Halloween

This weekend will have us witness in Malta yet another pagan feast often referred to as "Hallowe'en" or "All Hallows Even". It is pertinent to note that this Neopagan Sabbath is referred to as Samhain, usually celebrated on or near the evening of October 31. It was originally a celebration of the final harvest of the growing season among the ancient Celts.

The Celts also believed that, on Samhain, the souls of the dead returned to their former homes to be entertained by the living. So people built bonfires and offered food and shelter to these spirits to ward off evil spells. Today, it is mainly celebrated by Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans.

This is in contrast to All Saints' Day on November 1. The holiday was first celebrated on May 13 in 609AD when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary.

The date was later changed to November 1 by Pope Gregory III who dedicated a chapel in honour of All Saints in the Vatican Basilica. Pope Gregory IV (827-844) later extended the feast to the whole Church.

All Souls' Day (also known as the Day of the Dead) is normally celebrated on November 2. When the day is a Sunday, as it was for the year 2003, the celebration is held on the following Monday. All Souls' Day is believed to have been selected by "St Odilo, the fifth abbot of Cluny... France because he wanted to follow the example of Cluny in offering special prayers and singing the Office of the Dead on the day following the feast of All Saints".

For Catholics this is a day for prayer and almsgiving in memory of ancestors who have died. Believers pray for the souls of the dead, in an effort to hasten their transition from Purgatory to Heaven. Catholics do not believe that "the souls of the dead return to their former homes to be entertained by the living" and thus do not celebrate Halloween.