Tag: halloween
Origins of Halloween
We’ve all heard the allegations. Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped Church suppression. Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating, they will be worshiping the devil and pagan gods. Nothing could be… Read More ›
Carving the Turnip?
Many of the customs we now associate with Halloween are also derived from ancient celebrations. For example, the current custom of going door-to-door to collect treats actually started in Ireland hundreds of years ago. Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food and materials for a village feast and bonfire. Those who gave were promised… Read More ›
All Hallow’s Eve Treat
Trick or Treat! Walt Disney’s original Fantasia was a classic mixture of classical music and animation. A bit dated by today’s standards it is still a beautiful use of the technology of the time. Children and adults are still fascinated by the movie. “Uncle Walt,” as so many of us knew him, was proud of… Read More ›
Witches, Ghosts and Magic: What Catholics Believe
by Page Zyromski (St. Anthony Messenger) Matt called one of those psychic hotline numbers advertised on television. His parents didn’t find out until they saw the whopping charge on their phone bill. I asked Matt why he did it and he says he was just curious. He’s still delivering pizzas to pay off his debt…. Read More ›
How Halloween Can Be Redeemed
Halloween has grown into a major secular holiday in American culture. But for those who don’t value devotion to the saints, the Eve has become “hollow” instead of “hallow.” The purpose behind it has been lost—like celebrating New Year’s Eve without a New Year’s Day. Take away the saints and our beliefs about the dignity… Read More ›
A Tale of Jack O’Lantern
Jack, the Irish say, grew up in a simple village where he earned a reputation for cleverness as well as laziness. He applied his fine intelligence to wiggling out of any work that was asked of him, preferring to lie under a solitary oak endlessly whittling. In order to earn money to spend at the… Read More ›