I'll match the end of the giveaway on Nov 2nd, here in Italy we commemorate All Souls' Day on that day.
I'll pray for your soul. Riposa in Pace, ragazzo.
Same here, Nov 1 is Tutti i Santi \ Ognissanti (All Saints) and Nov 2 is Tutti i Morti \ Giorno dei Morti (lit. All the Dead \ Dead's Day), but take note, only Nov 1 is a holiday, the 2nd is a working day.
Since we're discussing different "holy days" (the origin of the term "holiday" while we're here), most people don't realize that "All Hallow's Day" (where "Hallow" means "saint or holy person," also known as "All Saints' Day" and "The Feast of the Saints") started in the 4th century although it was celebrated at different times of the year by different churches, and in the 9th century Pope Gregory IV extended it to the entire Catholic Church while declaring it was to be held on the first day of November everywhere. The day is said to be "The celebration of all people who have been rendered holy."
This was around the time that the Catholic/Christian churches were trying to absorb people who celebrated pagan religions by incorporating parts of their religion (which is also how the pagan god Pan, also known as a satyr or half-man/half-goat creature, came to be seen as Satan which until this time had always been described as "the most beautiful of the Angels" and very much NOT a goat-man). Samhain (pronounced "SOW in") was a Gaelic festival, celebrated on the first of November (approximately halfway between autumn equinox and winter solstice) to mark the end of the harvest season. It also just so happened to be a "liminal (of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold) time", aka a transition between the bright and cheerful "light" half of the year, aka end of spring/summer/beginning of fall, to the somber "dark" half of the year, aka end of fall/winter/beginning of spring. And all "liminal times" (such as "the witching hour" aka midnight) were considered times when the veil between the two worlds (although originally the other world was fairies/trolls/trickster spirits, they weren't necessarily "evil" they were just mischievous) would thin. So, incorporating Samhain as "All Hallows' Day" was basically a way of the church saying to the pagans of the area "You can still do all your ceremonies and celebrate the day, as long as you stop worshiping your fake gods and worship ours instead."
"All Souls' Day" was (attempted to, but it didn't stick) renamed "All Hallows' Tide, with "Tide" meaning "the day after" by the church. They celebrated the day pretty much whenever they felt like it up (several different dates were celebrated by different churches) until the 10th Centuryby Saint Odilo of Cluny (he was just a Benedictine Abbot at the time, you don't get Sainted until after you die, in this case for making his monastery of Cluny go from an unknown to practically the most important monastery in western Europe). There are still some church groups who celebrate the day on the Friday before Lent or during the Easter season (which is a whole week, not just Easter Day).
"Halloween" is actually "Hallowe'en", a contraction of "All Hallows' Even" (with the "All" dropped for simplicity). In this case, "Even" means "the night before" (apparently it's originally a Scottish word?). So "Hallowe'en" is literally just "the night before All Hallows' Day." It originated (as mentioned above) as a "liminal time", or a time when the veil between the "normal" world and the world of the trickster spirits thinned and the spirits had the ability to roam freely in the "normal" world for one night. People (specifically pagans, although obviously it spread into the Catholic/Christian community after being incorporated) would carve scary faces into turnips (which was later banned by the Church so they switched to pumpkins, then even later they started adding candles on the inside instead of just nearby so the faces were more visible at night) to ward off these trickster spirits, the idea being they would see these gruesome figures that were even scarier than them and move on. If anybody had to leave the house (which was frowned on but not always preventable) at night, they would wear a scary mask to "blend in" so the trickster spirits wouldn't see them and cause them harm. Originally it was just a face covering that was painted, but it evolved over time into full-blown costumes.
There's a whole lot more involved, I'm greatly simplifying a few concepts, but I've always been fascinated by the "official" meanings behind certain rituals that the vast majority of the world celebrates more or less similarly.
edit: This was meant to be a reply to a conversation above, but oh well, it works fine as a standalone comment.
Curious, in Spain it's on Nov 1st. I think that's the kind of trivia Icaio would like.
