Here
we are to talk a little more about Halloween - this ancient
Celtic tradition that was brought to the United States by
the European immigrants.
By
the middle of the 19th century, millions of Irish came to
the USA escaping from the potato famine (a starvation
period that took place in Ireland between 1845 and 1849).
They brought with them their costumes and traditions,
including their celebration to the dead, which mingled with
the Autumn celebrations in America. The celebrations were
public events where people would tell ghost stories, make
mischiefs of all sort, tell each other's fortunes, dance
and sing.
Following the Irish and English traditions,
Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to
house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually
became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition (more about this
below). Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could
divine the name or appearance of their future husband by
doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or
mirrors.
Isto faz lembrar um pouco o
folclore brasileiro, não faz? As histórias de fantasmas
lembram as de Curupira, Boitatá, Caipora e outros seres
encantados; as travessuras, lembram as do Saci-Pererê; as
roupas que viraram fantasias, lembram as das Festas
Juninas; e as moças querendo adivinhar o nome e a aparência
de seus futuros maridos, através de superstições, lembram
as crenças e brincadeiras do dia de Sto. Antonio,
intitulado o "Santo Casamenteiro". Vale lembrar que essas
tradições brasileiras também são celebrados no inverno.
Seria a antiga tradição celta
readaptada??
At
the turn of that century Halloween lost most of its
religious and superstitious aspects. The frightening and
grotesque were replaced by parties animated with games,
seasonal food and funny costumes.
And
"Trick or Treat", of course!
Qual a
origem de "Trick or Treat" ("doces ou
travessuras?")
Trick or treat is a modified tradition. Let's go
back to the pagans for a minute. During their festivities,
called Samhain (lê-se sow-in) the pagans used to
leave food and wine for the roaming spirits, during their
festivities. When the Romans (and the church) took
influence over the Celtic regions the Samhain was modified
and renamed. There is where the name Halloween comes from
(more about this later). During the ancient festivities,
poor citizens would beg for food and families would give
them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their
promise to pray for the family's dead
relatives.
The
distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as
a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and
wine for the spirits. The practice, which was referred to
as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children
who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be
given ale, food, and money.
Origem do
nome Halloween: in the seventh century,
Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st All Saints' Day, a
time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed
today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic
festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned
holiday. The celebration was called All-hallows or
All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All
Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain
(October 31st), began to be called All-hallows Eve and,
eventually, Halloween.
Later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make
November 2nd All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It
was celebrated similarly to Samhain,
with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as
saints, angels, and devils.
So,
the word Halloween comes from a degeneration of the words
All-hallows Eve, which was a designation given by the
Catholicism in an attempt to dominate another
culture.
Origem dos símbolos de
Halloween:
* pumpkin also symbolizes the
fertility and wisdom... but what about Jack
O'Lantern? Tells the legend that Jack was an old
farmer and made some deal with the devil. Jack didn't
honor his part on the deal, and when he died he
couldn't get to heaven because of the deal with the
devil; and couldn't get to hell either, because he
betrayed the devil. So, he was given a candle to
illuminate his way, and he put the candle inside a
carved turnip to serve as a lantern (lampião). The turnip (nabo) progressed to a pumpkin, and
that's how we have today's Jack O'Lantern.
(Lampião Velho do
Jack).
* colors: orange, because of the
pumpkin and it's an Autumn color; black and purple are
colors used in magic rituals.
* cauldron and black cats, obviously
related to the witches.
* sweets (candies, chocolates...)
have their origin in the soul cakes explained
above.
Well, this is not a trick! I didn't mean to write
so much today, but the subject is very interesting! You
don't need to read it all at once! Break your lessons in
parts, so you don't get tired.
I
must go now, have the candies and my witch outfit
ready! My dear black cat, Onyx, is already waiting for
the fun!
I hope you have got a good deal of knowledge
about this aspect of the American culture. Many schools are
celebrating Halloween in Brazil but I don't think they
explain what it is all about. And, just do it because
everybody else is doing, is not a wise thing! You know
better now!
Inglês com Imagens
Click no Jack para ver fotos do
Halloween-2008
Have a great
Halloween
!
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palavras, visite dicionários online!
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gramática, cultura, termos mais apropriados em
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