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The Official Friday Silliness Thread
ntp-systems.com (Sure and it counts as a link) ^ | 10-27-06 | sully777

Posted on 10/27/2006 4:25:11 AM PDT by sully777

THE TIMING OF HALLOWEEN -- Blame it on the Celts [and Irish]! Back when the Celts dominated most of Europe, hundreds of years before Caesar and his Roman Legions expanded their rule, they were celebrating their new year on the evening of October 31. This was known as the great festival of Samhain. Why on this date and time? Let’s just say that they were a dark bunch, and have been referred to as children of darkness.

The word “samhain” basically means the end or sunset of summer. The timing of the end of summer for the Celts harkened back to their early herdsman days. It was around November 1 (the month they called Samonios which began during the October/November lunation) when they recognized it was time to bring in the herds in Europe, thus marking the end of summer.

The timing had to do with the Celts belief that days were marked from sundown to sundown. Since they started days with darkness, it made sense that they would start their new year in the dark half of the year.

So what does all this have to do with Halloween? According to Michael Judge, in his book The Dance of Time:

“To the Celtic mind, the dark of night was felt to be nearer the other world, the land of ghosts and fairies, witches and magical beings, than the light of day…Night belonged to them, and to intrude on their realm was risky business.”

During the Samhain celebration, bones of slaughtered cattle and other animals were thrown into a blazing bonfire, and then the celebrants would extinguish their own fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. According to Irish mythology, during that night the great shield of Scathach was lowered, allowing the barriers between the worlds to fade and the forces of chaos to invade the realms of order, the material world conjoining with the world of the dead. At this time the spirits of the dead and those yet to be born walked among the living. The dead could return to the places where they had lived and food and entertainment were provided in their honor. Pretty spooky stuff.

Now for those of you who insist that Halloween comes from “All Hallow’s Eve” which is the day before the Catholic All Saints holy day, which used to be called “All Hallows,” derived from All Hallowed Souls, you are partially correct.

Samhain is really the festival that is responsible for the timing of Halloween. According to Judge, the church under Popes like Pope Gregory the Great in the 5th century AD assimilates pagan festivals into the church calendar, “allowing the folk traditions associated with the old holidays to continue, virtually unchanged, under the mantle of the new faith.” In the case of Samhain, Pope Gregory actually “moved the feast of All Hallows’, All Saints’ Day, from May 13 to November 1. Grafted onto one of the church’s greatest holy days, Samhain became known as All Hallow’s Eve, contracted over years of casual usage to Allhallows’E’en, and, ultimately, Halloween.”

Blame it on the Celts [and Irish].

(Source)


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Conspiracy; Humor; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: blametheirish; ofst; rocktoberfest; silliness; veryscary
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Resistance may be futile, but capacitance has potential.


41 posted on 10/27/2006 6:03:16 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: sully777

As you can see, I've moved on to other forms of punishment!


42 posted on 10/27/2006 6:03:47 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: sully777; The_Victor; fredhead; EX52D

He made money sending thousands of junk emails to people, but one day he made a mistake and sent a whole load of them to a famous Hollywood actress. She was so angry that she had him beaten up, and that's how he came to be known as The Star Mangled Spammer.


43 posted on 10/27/2006 6:04:39 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: nuke rocketeer
You were once depressed...
...now you got your confidence incontinence back.
44 posted on 10/27/2006 6:05:57 AM PDT by sully777 (You have flies in your eyes--Catch-22)
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To: nuke rocketeer

A certain leisure complex had a movie screen and a swimming pool. One day, the cinema screen fell through the floor into the pool.
The owners left it there, and used it as a dive-in theater.


45 posted on 10/27/2006 6:06:21 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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Friction. It's such a drag. And gravity sucks too.


46 posted on 10/27/2006 6:07:13 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: nuke rocketeer

Then there was the guy who fell into a vat of molten optical glass after drinking too much....
Just two glasses, and look what a spectacle he made of himself.


47 posted on 10/27/2006 6:07:35 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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And the pilot who went on sick leave, because he had the flew.


48 posted on 10/27/2006 6:07:56 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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And the wardrobe manufacturing company...
The staff were hiding skeletons in the closet, but the boss found a way to wear them out eventually.


49 posted on 10/27/2006 6:08:17 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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And of course, there was the pillow and mattress manufacturing company that had a problem with staff...
Some of them just felt down all the time, and the rest were sleeping on the job.


50 posted on 10/27/2006 6:08:35 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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A neutron goes into a bar and asks the bartender, "How much for a beer?" The bartender replies, "For you, no charge."


51 posted on 10/27/2006 6:08:52 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: The_Victor

Having fun in my padded cell...how's yours?
52 posted on 10/27/2006 6:10:05 AM PDT by sully777 (You have flies in your eyes--Catch-22)
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Today, I almost remembered my ex's name. For years, I've been referring to her as, "The Demon From Hell."
Thankfully, good ol' Sam pulled me back from the dreaded fits of....

"OH!OOOOHHHH!!!!"
I sure miss the guy.
53 posted on 10/27/2006 6:10:50 AM PDT by RandallFlagg (Roll your own cigarettes! You'll save $$$ and smoke less!(Magnetic bumper stickers-click my name)
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To: sully777

bump


54 posted on 10/27/2006 6:11:23 AM PDT by groanup (Limited government is the answer. What's the question?)
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To: sully777; KevinDavis; fredhead; The_Victor

This one fits Illinois and especially Chicago to a tee.....

55 posted on 10/27/2006 6:11:30 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: nuke rocketeer


You're on a roll.
56 posted on 10/27/2006 6:12:23 AM PDT by sully777 (You have flies in your eyes--Catch-22)
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To: sully777

Like these better!

57 posted on 10/27/2006 6:16:02 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: sully777

Yessir, It is The last morning of a fine week providing service to the Great State of Texas!!!!!!

In other words, another week of treading water while juggling chainsaws :)


58 posted on 10/27/2006 6:18:02 AM PDT by 5Madman2 (There is no such thing as an experienced suicide bomber)
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To: sully777; The_Victor; najida; EX52D; fredhead
How man are gonna hand these out to the kids Tuesday night???
59 posted on 10/27/2006 6:18:07 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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To: sully777

"I have sinned," said Adam originally.
"Have an apple," the serpent said fruitfully.
"Come here, Abel," Cain said brotherly.
"You snails almost didn't make it," Noah said wetly.
"No spika de Inglish," they babbled at Babel confusedly.
"Nonsense, I'll look behind me all I please," replied Lot's wife saltily.


60 posted on 10/27/2006 6:21:52 AM PDT by nuke rocketeer
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