Halloween

Question 1

Origins

Answer 1

Halloween from “All Hallows Evening”, the evening before the Feast of All Saints moved to Nov. 1st (8th century)

Feast of All Souls=Nov. 2nd 1000 CE

Day of the Dead

Samhain Nov. 1st

Question 2

Samhain historical sources

Answer 2

Caesar - calculate time from sunset to sunset so Samhain = sunset on oct 31st to sunset on nov 1st

Pliny - druids gathering mistletoe on sixth day of moon

Other authors: festivals but undescribed

Coligny calendar 1st c CE: 62 lunar months + 2 dark and light halves of months (39-30 Days) ritual calendar: MAT and ANM (maith/anmaith, good/not good)
—trinox samoni, “three nights of Samhain”
—Sam = “summer” vs. Giamoni, which contains the prefix for “winter” but occur April/May

Question 3

Medieval Irish literature

Answer 3

Four primary ancient Celtic festival days: imbolc, beltaine, lughnasadh, Samhain

Link to agricultural year

Plotting season

Question 4

Anglo-Saxon literature

Answer 4

November as blod-monath

Feasting, stocks of good just gathered, but winter is coming

Irish: visitation season, time indoors, time of boundaries

Question 5

Irish otherworld

Answer 5

Samhain: crossing the boundary between death and life

Fairy mounds

Question 6

Modern interpretations

Answer 6

Souling in the 14th century

Guy Fawkes night November 5th

Jack o Lanterns - Stingy Jack

Apple bobbing, divination?

Halloween like Valentines

Question 7

Witches

Answer 7

Malleus Maleficarum the “Hammer of Witches” 1486 (stereotypes)

Early depictions if male witches

Witch graves