Project realized by Fechete Fernando

Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century.
They comprised people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the island from continental
Europe, their descendants, and indigenous British groups who adopted many aspects of
Anglo-Saxon culture and language. The Anglo-Saxons established the Kingdom of England,
and the modern English language owes almost half of its words – including the most
common words of everyday speech – to their language.

Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in

Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their initial
settlement and up until the Norman conquest. The early
Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation,
with many of the aspects that survive today, including regional
government of shires and hundreds. During this period,
Christianity was established and there was a flowering of
literature and language. Charters and law were also
established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the
language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in
England and eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th
century and the mid-12th century. In scholarly use, it is more
commonly called Old English.

Use of the term Anglo-Saxon assumes that the words Angles, Saxons or Anglo-Saxon have
the same meaning in all the sources. This term began to be used only in the 8th century to
distinguish "Germanic" groups in Britain from those on the continent (Old Saxony and from
the Anglia region in Northern Germany). Catherine Hills summarised the views of many
modern scholars in her observation that attitudes towards Anglo-Saxons, and hence the
interpretation of their culture and history, have been "more contingent on contemporary
political and religious theology as on any kind of evidence."

One of the living proofs of Anglo-Saxons that can be observed all over the globe is the
celebration of Halloween, and it’s evolution over the years.

Bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
https://whereis.gatrooms.com/dia-das-bruxas-in-lisbon/
 Project realized by Fechete Fernando

Halloween

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening), also known

as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many
countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins
the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to
remembering the dead, including saints (hallows),
martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions

originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals,
particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such
festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain
itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early
Church. Some believe, however, that Halloween began
solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient
festivals like Samhain.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending
Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple
bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories,
as well as watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious
observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on
the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and
secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a
tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples,
potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

The word Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin. The word
"Hallowe'en" means "Saints' evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the
evening before All Hallows' Day). In Scots, the word "eve" is even, and this is contracted to
e'en or een. Over time, (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en evolved into Hallowe'en. Although the phrase
"All Hallows'" is found in Old English "All Hallows' Eve" is itself not seen until 1556.

Bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
https://whereis.gatrooms.com/dia-das-bruxas-in-lisbon/
 Project realized by Fechete Fernando

Symbols

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with

Halloween formed over time. Jack-o'-lanterns are traditionally
carried by guisers on All Hallows' Eve in order to frighten evil
spirits. There is a popular Irish Christian folktale associated
with the jack-o'-lantern, which in folklore is said to represent a
"soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell".

In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween, but
immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much
larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip. The American tradition of carving pumpkins
is recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming
specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. The modern
imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, including Christian eschatology, national
customs, works of Gothic and horror literature
(such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula)
and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and
The Mummy). Imagery of the skull, a reference to
Golgotha in the Christian tradition, serves as "a
reminder of death and the transitory quality of
human life" and is consequently found in memento
mori and vanitas compositions; skulls have
therefore been commonplace in Halloween, which
touches on this theme. Traditionally, the back walls of churches are "decorated with a
depiction of the Last Judgment, complete with graves opening and the dead rising, with a
heaven filled with angels and a hell filled with devils", a motif that has permeated the
observance of this triduum. One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from
Scottish poet John Mayne, who, in 1780, made note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu'
pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "Bogies" (ghosts),
influencing Robert Burns' "Halloween" (1785). Elements of the autumn season, such as
pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with
these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes themes of death,

Bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
https://whereis.gatrooms.com/dia-das-bruxas-in-lisbon/
 Project realized by Fechete Fernando

evil, and mythical monsters. Black, orange, and sometimes purple are Halloween's
traditional colors.

Trick-or-treating and guising

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in

costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with
the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" implies a "threat" to perform mischief on the
homeowners or their property if no treat is given. The
practice is said to have roots in the medieval practice of
mumming, which is closely related to souling. John
Pymm wrote that "many of the feast days associated
with the presentation of mumming plays were celebrated
by the Christian Church." These feast days included All
Hallows' Eve, Christmas, Twelfth Night and Shrove
Tuesday. Mumming practiced in Germany, Scandinavia
and other parts of Europe, involved masked persons in fancy dress who "paraded the streets
and entered houses to dance or play dice in silence".

In England, from the medieval period, up until the 1930s, people practiced the Christian
custom of souling on Halloween, which involved groups of soulers, both Protestant and
Catholic, going from parish to parish, begging the rich for soul cakes, in exchange for
praying for the souls of the givers and their friends. In the Philippines, the practice of souling
is called Pangangaluwa and is practiced on All Hallow's Eve among children in rural areas.
People drape themselves in white cloths to represent souls and then visit houses, where
they sing in return for prayers and sweets.

Bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
https://whereis.gatrooms.com/dia-das-bruxas-in-lisbon/