Holy Halloween, Charlie Brown!
It’s been almost 65 years already since Charles M. Schulz introduced “the Great Pumpkin” into his “Peanuts” gallery of comic strip characters and the popular lexicon.
Surely you remember an infinitely gullible Linus Van Pelt feeling obliged every Halloween to stand vigil in the pumpkin patch, firmly believing that “the Great Pumpkin” would rise to fly all over the world to bring toys to good children everywhere!
With that comic strip illustration in mind, it seems that every year, families, and businesses along the Main Line (as well as everywhere else) start preparing for Halloween earlier and earlier.
In fact, in a few places, outdoor Halloween decorations already are showing wear.
And, there hasn’t been an “official” holiday wailing goblin yet in sight!
The accelerating, early anticipation of this ancient observance may be evidence that everyone wants something fun to celebrate between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
On the other hand, it may be an exorcising excuse to take a collective breather during a poltergeist political season (more about that later) that regretfully reflects the reality of the scary times in which we live.
Whatever the reason, it seems time again for Banter to share a few bodies of research about the origin of All Hallows Day, a.k.a., Halloween.
Some historians trace the origin of Halloween back to the Celtic people of pre-medieval Europe.
The Celts of Ireland, Britain and France divided their year into halves, the “light half” consisting of spring and summer when days were longer, and nights were shorter.
The “dark half” was the autumn and winter months when days were shorter, and nights were longer.
Celts celebrated the end of the “ light half”’ with the festival Samhain, which they observed during the October/November lunar cycle.
Following the Roman conquest of Britain, British Celts adopted the Julian Calendar and fixed the date of Samhain as November 1, with costumes and treats being part of the Celtic celebration.
While Samhain began as a strictly Celtic observance, it is probable that aspects of Roman rule in Britain (43-410 A.D.) were incorporated into that holiday.
For example, Pomona was the Roman goddess of fruit trees and gardens, and her symbol was an apple.
Some scholars believe this may explain how candied apples and bobbing for apples became associated with Halloween, as Samhain was later named.
Other historians trace the origin of Halloween back to the ancient and enduring Christian tradition of celebrating the lives of Christian martyrs on the anniversary of their deaths.
When Pope Boniface IV renamed the Pantheon in Rome “Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs,” he established that day (May 13, 609 A.D.) as a day of celebratory remembrance for all the Christian martyrs.
In the Eighth Century, Pope Gregory III changed the date for remembering martyrs to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel in St. Peter Basilica to all saints, launching the current All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallows Day, throughout the Roman Catholic Church.
Ergo, the night before became All Hallows Eve, thus the contracted form: Halloween.
The morphing of Halloween from a religious celebration happened during the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment in Europe. That “enlightenment” eventually spread to the Colonies and other parts of the world.
Original Christian holidays like Halloween, Christmas and Easter, long ago were hijacked by enterprising “merchants of money” in secular societies. The Nativity of Jesus has become a feeding frenzy for spending billions of dollars on gift-giving for one and all.
The Resurrection of Christ has been supplanted by baskets of colored eggs, parades of the latest fashions, and visits by the Easter Bunny.
And, mega-millions of tricks and treats and bizarre pop-culture and pagan character costumes have eclipsed the pious regard for Christian martyrs that was the essence of Halloween.
No further comments necessary!
**********
In the business world, driving for success is about a lot of things. Paramount among them is paying attention to a company’s P and L, profit and loss.
In election politics, both national and local, P and L demands a lot of attention, too. In this instance, P and L stands for Promises and Lies.
And voters heading to the polls on the municipal election of November 7 will be facing an alarming crescendo of them.
The thought, itself, is both sobering and downright frightening!
During a lifetime of elections (more than one would care to admit) we have witnessed politicians living at P and L thresholds as fragile as a long-tailed cat navigating a roomful of rockers.
Conversely, one remember a time when politicians standing on their records were perceived as worthy of reelection and trying to establish a stronger political foothold for the future.
Attackers of those records, and occasionally those record holders themselves, would revert to a “slight bending” of the truth, hoping that an otherwise distracted electorate would wink a bit or look the other way.
But, those were the “good old days.”
“The good old days” were before tons of highly targeted direct mail, incessant (and irritating) TV ads, indeterminable Internet blogs, self-serving social media accounts, cacophonous cell phone calls and tasteless texting, as well as a myriad of other 24/7 “cyber stuff” invaded, no, make that overwhelmed and destroyed any semblance of civility.
The current political season of unprecedented P and L has endured longer than a Chekov novel, and has had more twists and turns than a Dickens tale.
Pre-election acrimony has cascaded with a vengeance in contests for US Senate, US Representatives, PA Governor, State General Assembly (House), and even a few municipal contests.
On November 8 will the results of this municipal election (and your vote should be among the regrettably anemic percentage of those qualified to cast ballots that do) put an end to the season of P and L?
Or will they continue to accelerate the political narrative through 2024’s presidential election season as proof of the ‘new norm’ of an America that never will be the same?
The answer truly is in your hands!
The Last Word: Good day, good luck, and good news tomorrow.
Comments invited to mainlinebanter@verizon.net
