FALL TRADITIONS, CHRISTIAN HISTORY, AND THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Halloween has its origins from early Christians who observed November 1 as All Hallow’s Day or All Saints’ Day, a day of remembering the faithful departed, Saints, and Martyrs. The day before major Christian Feast Days such as Christmas and Easter were upheld as sacred and All Hallow’s Day was no different. These Feast Days' origins are believed to stem from ancient Celtic traditions of Harvest Festivals, most notably that of “Samhain” which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or “darker half” of the year. Early Christians simply “Christianized” these Celtic traditions into what we know today as All Saint’s Day, All Souls Day, and of course, Halloween. This trifecta is known as Allhallowtide, a period of remembering and celebrated all those who have gone before. Halloween is so named as it is a derivative of All Hallow’s Eve, or All Hallows Evening with e’en being the old English short version, thereby giving us the name, Halloween.
Many traditions associated with Halloween today such as costumes, jack-o-lanterns, candles, and the macabre, trace their roots to early Christian ceremonies and customs dating back centuries. During Allhallowtide, church bells would ring for the souls sentenced to purgatory and town criers dressed in black robes would parade the streets calling on all good Christians to remember these poor souls. Some Christians abstained from eating meat on All Hallow’s Eve. Instead, they prepared vegetable and fruit dishes such as apples and potato pancakes, and “soul cakes” which were baked for “christened souls” and shared throughout the community. Many believe this is how the tradition of Trick or Treating originated which dates back to 15th century England, Wales, Flanders, Bavaria, and Austria. Groups of the poor would go door to door “souling” as it was called, praying for the dead and carrying lanterns made of hollowed out turnips, representing the souls of the dead. These “jack-o-lanterns” were believed to ward off evil spirits. Many Christians of medieval times believed that once a year on All Hallow’s Eve the dead of churchyards rose for one wild and hideous carnival known as “dense macabre”. Often village peasants would dress up as corpses while parading through the streets. And to keep from being recognized by the dead souls, many would don masks and costumes of disguise.
On October 25 and 26 I’ll be in New York City performing for the Halloween Extravaganza at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine where all shows are now sold out with over 5,000 planning to attend! I’m excited to be sharing a part of this with all of you on Wednesday, October 30 as we screen the 1925 silent movie “Phantom of the Opera”
-the same movie being shown at the cathedral. I’ll be accompanying the film on the organ as I do in New York and I’m inviting all in attendance to dress up in your Halloween costumes to ward off the evil spirits! All children are invited to attend and wear their favorite costumes and join in a procession prior to the movie!
Our Halloween traditions of costumes, pumpkin (and turnip) carving, all things scary, and trick or treating have a rich history deeply rooted in Christian History. Our Christianity truly makes a difference in shaping our world of today.
-Tim Brumfield