The Synergy Project Magazine - October 2020

Great adopted Christianity, which
spread quickly through the Roman
Empire (Rattini, 2019). Saint Patrick
later took Christianity to Ireland
(O’Raifeartaigh, 2019). Conversion
was not easy since many wanted
to keep their traditions before
their homelands were conquered.
Negotiations were held and pagan
traditions became Christianized
(“Christianity and Paganism”,
2020). They were allowed to
uphold such traditions as long
as they were dedicated to the
Christian God and not the various
pagan gods. Many ancient pagan
holidays sparked Christian ones
and it became hard to separate
the traditions and trace the origin
since they became so intertwined
(“Samhain”, 2018). In the 7th
century, Lemuria was replaced by
the Christian holiday, All Saint’s
Day, originally held on May 13th.
Pagan gods were no longer
venerated, and instead, it was
the Christian Saints (“Halloween”
Wikipedia, 2020). It was around the
9th century that the holiday was
moved to November 1st by Pope
Gregory, and it was believed that
it replaced Samhain (“Samhain”,
2018). The vigil was held on All
Hallow’s Evening, October 31st.
In Scotland, it was shortened to
“Hallow’s Even”(“Talk:Halloween”,
2020). November 2nd became
All Souls Day to honor the souls
of the deceased Christians and
those that remained in purgatory
(Racoma, 2019). These three days
became known as Allhallowtide
or Hallowmas in Christianity
(“Allhallowtide”, 2020). These
traditions lasted from Medieval
times until the ages of Europe.
In the late Middle Ages,
customs flourished in Western
and Central European countries.
Bells were rung and they mourned
the dead, holy relics were held
in churches, and parishioners
were encouraged to dress as
their favorite saints (“History of
Halloween”, 2019). The Danse
Macabre or “The Dance of the
Death’’ took place during these
medieval times. To show that kings
and peasants were equal in death,
they joined for eternal death. The
philosophical meaning behind this
dance was that only one’s service
to god was important at the time
of death, not their social status.
(Gotschall, 2017). Some believed
the dead would rise on this night
to perform. Civilians were dressed
as both social statuses and danced
together.
Another custom formed was
08 THE SYNERGY PROJECT MAGAZINE
souling. Children would go from
door to door to ask for soul cake
which were made from spices,
flour and were marked with the
cross (“Soul Cake”, n.d.) Children
would pray in return for those in
purgatory. It was an imitation of
spirits coming down to earth to
accept food offerings or as if they
were doing so on their behalf
(“History of Halloween”, 2019).
Soulers could be seen carrying
lanterns that were made from
hollowed turnips (“Soul Cake”, n.d.).
Souling continued into the early
20th century and was practiced
in England by Catholics and
Protestants (“Soul Cake”, n.d.). The
Irish and Scotts practiced guising,
which was similar. Children would
ask for coins and food in exchange
for a song, dance, or playing the
flute (“How Trick-or-Treating”,
2019). There was a downside to this
as well. Misfortune was brought
if you turned down a guiser, both
figuratively and literally. Children
would pull pranks on October
30th and November 4th, the night
before Guy Fawkes Day, known
as the “Mischief Nights’’(“What
Is Mischief”, 2018). Properties
were egged, windows and lights
smashed, and wagons were
assembled on roofs (“History of
Halloween”, 2019). Candles were
also lit to commemorate the dead
and guide the good spirits to family
and demons back to Satan (“History
of Halloween”, 2019). Bowls of milk
and other foods were left at the
sides of graves in some areas of
Europe (“Libation”, 2020).
In the 16th century, the
religion of Christianity began
to branch off, so rituals began
to change. Many started to
believe that purgatory was papist
catholic nonsense whereas other
protestants held onto these
beliefs (“How to Explain”, n.d.).
Reformation caused widespread
disputes amongst Europeans. In
1605, Guy Fawkes tried to blow
up the English House of Lords
and ultimately failed since he
was executed. His goal was to
assassinate King James I to return
England to its earlier ways and
the catholic church. (“Gunpowder
Plot”, 2009). November 5th has
since been known as Guy Fawkes
Day. In England, it would be filled
with bonfires and effigies of Fawks
to mock him, later influencing the
bonfires we have during Halloween
(Bosley, 2009).
Hallowtide and Christianity
were brought to the western world
in the 17th and 18th centuries
when colonization began by the
Spanish, Portuguese, English,
French, and Dutch. (Nowell and
Webster, 2018). Puritans did not
celebrate All Hallow’s Eve but
the Catholics and Anglicans did.
The bulk of what makes up our
current Halloween traditions was
brought during the 1840s when the
Irish and Scottish arrived during
the potato famine(“Halloween”
Encyclopedia, 2020).
Turnip carving with faces of
souls on them turned to pumpkin
carving when this fruit was
discovered upon the arrival to
America (“How Jack O’Lanterns”,