[Tempio] October History....inspiration for Samhain Stew

Tressa tressarhiannon at yahoo.com
Wed Jul 9 12:00:53 PDT 2003


Hey, all

Since I'm helping to autocrat Samhain Stew, I thought
I'd get some creative juices flowing for you guys. 
Remember, this year we're having the stone soup,
regular stew, and a free for all period recipe
competitions!

Tressa

Samhain, pronounced sow-en is the ending of the Celtic
year. The Celtic new year actually begins at sunset on
October 31. This ritual is known as Ancestor Night or
Feast of the Dead. Because the veil between the worlds
is thinnest on this night, it was and is considered an
excellent time for divinations. Feasts are made in 
remembrance of dead ancestors and as an affirmation of
continuing life. A time for settling problems,throwing
out old ideas and influences. This is either elebrated
October 31, or the first Full Moon in Scorpio.
Ancient Rome had a day of feasting in October known as
the Jejunium Cereris was observed in honor of Ceres
(Mother Earth), the corn-goddess and protectress of
agriculture and all fruits of the Earth.
They also had had a festival honoring the goddess
Pomona who ruled fruits and gardens. The Romans
pictured her as a beautiful maiden,her arms filled
with fruit and a crown of apples on her head. When 
Rome conquered the Gauls, Celts who lived in Northern
France were influenced by the Romans, that is how
these two customs blended and the result was a great
fall holiday that mixed the different aspects
together. 
Vikings - At Vetrarblot, which took place after the
harvest in mid-October, animals were sacrificed for a
good winter. The Vikings loved celebrations and
parties. Tri-annually, the Vikings had big feasts or 
holidays. 
In Russia Mokos was the Goddess of the earth
worshipped by the ancient Slavs; one of the most
primeval deities in the pagan Slavic pantheon. She was
first and foremost a symbol of the earth's fertility.
Holidays were dedicated to her in the autumn, after
the harvest. Over time, Mokos became a patron of
women, especially those bearing children or giving
birth. Some groups, such as the Czechs, invoked her
name in times of drought. The strength of her cult 
remained substantial, even after the Christianization
of the Slavs; as late as the 17th century, Orthodox
priests attempted to uncover Mokos-worshippers among
the peasantry, asking women whether or not they had
"gone to Mokos." In Russia, Mokos was partially
absorbed into Orthodox worship, in the guise of St.
Paraskeva-Piatnitsa ("Paraskeva-Friday"), whose name
day fell in late October, around the time of Mokos's
former harvest celebration.
Gaul (Germany)- Martinstag (really on November 11th)
Since the end of the 4th century, Christian
communities in Gaul have been preparing their new
members for baptism in a preparation time in which
they fasted. At St. Martin`s eve, people ate and drank
very well for a last time before they started to fast.
This fasting time was the forerunner of the today
known advent. 
Also in Germany, in the fifteenth century, peasants
celebrated a week-long festival called the Kermesse. A
Pagan icon (or some other sacred object) would be
unearthed from its yearlong burial spot and then 
paraded through the village on top of gaily decorated
pole. After a week of feasting, dancing, and games,
the villagers would dress up in their mourning attire
and rebury the icon in its grave, where it would
remain until the next year's Kermesse. 
In October an annual nine-day religious festival
begins in Nepal to honor the great Hindu god Vishnu
and to celebrate his awakening on a bed of serpents.
As part of an ancient tradition, secret offerings 
are made to the god and placed in unripe pumpkins.
October 25 - Shoemaker's Day is celebrated annually on

this date in honor of Saint Crispin, the patron of
shoemakers who was beheaded in the third century A.D.
According to legend, a new pair of shoes bought on
this day will bring good luck and prosperity to their 
owner.
In Cornwall, England and the ancient English market
town of St Ives, Allan Apple Day was celebrated at the
end of October with the ancient custom of providing
children with a large apple on this eve of "Allan-
day" as it is called, to this day. It is a great
misfortune to the children to go to bed on
"Allan-night" without the ancient custom of hiding a
Allan apple beneath their pillows. Great amounts of
apples 
were sold for this holiday's custom in the markets,
thus the term Allan Market begin.




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