Halloween

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Dr. Goodword
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Halloween

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:21 pm

• Halloween •


Pronunciation: hæ-lê-weenHear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, proper

Meaning: The night before All Saints Day, when English-speaking children run about (if not amok) in scary costumes representing the menacing spirits of the dead. It is the tradition to play pranks on neighbors or offer them immunity from such pranks in exchange for treats, a practice known as "trick or treat".

Image

Notes: Today's word is a blend of Allhallowmas and even, the predecessor of evening. The Catholic Church of England, like other churches, tried to preempt pagan holidays with holidays of its own. The Church chose the day of Samhain [so-win] as the vigil for their celebration of all the saints. Samhain was set at the end of summer and the onset of winter, the season of death. The Celts believed that on this night the spirits of the dead returned to mingle with those of the living. The confusion of the two holidays led many early English Catholics to believe that the dead arose on Halloween, too.

In Play: The result of this confusion was the odd combination of the profane and sacred we now celebrate on October 31 and, some of us, on November 1, too. The pumpkin lantern (jack-o'-lantern) was originally a hollowed turnip lantern placed in windows on Halloween to scare away the spirits of the dead that were supposed to wander about that night. The costumes children will wear tonight descend from the days when kids dressed up like those spirits, such as skeletons, ghosts and goblins, to take advantage of the beliefs of their elders and play tricks on them.

Word History: Today's word was originally All-Hallow Even "All-Saints Evening", when hallow meant "holy" and "saint". So Halloween is the evening before Catholic All Saints Day, when all the saints are celebrated. Some still spell it Hallowe'en, the apostrophe indicating the elision of the V in "even". However, now that even has been replaced by evening, the apostrophe becomes pointless. Hallow comes from Middle English halwen, the descendant of Old English halgian. It derives from the same source as the hale in 'hale and hearty', and the greeting, 'Hail!' Hail is akin to heal and, more distantly, to German Heil "health, salvation", a word used in those most unholy of salutes, Heil Hitler! And Sieg Heil! "Victory Hail!" used by the Nazis during World War II.
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Slava
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Re: Halloween

Postby Slava » Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:31 am

For someone who makes the point that the apostrophe isn't pointless, see here.
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Debbymoge
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Re: Halloween

Postby Debbymoge » Sun Oct 31, 2021 1:05 pm

Slava, thank you very much.
I'm a pedant, so I still use the apostrophe.
I do so agree that retaining some of the old spellings and meanings of words helps to develop an interest in etymology. Finding out where words came from and how they've changed over time--- joy, priceless, addictive.
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LukeJavan8
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Re: Halloween

Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:17 pm

And in the 'for what it's worth' department
Hawai'i should have the apostrophe, as it is
a vowel in their language. So in this age of
diversity we should respect them.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

bnjtokyo
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Re: Halloween

Postby bnjtokyo » Thu Nov 11, 2021 12:39 am

Actually, the apostrophe represents a glottal stop so it is a consonant, not a vowel. This apostrophe does not represent the omission of some sounds but the interruption of the air flow through the oral tract.

Philip Hudson
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Re: Halloween

Postby Philip Hudson » Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:33 pm

Some folks here in the hinterlands still celebrate Halloween. My dear Mother, the very image of an iconoclast, forbade it. She remembered the night that some boys led a cow to the second floor of the original Simmons schoolhouse. Cows can and will climb stairs. Cows can't or won't walk down stairs. It was a mess.

While the Church has baptized some pagan holidays to good effect, Christmas for example, some haven't been so good. I am not a Catholic and yet I observe All Saints' Day.

Many churches have adopted an alternative to Halloween by having a fall festival in its stead. That is a pretty good idea. We keep our lights off on Halloween and do not respond to trick or treaters. There are very few anyway and those are usually teenagers from other communities.

I am for eliminating all that pertains to Halloween and erasing it from our culture. And yes, I am an iconoclast.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

LukeJavan8
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Re: Halloween

Postby LukeJavan8 » Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:15 pm

Me too, Phil.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Philip Hudson
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Re: Halloween

Postby Philip Hudson » Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:25 pm

:)
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.


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