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Post by moonchild on Oct 31, 2021 22:30:53 GMT
A little Halloween flavored Rory thread.
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Post by shadowplay jayjay on Nov 5, 2021 11:33:04 GMT
Hi Cynthia, hope you had a good Halloween (All Hallows' Eve). Here in the UK we didn't really celebrate Halloween October 31st in the 20th century up until the late 1990's. Not sure about Rory in his youth & Ireland but don't think they did either? It was today's date rather here November 5th celebrating Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Night). As children we used to make up a mock Guy Fawkes like a scare crow and put him in a wheelbarrow. Going around the houses asking for a penny for the guy. Many houses would build bonfires in their back yards on the evening we would surround the fires while the adults let off fireworks (firecrackers). Also we would place the stuffed with straw or old clothes mock-up of Guy Fawkes on the burning fire. Even in the late 80's I remember taking my children to more organised Bonfire Nights and firework displays on November 5th. Only as I say Halloween has sort of took over here in the UK with trick or treat in the last 2 to 3 decades. Although they do celebrate both events here within this week nowadays. Didn't realise that "All Hallows' Eve" began 2000 years ago by the Celts www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/the-history-of-trick-or-treating-and-how-it-became-a-halloween-traditionPS... Now I know more about history and Guy Fawkes than when I was a child. Comparing with today, it is like celebrating every Nov 5th the death of a modern day terrorist. PPS. The second man I wanna see is the old Fire Chief.. Bring that man right over here. Stand him right in front of me I wanna cause no trouble, no fuss, no fight.. See this match, I'm gonna set this whole place alight.. |
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Post by moonchild on Nov 6, 2021 0:40:27 GMT
There are several traditions globally that seem to fall on that time of year, all somewhat related in their focus- Samhain, Halloween (AKA All Hallows Eve), All Souls Day, All Saints' Day, Dia de Los Muertos, and I'm sure there are more. Halloween is somewhat loosely based off of Samhain, and ironically enough, borrows heavily from the traditions of Irish and Scottish immigrants to the United States. It also times in closely with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, some might say to link the Celtic traditions in with the ancient church. We here in America have a tendency to take other cultures' traditions and run with them. So, we have fun with Halloween. My Scottish friend and I often had long discussions about the old traditions and what we, over here, did with them. And I would be corrected- "it's not trick or treating, it's guising!"  Risking a lot by speaking out of turn here, (we're talking about Rory's home land and all, and I only know what I've been told, seen or read) I'm not from over there, but most of us over here know we have taken another culture's traditions and run with them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treatingMy dad, who was Mexican, he and the rest of their neighborhood used to go trick or treating in the 30s, Ironically enough, his family didn't observe Dia de los Muertos, which is about celebrating the lives of those friends and family who have crossed over. Day of the Dead is similar in some respects, but very different in others. I observe them both. www.nationalgeographic.org/media/dia-de-los-muertos/Rory songs for the Halloween season: And, IMHO, Moonchild. There is a more lively detailed discussion to be had on the topic, but perhaps we can all pick up this thread in Ballyshannon, if the stars align, and the cards are right.  as soon as this pandemic is in the rearview mirror. |
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zanny
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Post by zanny on Nov 6, 2021 1:09:53 GMT
Yes, All Hallows is part of the Irish tradition. My family tradition has it that the ghosts of my (Cork) ancestors leave their graves and can be seen flying over their former houses on All Hallows Eve, 31 October. (I'm sure they are barn owls. Haha.)
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Post by moonchild on Nov 6, 2021 1:48:18 GMT
Hi Zanny,
Yes, the traditions of All Hallows Eve, AKA Halloween as I understand it is based on the belief that the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest at that time of the year, so communication between the physical and spiritual world is more possible. Same as Dia de los Muertos. The focus is a little different between the two. There is more of a focus in Halloween on that which may be frightful about it in the Celtic traditions as I understand it, Whereas, on the other side of the globe the ancient traditions of the Aztec and Indigenous People of the Americas have much to do with the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos. The emphasis on Day of the Dead is more on focusing on the visiting spirits of friends and relatives who have crossed, and to facilitating or welcoming their visits. Where the Halloween tradition of carving turnips (or pumpkins) was intended to frighten away or distract unwanted spirits, the tradition in Day of the Dead is more on inviting passed friends and family to visit with displays of flowers, sugar skulls, candy, food and drink.
But both cultures seemed to view the end of October, beginning of November as that time where the veil is thinnest.
I wonder if Rory ever observed All Hallows Eve when he was a child?
Thought of another one that could fit in with that season-
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zanny
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Post by zanny on Nov 6, 2021 3:51:42 GMT
Whether or not Rory observed All Hallows Eve as a child, he would have observed the following day, 1 November, All Saints Day. This was a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics, that is to say, a day when they were required to attend Mass and to abstain (if possible) from work and recreation. (I don't think All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation anymore, but I could be wrong about that.)
Bonfire Night, on 5 November, was originally anti-Catholic, a celebration of the failure of the Gunpowder Plot (1605), led by Guy Fawkes, to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King James 1 of England. Over the centuries, Bonfire Night has lost that meaning.
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Post by moonchild on Nov 12, 2021 17:52:06 GMT
Hi Zanny,
Yes, that was my understanding about Guy Fawkes/bonfire night. Its origins are more political in nature than spiritual/metaphysical/supernatural. What I find so very intriguing is how these observations, celebrations of that late October, early November are similarly thought to be a “thin spot” between worlds, by the indigenous people of central and South America (Dia de Muertos), and the Celts (Samhain, All Hallows’ Eve), and the Church in Europe (All Saints/Souls Day).
Rory grew up in the era where both All Saints and All Souls were days of obligation. But, with his interest in mysteries, Irish traditions, and folklore, it just made me wonder if he had fun with the holiday. We should ask Donal? 😎.
BTW. This one was recorded on Halloween, in California, in 1975. I hope you like it. 😃
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Risking a lot by speaking out of turn here, (we're talking about Rory's home land and all, and I only know what I've been told, seen or read) I'm not from over there, but most of us over here know we have taken another culture's traditions and run with them. 
Jun 6, 2023 10:49:34 GMT
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