Pope Gregory III (in office from 731-741 AD) is credited with choosing the date of November 1 when he dedicated a chapel in St. In 609 AD (or possibly 610 AD), Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the saints on May 13, and he established it as a yearly celebration. Some churches celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, while others chose the Friday after Easter. Pantheon in Rome (image from Wikimedia Commons) Thus, various churches made an effort to select a common day to commemorate all the saints. 1 However, with time, the growing number of martyrs (particularly under the persecution of Diocletian, the Roman Emperor from 284-305 AD) made it impossible to assign a separate celebration for each. The term hallow means “holy” – you may recall reciting it in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9).įrom the early days of the church, saints (more specifically martyrs - the only persons initially recognized as saints) were honored and celebrated. The name Halloween is a blending of the words All Hallows’ Eve or Even (referring to the evening before All Saints’ Day on November 1). Though pagan ideas and various superstitions have certainly made their way into Halloween celebrations, the origin of the holiday is distinctly Christian. Many sources mistakenly claim that Halloween has its origin in a pagan celebration called Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
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