Allhallowtide
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Allhallowtide,<ref name="Leslie1895">Template:Cite book</ref> Hallowtide,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Allsaintstide,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or the Hallowmas season<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is the Western Christian season encompassing the triduum of All Saints' Eve (Halloween), All Saints' Day (All Hallows') and All Souls' Day,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as well as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (observed on the first Sunday of November) and Remembrance Sunday (observed on the second Sunday in November) in some traditions.<ref name="Aleteia2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Oremus"/><ref name="Dyroff"/> The period begins on 31 October annually.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Allhallowtide is a "time to remember the dead, including martyrs, saints, and all faithful departed Christians."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The present date of Hallowmas (All Saints' Day) and thus also of its vigil (Hallowe'en) was established for Rome perhaps by Pope Gregory III (731–741) and was made of obligation throughout the Frankish Empire by Louis the Pious in 835.<ref name=Britannica>Template:Cite EB1911</ref> Elsewhere, other dates were observed even later, with the date in Ireland being 20 April.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the early 11th century, the modern date of All Souls' Day was popularized, after Abbot Odilo established it as a day for the monks of Cluny and associated monasteries to pray for the dead.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
EtymologyEdit
The word Allhallowtide was first used in 1471,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is derived from three words: the Old English word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning 'holy', the word tide, meaning 'time' or 'season' (cf. Christmastide, Eastertide),<ref name="Chambers1998">Template:Cite book</ref> and all (from Old English {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) meaning "every". The latter part of the word Hallowmas is derived from the word Mass.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The words hallow and saint are synonyms.<ref name=Diehl>Template:Cite book</ref>
HistoryEdit
The Christian attitude toward the death of martyrs is first exemplified in the New Testament, which records that after the beheading of St. John the Baptist, his disciples respectfully buried him.<ref name="Publishing1986">Template:Cite book</ref> Stephen was likewise "given a Christian burial by his fellow-Christians after he had been stoned to death by a mob."<ref name=Concordia1919>Template:Cite book</ref> Two of the Post-Nicene Fathers, Ephrem the Syrian,<ref name="SmithWace1880">Template:Cite book</ref> as well as John Chrysostom,<ref name="Tassone2001">Template:Cite book</ref> both wrote about the importance of honoring the dead; the theologian Herman Heuser writes that in the early Church, the feast days of the martyrs were local observances,<ref name="Heuser1934">Template:Cite book</ref> with churches being built on those sites where their blood was shed.<ref name="Webb2001">Template:Cite book</ref> Frances Stewart Mossier explains that this changed during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, saying that:
Following the establishment of All Hallows' Day and its vigil, All Hallows' Eve in the 8th century,<ref name=Britannica/> Odilo of Cluny popularized the day to pray for All Souls,<ref name=Farmer2011>Template:Cite book</ref> forming the third day of the triduum of Allhallowtide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has been thought that the first three days of Allhallowtide may have originated as a ritualistic remembrance of the deluge in which the first night, All Hallows' Eve remembers the wickedness of the world before flood. The second night then celebrates the saved who survived the deluge and the third night celebrates those who would repopulate the Earth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The octave of Allhallowtide,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> lasting "eight days was established by Pope Sixtus IV in 1430 for the whole Western Church."<ref name="Pfatteicher1990">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The octave, however was eliminated in the 1955 reforms of the Catholic Church,<ref name="EisenhoferLechner1961">Template:Cite book</ref> although it continues to be observed by many Lutherans and Anglicans.<ref name="Pfatteicher1990" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The faithful may still obtain a Plenary Indulgence by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead during the octave of All Hallows.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Within Allhallowtide, which has a theme revolving around martyrs and saints, many Christian denominations also observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on the first Sunday of November, to remember those who continue to be persecuted for their Christian faith.<ref name="Aleteia2022"/><ref name="CT2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Henry-Crowe2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dyroff">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the Church of England, mother church of the Anglican Communion, extended All Saints-tide to include Remembrance Sunday in the 20th century.<ref name="Oremus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
TriduumEdit
All Hallows' EveEdit
