| |
All Hallows Eve - Christian
- Description:
- Christian celebration combining prayers and merriment involving children and families. It is a prelude to All Saint's Day.
Halloween (all hallows eve) - Modern Satanism
- Description:
- Night of fire and Festival. The Druidic Samhuinn.
Reformation Day - Protestant Christian
- Description:
- Protestant Christian anniversary of their tradition and its emphasis on the place of the Bible and religious freedom. On October 31, 1517 c.e. Martin Luther posted a belief statement on Wittenberg Church door.
Samhain - Wicca
- Description:
- Northern Hemisphere - Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course, as Halloween.
Winter Nights (Wetrnaetr) - Asatru
- Description:
- The beginning of the winter season for the Northern folk. Remembrances of the dead and one's ancestors were made during this feast. Winter Nights was a ceremony of wild abandon - much like the Carnivale season in the Mediterranean countries - and marked the end of the summer season of commerce and travel and the beginning of the winter season of hunting. Winter Nights marked the beginning of the Wild Hunt, which would continue until Walpurgisnacht. This festival corresponds to the Celtic Samhain (sow'-ain), although the darker aspect of the festival are not as pronounced among the Norse people (The Norse festival of darkness was Walpurgis, a full 6 months away).
|
