Feast Of All Saints
From an email I recently got from my buddy Bill:
"Today is the Feast of All Saints in the Catholic calendar, the day when the Church honors all the saints who have ever lived, known or unknown. Anyone who makes it through the Pearly Gates is by definition a saint. I've always thought it a charming custom. The Pope agrees. And, it's the reason for Halloween, All Hallows' Eve. All those little munchkins in their costumes are actually honoring the Catholic Saints. Sort of a Stealth Holiday."
Yes, and tomorrow is the Feast of All Souls, which includes those still in Purgatory. In Mexico, they are celebrating Los Días de los Muertos, which is a hybrid between those holy days and (mostly) the old rituals of honoring the dead.
well, yes, it is a stealth holiday. it's been celebrated since before the mother church set foot in europe, too. Not as All Hallow's, of course, but the church had to figure out some way to get all the heathens in line.
But it doesn't matter who had it "first". It matters only that it be enjoyed and pondered ;) Whether you go to a harvest festival, trick-or-treating, party till you puke, attend a coven gathering or sit in church- the end of October is special. Hope everyone had a good day and night!