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All Hallowtide (Samhain)
begins the Celtic pagan ritual calendar. At this time the
worlds of matter and the spirit draw close enough for the
spirits of the dead to pass to and fro and also signals
the end of harvest in a celebration marked by the sharing
of food with ancestors. The Christian church, circa 781
ce, established November 1 as All Saints' Day to honor
the saints who did not have an assigned feast day in the
church calendar. The mass held on All Saints' Day was
called Allhallowmas (the mass of all hallows --
saintly people) and the night before came to be
known as All Hallow Even, or Hallowe'en. In the tenth
century, November 2, All Soul's Day, was set as a day of
solemn prayer for departed souls. |