Today's one of my favorite celebrations--Halloween. Beyond the sharing of yummy chocolates (yes, one of the reasons I love it so!) it's a day with fascinating history and meaning beyond pumpkins, ghosts, witches and the like. Samhain (pronounced Sow-in) as it was called in ancient days, celebrated the end of summer and the belief that on this night the veil between the world of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. For this reason, at its roots October 31 was a day to remember and honor the dead. When the Roman Church entered into authority, "Samhain" was renamed, "All Hallows Eve"; rather than ancestors visiting the living, demons were said to roam the land. Thus our present day Halloween ghouls, zombies, ghosts, witches and the like. To counter the ill-effects of such creatures, a holy day was established the preceding day called "All Saint's Day." According to early church tradition baneful creatures were dispelled when the sun rose on All Saint's Day to the ringing of chapel bells.
Now, as you all know there's a character in history that I absolutely adore, Joan of Arc, so much so that I wrote a novel about her life (Child of God: The Humble Beginnings of Joan of Arc available on Amazon for your Kindle). For me, Joan optimizes the transformational history of Halloween.
While imprisoned her English inquisitors constantly tried to associate Joan with witchcraft, accusing her of dancing beneath a fairy tree, trusting healing properties of a nearby fountain, attributing powers to her ring, banner and sword, communing with the devil, the list goes on. Joan would eventually be charged with witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake, an execution reserved for those found guilty of sorcery and heresy.
I'm fascinated with the evolution of Halloween and All Saint's Day and its strong correlation to Joan of Arc's reputation. For almost 500 years Joan was associated with witchcraft. It wasn’t until 1920 that this charge was exonerated and her good name cleared, giving her a title of far different character—that of saint. Joan of Arc, a name demonized for over 500 years, transformed to the title of holy saint. From Halloween to All Saint's Day, from witch to saint; a name is just a name, or is it?
On this day, once reserved for honoring our ancestors, after plowing through the chocolates :) consider saying a prayer of thanks and blessing to all those you've known who have passed on.
IC Truth #2 states:
"Energy never dies, it just changes form."
Oh yes, so true, so true. Happy Samhain, er...I mean, All Hallows Eve, or... Happy Halloween!!!
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