Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 1989 Page: 4 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Burleson Public Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
4—Burleson Star, Friday, October 27, 1989
Halloween traditions come from the Celts
By RAY PRICE
The high pitched wails of
ghosts, the laughter of witches, and
moans and groans of other evil
spirits who annually return to haunt
every neighborhood from San
Francisco to Bangor, Maine will
soon be slipping through Burleson.
That could sound really scary if
we didn't know that those sounds
come from the mouths of the
young scurring from door to door
seeking candy, cookies, fruit and
other goodies during the Halloween
holiday.
For most of us it is a day of
dressing up, laughing at others,
helping our children prepare for the
annual oudng, and enjoying other
children who come to our door.
This holiday, however, hasn't
always been one of cheer and good
times.
When Halloween first origin-
ated, it was the celebration of the
return of the Celtic god Samhain.
Now this god wasn't exactly
the kind of god you ask to bless
your crops or help with a tough
math test. He was the god of death.
The Celts believed that when
Sambain returned to the land, he
allowed the souls of the dead to
ream free for one night
Without the knowledge of
science and nature, fall was a scary
time for the Celts anyway. They
believed that evil spirits killed the
trees and plants. They also gave
credit to die evil ones for driving
the sun away, thus making the days
shorter.
That fear was at its highest
point on Samhuinfthe first name
for the Halloween holiday.
To protect themselves during
this horrible night the Celts built
fires and sacrificed animals to
Samhain. It was their hope that he
would be pleased with the way the
people welcomed him and would
send the souls of the dead
elsewhere.
Not only were the Celts afraid
or what these returning souls could
do to their familes, they also feared
that spirits would kidnap their
infants and take them to the land of
the dead.
In 43 A.D., when the Romans
conqured the Brittish Isles, they
tried to soften the holiday by
introducing a celebration centered
around a Roman god named
Pomona.
Now Pamona was a good god
who protected the crops and the
forest from excessive rain and fire.
Pamona loved apples and the
fruit became an important part of
that celebration.
The Romans ruled the Celts for
over 400 years and during that time
the two holidays got mixed up and
became one festival.
The next change in the holiday
came when the English church tried
to lead people away from that
holiday with another called All
Saints Day.
When residents of England and
Ireland began pouring into this
country in the late 1700s and the
early 1800, they brought with them
their Halloween traditions.
Those traditions surrounding
All Saints Day, however, remained,
behind. , •
Halloween is actually the
U-S.'s oldest holiday and many of
the early Celtic traditions are
mirrored by current customs.
The idea of wearing costumes
is an example of the Celtic
influence on this holiday.
To appease the god Sanhuim,
Celts donned costumes made from
animal skins and heads.
The witch was also bom during
that time frame. The word itself is
from a Saxon word meaning wise
woman.
The black cats association with
the Halloween holiday is also from
the Celt culture.
The early Celts believed black
cats had once been people who were
turned into mysterious felines by
those involved with bad magic.
Because of their mystery, black
cats were highly regarded for their
power?.
Ecrly church leaders believed
they could protect church treasures
by tyrng black cats with silver
ropes and keeping them inside the
church.
One Halloween trapping does
not belong to the Celts, the Jack-o-
lantem.
Hie Jack-o-lantem comes from
a fable about a man, believe it or
not, named Jack.
Jack, so the legend goes, was
so bad that he was sent to hell.
Once there he continued to be so
bad that the devil made him leave.
With no hope of going to
heaven and having been evicted
from hell, all Jack could do was
roam the earth looking for a spot to
rest
Although many of the
Halloween traditions spurned from
fear and terror, today's holiday
represents a different attitude.
Halloween offers kids of all
ages (including some of us old
fogies) a chance to dress up, an
opportunity to relive a little
history, and a chance to spend an
evening in fantasy.
Oh yes, and let's not forget all
those goodies.
B.ll.S. Q4j&xa Boosts
mm
oti
COSTUME CONTEST
Ribbons awarded to 1st 2nd, and 3rd
place of each division:
6:45-Prcschool
7:00-4,5 year olds
7:15-lst 2nd grade
7:30 3rd and 4th
7:45-5th and 6th
8:00-junior high
8:15-high school
8:30-adults
R.D. Cate of Mineral Wells is Burleson's own
pumpkin man
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Moody, James. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 1989, newspaper, October 27, 1989; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth761181/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.