Catholics have been celebrating All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2) for centuries. But do you know where this tradition started? Is it a pagan practice? I did a little digging, and here's a quick rundown of who this practice started
As early as the 4th century, Christians honored those who died for their faith. These commemorations were often held on the anniversary of the martyr's death. This practice is still true to date.
As the number of martyrs and saints grew, giving each one an individual feast day has become more difficult. Thus, the Church came up with a collective celebration.
Around 609 AD, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome (originally a temple to all gods) to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, establishing an anniversary feast on May 13th.
Sometime between 731–741, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica in honor of all saints, not just martyrs. Some sources indicate this dedication, and thus the feast in Rome, was on November 1st .
By the 9th century, churches in Gaelic Ireland and Anglo-Saxon Northumbria were already observing a feast for all saints on November 1st.
Pope Gregory IV (827–844) later extended the observance of All Saints' Day on November 1st to the entire Catholic Church.
"Hallow" is an Old English word for a saint or holy person. All Saints' Day (November 1st) was historically also known as All Hallows' Day or Hallowmas.
Although some practices these days are already mixed with the Celtic festival Samhain, which marked the end of summer, and the belief that the boundary between the living and the dead blurred. I guess that's the reason why people dress up like ghouls and monsters on the 31st of October, doing Trick or Treat. The Trick-or-Treat also has evolved from its original purpose, from what I've learned. The original practice is, (poor) people would ask for food in exchange for prayers. Now it's more commercially driven by huge candy manufacturers.
In the past few years, the practice of trick-or-treating has been adopted in the Philippines. I'm not sure those who practice that know the original purpose of it.
Does the Church approve the practice of wearing ghoulish and other costumes depicting evil creatures? The answer is no. As I have mentioned above, All Saints Day, or Halloween, or All Hallows Day, is about honoring the Saints, not about glorifying what is evil.
Thus, instead of greeting Happy Halloween, let's close this post with the greeting: "May the communion of saints inspire you today."
(Originally posted in Tangled Social: https://tangled.com/c/b8ad3bae3f974fe576a2f9eb3b7660379ef1913bf)
