[HPforGrownups] Re: Religion in the wizarding world

No: HPFGUIDX 23673

 --- "M. Barnett" <fyregirl at cfl.rr.com> wrote: > Margaret Dean wrote: 
"...Hogwarts celebrates Muggle holidays such as
> 
> Christmas and Halloween."  
> 
> Um ... isn't Hallowe'en (Samhain) a Pagan holiday?  And wasn't 
> Christmas originally a Pagan holiday, centered around the winter 
> equinox?

The word "Halloween" is derived from All Hallows Eve, the run-up to ALl
Saints Day. The Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced sow-in) did take
place at approximately the same time -- give or take several hundred
years and the advent of Christianization.  The Winter *Solstice*
(shortest day of the year) is in December; the end of October is
roughly half-way between the Fall Equinox in September and the Winter
Solstice in December.

Christmas is only one of a number of holidays that took place around
the winter solstice.  The Roman State religion had one, the Mithraists
had one, the Germanic people had Yule (from whence we get the Yule log
and other such references).  One note: while the Celts had Samhain,
there's no evidence they celebrated the winter solstice.


=====
Respectfully,
Morgan

"Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes."

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