First, let’s deal with the actual meaning of the word Halloween.

The original word for All Saints day was Hallowsmas. Hallows means “saints” and the mas meaning “mass”. Take that meaning and apply it to the word Halloween. Hallows means “saints” once again and “een” is derived from “evening before”. Therefore, you get Halloween actually being the night before Hallowsmas, or the Eve of the Mass of Saints.

All Saints Day is November 1st, followed by All Souls Day on November 2nd. It is a two day celebration set aside for remembering those faithful Christians who have passed on from this life. The day has been celebrated by dressing as your favorite saint and telling their story. Unfortunately, many people believe that this custom derived from cultist backgrounds, which is untrue. The first day it was held was May 13th, which coincided with a Celtic holiday celebrating the malevolent unrested souls of their culture. The date was later changed by Pope Gregory III in order to cut ties to that specific celebration.

Samhein, the celebration that most Christians are worried about, is definitely celebrated on October 31st, but the only reason it coincides at all with the celebration of All Saints Day is due to the Florentine calendar’s holding that the evening begins the next day.

Trick or treating, as it is now, was developed independent of the celebration of the Saints. The children that dressed up as saints and went around to houses were asking for little cakes or treats in exchange for prayers for the dead. Mind you, this is very rooted in Catholicism, where they believe in *or at least they did till very recently* Purgatory. That said, when this practice originated, they believed you could pray a soul out of Purgatory into Heaven.

Yes, many of the customs that we know of now have borrowed from their Celtic roots. This was done as a tactic in order to gain more Celtics into the Kingdom. Unfortunately, this has been a double edged sword which has in many ways sullied the original purpose.

For those of us who would still like to keep All Saints Day in the fashion it was intended, feel free to rid your lives of all things that were celebrated as part of the Celtic tradition. Instead, embrace the truth of the Day of the Saints and the Day of the Souls so that we can continually remember the sacrifices the saints of our past have made for the Kingdom of Christ.

(((as for the jack o lantern… there is an interesting story behind that, too)))

Resources:

Wikipedia
New World Encyclopedia
TLC
American Catholic
History Channel

These bags are huge! She said that the medium is more like a large.

“I put in a full suitcase of clothing, and still had room to spare” ~ Iris

My sister was able to try out the large garment bag while she stayed over. None of her clothes left the house affected by the insects. She was all too happy to have something to protect her clothing on her overnight visit.

While the battle for the house is still on, my mother can rest assured that she and my sister can have clothing unaffected by bed bugs. Hopefully they will eventually find a cure for this ill completely.

The only suggestion we all had for the company: add mattress covers to your product line. That would definitely create a stir in the community of those involved in the battle of the bugs.

I’m not big on making myself known as one specified race, really. I don’t truly identify with any single one part of myself, but being a MINORITY at all in this instance makes me proud today. We have overcome, this is the day.

Lift Every Voice And Sing (Acapella) – Boyz II Men

I think it’s about time someone did something about the AIDS epidemic other than medicate patients to the hilt. There was once talk the combination of epilepsy drugs and AIDS drugs would cure a person. Now they have actual proof that a bone marrow transplant can cure AIDS. I hope they don’t let this die a quick death like they did with the epilepsy drug theory.

I am just happy that we have a new face on the Presidency with fresh ideas.

I am happy that people are able to express their contentment or discontentment with the establishment, and do something lawfully about it. I signed a petition to make adultery illegal in my state, but that doesn’t mean it will go through. What it means is that I stood up for what I believe to be true and moral, and that I didn’t sit idly by waiting for someone else to do it.

People have been talking about the definition of the sanctity of marriage. The divorce rate has been brought up. The statistics have been stated. The problem with marriage, or any relationship, is that people are flawed. They are not perfect. They are not going to do or say the right thing all the time. They won’t always make the right choices in life. Flawed people break up relationships. They have free will, they do as they will, and that is all there is to it. If we were taught as children to really revere marriage and the truly sacred bond that we are undertaking, maybe when we get old enough to marry we won’t make the wrong choices and place ourselves in divorce court. Maybe if someone would teach the true meaning of SANCTITY there would be something to uphold.

One man will not bring harmony and utopia, especially not overnight. I hope and pray that we all understand that things take time. Everything takes time. Our country didn’t get into the mess it’s in overnight. It took time. Step by step, bit by bit, we all have to pull our weight on this one and really drag our country out of the muck and mire it has been sinking into for so long. We the people need to do it. No one else can do it for us. Be true to yourself, your faith, your beliefs, and somehow it will all work out in the end.

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You can contribute to the easing of world hunger at freerice.com just by playing a free game on their website. I actually just donated 1000 grains of rice to the cause by figuring out the meanings of words.  Joy! There is another website where you can click once a day to donate to the cause of breast cancer awareness. A lot of times there are places you can shop to help support causes, as a percentage of your money is donated toward a specified cause.

Animal Rescue
Hunger Site

And many more. You can even use searches like searchkindly.org and vote for the cause you feel should get the benefit that session. Whatever your passion, there is a way to give even if you don’t have the cash on hand to send over to those who are in need. I love to help, but it may be a long time before I have enough money to help everyone I feel the yearning to help.

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