medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>From: Laura Jacobus <[log in to unmask]>
><snip> However, when I worked in South
London, locals had reminiscences of it from
way back, and an elderly Irish woman I know
has strong recollections of it from her
childhood in rural Ireland- I suspect therefore
that the traditions have travelled with the
Irish.
My impression--as an American interested in regional folklore as well as my
scholarly work in Celtica--is that the American holiday, Halloween,
developed from customs from various immigrant cultures. If one looks at
books about seasonal celebrations from early in the 20th c., they bear a
good deal of similarity to the accounts of folk customs being collected at
the same time in Ireland. However, current American celebration of Halloween
owes a lot more to Mexican and Cajun customs and, especially, Hollywood and
television. Irish customs are almost entirely unknown here now. Far more
influential are Anne Rice's books and even Charles Schulz' cartoon strip,
Peanuts (with its running theme of the Great Pumpkin who flies through the
air and brings toys to sincere girls and boys). I'll also point out that
customs have changed in Ireland, as well as other places. For example, in
the north of Ireland, evangelical Christian churches often discourage
participation in Halloween celebrations. Also, many of the customs have
tended to merge with or borrow from celebrations of Guy Fawkes' Day. And
look at the Harry Potter books and films--in both book and film, Halloween
is celebrated with a grand feast: the film may owe something to Hollywood,
but Rowling wrote the book and approved a good deal of the movie which was
filmed in England. Certainly, the presence of pumpkin juice in the book was
her own invention. In sum, though Halloween may have roots in the old Irish
feast of Samhain, nowadays it has become a thoroughly modern, cross-cultural
holiday, with commercially produced imagery and customs completely
supplanting earlier folk practices. Certainly, no Irish custom lies behind
stringing pumpkin- and skeleton-shaped electric lights on trees and around
doorways! The collection of essays that Jack Santino edited on the subject
cover the various aspects, indluences, and expressions.
And to return to the original question, none of this has anything to do with
a lord of the dead. In fact, my impression is that most of the Irish customs
collected in the early 20th c. had more to do with soothsaying practices,
like what to do to find out what your future husband would be like.
Francine Nicholson
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