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All Hallows' Eve, often contracted as Halloween, is the eve of All Hallows (All Saints' Day),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the first day of the Allhallowtide.<ref name=Ebony>Template:Cite book</ref> According to some scholars, the Christian Church absorbed some Celtic practices associated with Samhain and Christianised the celebration in order to ease the Celts' conversion to Christianity;<ref name=BBC1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Christianity1>Template:Cite book</ref> other scholars maintain that the Christian observance of All Hallows' Eve arose completely independent of Samhain.<ref name=BBC2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="2005Hörandner">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On All Hallows' Eve, some believed that the veil between the material world and the afterlife thinned.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In order to prevent recognition by a soul, "people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities"; in North America, this tradition is perpetuated through the practice of trick or treating.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In medieval Poland, believers were taught to pray out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests tolled their church bells in order to allow their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Christian Church traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a vigil "when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself."<ref name="BBC3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This church service is known as the Vigil of All Hallows or the Vigil of All Saints;<ref name="Harvey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CNA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> an initiative known as Night of Light seeks to further spread the observance of Vigil of All Hallows throughout Christendom.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation for All Saints' Day (All Hallows).<ref name="Armentrout">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Infeld">Template:Cite book</ref>
All Saints' DayEdit
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The second day of Allhallowtide is known as All Saints' Day, All Hallows' Day, or Hallowmas.<ref name=BBC4/> Occurring on 1 November, it is a "principal feast of the church year, and one of the four days recommended for the administration of baptism" in Anglicanism.<ref name=Date>Template:Cite book</ref> In some Christian denominations, All Saints' Day may be "celebrated on the Sunday following November 1."<ref name="Date"/> All Saints' Day is a holy day to honour all the saints and martyrs, both known and unknown.<ref name=BBC4>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Granieri>Template:Cite book</ref> All Hallows Day is "a universal Christian holy day,"<ref name="Granieri"/> but it has a special importance in the Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran churches, Anglican Church, and some other Protestant churches.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The liturgical colour of All Saints' Day is white, which is "symbolic of victory and life."<ref name="Diehl"/><ref name=Weaver>Template:Cite book</ref> While honouring the Church Triumphant, All Hallows Day seeks to especially "honour the blessed who have not been canonized and who have no special feast day."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On All Saints' Day, many Christians visit graveyards and cemeteries in order to place flowers and candles on the graves of their loved ones.<ref name=Hannam>Template:Cite book</ref> This is a common practice in countries such as Italy, Spain, Poland, the Philippines, as well as certain parts of the United States heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism such as Louisiana and Maryland.<ref name="Hannam"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For Roman Catholic Christians, attending Mass (Eucharist, Holy Communion, "Lord's Supper") is compulsory, as All Saints' Day (All Hallows) is a holy day of obligation;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> for members of other Christian denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Anglican Church / Episcopal Church, Methodist Church and some other Protestant Christians, though not mandatory, attendance at worship services is encouraged.<ref name="BBC4"/><ref name=Methodism>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
All Souls' DayEdit
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The final day of Allhallowtide is known as All Souls' Day,<ref name="Ebony"/> and is also called the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed.<ref name=Third>Template:Cite book</ref> All Souls' Day focuses on honouring all faithful Christians "who are unknown in the wider fellowship of the church, especially family members and friends."<ref name="Third"/> However, today, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day have become conflated, and many Christians remember all the dead souls or "saints" on All Saints' Day.'<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The observance of All Souls' Day "was spread throughout Europe" by Saint Odilo of Cluny in the early 11th century.<ref name=Odilo>Template:Cite book</ref> Like All Hallows' Eve and All Saints' Day, family members often attend mass and visit the graves of their deceased loved ones, placing flowers and lighted candles there.<ref name="Odilo"/><ref name=BBC5>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In many Anglican / Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran and Roman Catholic Christian services, an A.D. 7th-century prayer The Office of the Dead is read out in churches on All Souls' Day."<ref name="BBC5"/> In England, a popular tradition associated with All Souls' Day is souling, in which "bands of children, or of poor men, went round to the houses of the well-to-do on Souling Day, as they called it, begging money, apples, ale, or doles of cake. In some parts specially baked cakes were prepared in readiness to give away; they were called soul-cakes."<ref name=Hackwood>Template:Cite book</ref> The individuals who go souling often chant rhymes as they go door to door; for example, an old saying goes:<ref name="Hackwood"/> "A Soule-cake, a soule-cake, have mercy on all Christian souls for a soule-cake."<ref name=Walford>Template:Cite book</ref> Historically, in France, on All Souls' Day, "the burial fraternities were especially active in decorating the churchyard, and everywhere priests led a procession around the graveyard and blessed the graves."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Blue Christmas
- Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)
- Day of the Dead
- Festival of the Dead
- General Roman Calendar
- Paschal Triduum
- Saints in Anglicanism
- Thursday of the Dead
- Totensonntag
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Recovering Allhallowtide by Scott Dickison (Baptist News Global)
- The Fall Triduum by Rev. Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault
- Christian Origins of Halloween by Angie Mosteller
- Guess what? Halloween is more Christian than Pagan by Prof. Beth Allison Barr
- Hallowmas – The Triduum of The Saints (Saint Cyril of Alexandria Church)
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