All Souls Day

Today is All Souls Day. Not being a good Christian (but I am a good Atheist, which is better than a bad Christian, right?), I don’t know much about this holiday, but I read a bit on Laluna and Zee’s blogs the other day. I was intrigued. The Christian belief is that the faithful departed who have not atoned for their sins can get into heaven, if they have people still in our land of the living pray for their salvation. (If I have that wrong, please let me know…it’s interesting.)

I’m a little bit more interested, though, in the Pagan roots of the holiday, if there indeed are any. It’s interesting to me how so many Christian holidays come from Pagan roots. I looked on Wikipedia, and found this:

Certain popular beliefs connected with All Souls’ Day are of pagan origin and immemorial antiquity. Thus the dead are believed by the peasantry of many Catholic countries to return to their former homes on All Souls’ Night and partake of the food of the living. In Tyrol, cakes are left for them on the table and the room kept warm for their comfort. In Brittany, people flock to the cemeteries at nightfall to kneel bare-headed at the graves of their loved ones, and to toll the hollow of the tombstone with holy water or to pour libations of milk on it, and at bedtime the supper is left on the table for the souls.

I don’t see any argument there of any pagan involvement in this holiday. Anyone else know of anything, or is this strictly a Christian thing, started by the Catholics in the 1,000s?

UPDATE: ML (aka Zee) reminded me of Samhain, which is the Pagan holiday around which Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day were founded. So while the beliefs of the Pagans were different than those of the Christians, this was surely another way of incorporating the festivals of the Pagans into Christianity, and thus convincing more folks to convert to Christianity. Like Christmas, which was a celebration of the solstice, and the return of light…the Christians changed the meaning entirely, but by co-opting the holiday, they allowed those Pagans turned Christian to celebrate their holidays as well. Pesky Pagans, always wanting to celebrate their holidays. 😉 Here’s a bit of info on Samhain, which I found here:

Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer’s end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter’s calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints’ Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2^nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5^th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

Back to All Souls Day. I don’t think I’m going to leave food out on the table for anyone at bedtime. Is that rude of me? But in my mind, I would like to picture some of the dearly departed in my life coming together to enjoy a feast. They would put all transgressions behind them, and only see the best in each other, at least for this one meal. (Hey, it’s my fantasy, right?) Here is who I would like to invite.

My three Grandpas.

The one I knew, whom I have written about before. He was my mother’s step-father.

I would also like to invite my mother’s father, who died when she was a girl. I don’t know that they would get along, even in my fantasy world, so maybe we’ll put them at opposite ends of the table.

My Grandad Wells, my dad’s father, would be there as well. I never got to meet him. I met my father for the first time just a few months before he died. I did go to his funeral, though. That’s where I met my Grandma Wells for the first time. OK, this is getting way too complicated.

My father-in-law, Pops. He was a great guy in so many ways, and it would be nice to think of him sitting at the table with my Grandpas and enjoying a meal with them.

My Great-Grandma Lillian, who I knew growing up. She lived to be 88 years old, so I was an adult by the time she passed away. She was a wonderful woman.

My Great-Aunt Julia, for whom I was named.

My Great-Grandpa Percy, who was Lillian’s husband, and Julia’s brother.

I’m not exactly sure what I would serve for these people. I’ll think of them as young and vibrant and funny, as they surely all were at their peak. I’ll think of them talking about how things were ‘back in the old days’, and how times have changed. I think of them watching over us, and wishing us happiness and joy. And if there is an afterlife, past this one we inhabit, I wish them happiness and joy as well.