At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Thursday 28 October 2021

SOME HALLOWE'EN FACTS

There are misconceptions about Hallowe'en, so we have stated a few facts about it.


1.  Hallowe'en was originally a pre-Christian festival held in Ireland.  It was called Samhain.  Samhain was not the name of a pagan god.


2.  An equivalent feast was held in other Celtic countries.  It was regarded as the beginning of the year.  It was regarded as being a time when access to and from the Otherworld was easy.


3.  After the Irish and Scots became Christians, they continued to celebrate Hallowe'en, but it was not regarded as a pagan feast, merely as a time of year when spooky magical beings roved about. 


4.  It is still celebrated in this way by many, although modern Pagans have revived it as a pagan feast.  It has no connection with Satanism.


5.  The name Hallowe'en is given to it because it was the evening before the Christian Feast of All Saints (November 1st).


6.  It was brought to the United States by Irish and Scottish immigrants.


7'  It was the custom in Ireland to carve spooky heads from turnips at this time.  In America pumpkins were adopted.


We hope this has cleared up many false ideas about Hallowe'en which have circulated.  By the way, Samhain is pronounced as sowin.  First syllable rhymes with cow, second with gin.





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