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In Germany on 2nd of November is also All Souls Day, while on 1st of November it's All Hallows Day
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Same here, Nov 1 is Tutti i Santi \ Ognissanti (All Saints) and Nov 2 is Tutti i Morti \ Giorno dei Morti (lit. All the Dead \ Dead's Day), but take note, only Nov 1 is a holiday, the 2nd is a working day.
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El Día de los Fieles Difuntos se conmemora el 2 de noviembre.
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Here we mix both with El día de Todos los Santos which is national festivity. 2nd is not, thus people do both days on 1st.
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Kinda the same in Poland, people go visit the graves on the 1st, but still Zaduszki is on the 2nd.
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next: https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/pAarS/
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Done, thank you.
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Since we're discussing different "holy days" (the origin of the term "holiday" while we're here), most people don't realize that "All Hallow's Day" (where "Hallow" means "saint or holy person," also known as "All Saints' Day" and "The Feast of the Saints") started in the 4th century although it was celebrated at different times of the year by different churches, and in the 9th century Pope Gregory IV extended it to the entire Catholic Church while declaring it was to be held on the first day of November everywhere. The day is said to be "The celebration of all people who have been rendered holy."
This was around the time that the Catholic/Christian churches were trying to absorb people who celebrated pagan religions by incorporating parts of their religion (which is also how the pagan god Pan, also known as a satyr or half-man/half-goat creature, came to be seen as Satan which until this time had always been described as "the most beautiful of the Angels" and very much NOT a goat-man). Samhain (pronounced "SOW in") was a Gaelic festival, celebrated on the first of November (approximately halfway between autumn equinox and winter solstice) to mark the end of the harvest season. It also just so happened to be a "liminal (of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold) time", aka a transition between the bright and cheerful "light" half of the year, aka end of spring/summer/beginning of fall, to the somber "dark" half of the year, aka end of fall/winter/beginning of spring. And all "liminal times" (such as "the witching hour" aka midnight) were considered times when the veil between the two worlds (although originally the other world was fairies/trolls/trickster spirits, they weren't necessarily "evil" they were just mischievous) would thin. So, incorporating Samhain as "All Hallows' Day" was basically a way of the church saying to the pagans of the area "You can still do all your ceremonies and celebrate the day, as long as you stop worshiping your fake gods and worship ours instead."
"All Souls' Day" was (attempted to, but it didn't stick) renamed "All Hallows' Tide, with "Tide" meaning "the day after" by the church. They celebrated the day pretty much whenever they felt like it up (several different dates were celebrated by different churches) until the 10th Centuryby Saint Odilo of Cluny (he was just a Benedictine Abbot at the time, you don't get Sainted until after you die, in this case for making his monastery of Cluny go from an unknown to practically the most important monastery in western Europe). There are still some church groups who celebrate the day on the Friday before Lent or during the Easter season (which is a whole week, not just Easter Day).
"Halloween" is actually "Hallowe'en", a contraction of "All Hallows' Even" (with the "All" dropped for simplicity). In this case, "Even" means "the night before" (apparently it's originally a Scottish word?). So "Hallowe'en" is literally just "the night before All Hallows' Day." It originated (as mentioned above) as a "liminal time", or a time when the veil between the "normal" world and the world of the trickster spirits thinned and the spirits had the ability to roam freely in the "normal" world for one night. People (specifically pagans, although obviously it spread into the Catholic/Christian community after being incorporated) would carve scary faces into turnips (which was later banned by the Church so they switched to pumpkins, then even later they started adding candles on the inside instead of just nearby so the faces were more visible at night) to ward off these trickster spirits, the idea being they would see these gruesome figures that were even scarier than them and move on. If anybody had to leave the house (which was frowned on but not always preventable) at night, they would wear a scary mask to "blend in" so the trickster spirits wouldn't see them and cause them harm. Originally it was just a face covering that was painted, but it evolved over time into full-blown costumes.
There's a whole lot more involved, I'm greatly simplifying a few concepts, but I've always been fascinated by the "official" meanings behind certain rituals that the vast majority of the world celebrates more or less similarly.
edit: This was meant to be a reply to a conversation above, but oh well, it works fine as a standalone comment.
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