd, and my birthday

:party:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. I didn't know there was a difference!

Thanks for setting me straight, I thought they were one and the same.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. It used to be...

In the earliest Christian calendars, the "Feast of the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ" was celebrated as the "octave" of Easter, ie the last day of an eight day festival. It made a lot of sense in that location: mark the Resurrection with a celebration that lasted eight days, as was the Roman custom, and make the promised resurrection of believers the second most important part of that celebration.

Problem was, a great many pilgrims came to Rome for Easter who wanted to stick around for the whole week. That early in the spring, there was very little in the way of food stockpiles and the pilgrims had to be fed, as Christians were obligated to provide for pilgrims. So the Roman Church changed the feast to All Saints and moved it to the autumn, where the recent harvest would provide plenty of food for hungry pilgrims. The date was fixed (coincidentally?) to coincide with Samhain. The observance of All Souls came in to being soon after: All Saints celebrates all departed believers, and All Souls is a day to pray for everyone else (presumably out of the pagan influences of All Saints.)

In the Orthodox churches, All Saints was moved to become the Octave of Pentecost, creating a week-long celebration that first marks the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, then the descent of the Holy Spirit in to the newly baptized (among Orthodox Christians, confirmation is usually done right after baptism, even for infants.)

[damntexdem]

5. If he doesn't give out candy, ...

I hope the kids "trick" him really well!

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Gee, 1000 years later and the Christian attempt to co-opt

pagan festival days hasn't taken. Give it up.

[displacedtexan]

8. And just exactly WHO started the "dangerous" crap?

Hm. As if Samhain didn't predate Christianity.

This just infuriates me.

Plus, he criticizes Trick Or Treat.

What's wrong with a Hershey bar, damn it?

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. 'Trick or Treat' isn't an English custom

It appears to have started in Ireland, gone across the Atlantic to the USA, and then come back across the Atlantic to England in the last couple of decades. Those importing it are largely the people who want to sell costumes.

What's wrong with a Hershey bar? It's poor-quality chocolate, that's what. Cadbury's, Rowntree's, Belgian dark chocolate - all much better than Hershey's. :evilgrin:

[dbonds]

9. That would be "reclaiming' something they never had.

They co-opted Yule to become Christmas. Ostara to become Easter (anyone ever wonder why bunnies and eggs are part of Easter?). Samhain they tried before with All Saints Day, but not a big sell.

Samhain is starts the cycle of the year when all is dark (based on sun cycles). It is also the day that the veil between the worlds is thin and you can commune with those that died.

On Edit: Samhain is not on a date. But the new moon after the mid point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. This date is always around the last week in oct or first in November.

[chelsea0011]

10. Intimidation and violence???!!! I for one are scared to death of

that kid dressed as Cinderella.