I love thinking about the Robert Burns 1786 poem “Halloween” when thinking about the history of Halloween. The poem is a series a vignettes about young people telling stories, sneaking around, playing pranks, getting into trouble, and scaring themselves. It’s really interesting how similar 18th century rural Scottish Halloween was to our modern ideas of the holiday. Obviously many thing have changed since then, I don’t think the poem mentions any costumes, but it’s clear that the core idea of the holiday is already there. Ghost stories, food, and young people being let loose seem to be a Halloween staple going back centuries, at least in some parts of the world.
This is one of those channels that went dead but I saved my subscription anyway, thinking I might want to rewatch it all in the future... I'm glad I saved it, because I would've forgotten about it otherwise. The new videos are different, but I am enjoying them so far. Thank you Dr. Reeves; you make informative and entertaining videos. You are protestant, but you are fair, and you never try to make the Roman Church (nor the Orthodox/Oriental Churches) look foolish in order to bolster the protestant sect with which you identify... I consider this channel to be a good companion to the channel "Gospel Simplicity", also run by a protestant man who is not a crazy person.
Ryan, it's sooooo great to have you back! You were one of the content producers that got me into TH-cam, and I still go back and relisten to your old content, but having new content to look forward to is like "Christmas" every day.
Thank you Dr. Reeves. Concise and very informative. I do not "do" Halloween, but as a pastor in a local church I get lot's of questions about its origin every year. This one goes goes into my "Hallloween Folder"! Bless you my friend.
It's refreshing to see a pastor online getting as much information as they can to be prepared for the questions you know are coming every year makes me believe you a pretty good pastor anyways happy Halloween God bless
Welcome back sir! I'm one of the lucky folks who got to binge all of your church history lectures during the lockdowns and am very glad to see more new videos from you. Just wanted to thank you for all you do, I have learned so much from you!
Found your channel a few months ago when I was leaving a oneness Pentecostal church and your history on the early church helped me a ton to leave the modalist heresy, thank you!
I hate how our society has been changed. On Oct 4th 2024 in my city, Fall/ Halloween decorations were gone in stores and Christmas was in. SLOW DOWN! They not only got rid of Halloween but Thanksgiving as well. Love this video!
I've watched a LOT of videos on the "history of Halloween" and I must say, THIS is one of my favorites. It's more in depth, without all the fluff. Straight to the point AND at the same time giving us the history that other narrators don't! I'm sooo glad that YOU are narrating your channel and NOT some AI, because of THAT, you got a NEW SUBSCRIBER!!! YAY!!!
This is fantastic history that is presented in a fun and easy to understand way. Love it. I feel like I’ve been searching for this specific video for years and finally found it.
Thank you for making this video. I watched this with my entire family including my 73 year old mother, 58 year old aunt, and my 4 year old. We really enjoyed it
I am a Unlicensed Non-Certified historian (that sounds classier than a history nut). One thing I have learned is history is A LOT more complicated than a lot of people Get. This s a Classic example.
You sound like my dad. Do you also give an “Application To Date My Daughter” form to visiting boys? Does it also ask “Do you own a van?” 😂 I heart nerds.
@@v0idlikehonestly if you’re interested in the history of random things, just pick one and start looking stuff up. I just did a short presentation on the history of cheesecake just because it seemed interesting. Good luck!
looks like from the comments this is first video in a while. Let me join in and say Yes! I am very happy to see him post a new video also! I learned so much from watching some of his videos on LoTR and also real life church history topics from a few years back! And now this video came up “randomly” on my feed and I thought, ohhhh yay! I have not watched this guy in a while. So yes! I am very glad, I very much enjoy his calm, measured, succinct, and yet, captivating speaking and presentation style! Bravo!
So glad you are back. I stated subbed to your channel (like others) for so long hoping I'd get that random notification one day you were making videos again. Thank you again.
Years ago, i learned from The Simpsons that Halloween is “a yearly custom” that eventually became “an annual tradition.” I think that is quite insightful.
In Scotland going from house to house for treats is called guising. And traditionally we had carved lanterns made from turnips (neeps) it has become very Americanised in modern times to the point that pumpkins have replaced turnips and kids call it trick or treating now rather than guising. But the practice must have its roots in Irish and Scottish tradition to have been practiced in parallel in America.
@@steadysmv and a hell of a lot easier to carve 😆 partly why they have been replaced in Scotland, that and the Americanisation of the festival. I do get annoyed that kids don't call it guising anymore, the diminishing of the scots language continues.
Good round-up. I’d suggest anything longer include a review of the works of Charles Coloumbe on the subject, who has a parallel take but from a distinctly more Catholic emphasis. Things I think should have been included: 1) the Catholic Calendar is driven by “Evening Came, and Morning came, the first day…” and therefore All Saints Day begins in the Evensong and Compline of October 31st. 2) The liturgical colors for All Saints Day is white, signifying the Saints are in the Church Triumphant. 3) the liturgical colors for All Souls Day, November 2nd, are Black (for Masses for the dead), a particular shade of dark emerald green, and orange. But where does the orange as a ‘Hallowtide’ color come from? No, not pumpkins and squashes. Rather, from the fact that Masses for the Dead use *unbleached* beeswax candles, which have the natural orange coloration in them from pollen. The unbleached candles are distinctly not white, because it is a Mass for the dead in Purgatory, the Church Expectant, unshriven souls on their way to bleached perfection (white) paying the temporal price for their sins (their eternal price, damnation, has been paid by baptism, confession and absolution, unction, etc…..all Sacraments pointing to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and instituted by His example and pronounced good). So the ‘Holloween’ color of Hallowtide of that particular hue of orange is not from Pumpkins (unknown to catholic Europe) but from unbleached candles used in Masses for the dead. A further note: All Saints Day is a Feast of Holy Obligation, but All Souls’ Day is not. The Church Militant (us) do have the duty to pray for the souls in purgatory, as they can pray for us, but cannot pray for themselves (the example of Lazarus on Abraham’s company, and the Rich man’s ineffective prayer).
@@samurguy9906 that is a good point, and I confess, I do not know what the Church teaches on this parable, so forgive my imprecision. I do note, however, the Rich Man has an attitude of *hope* in his unheard prayer…and in Hell there is no hope. In addition, the Rich Man has concern, compassion, fear, for those still alive, and begs for testimony from death to alert them to his torments. In Hell, again, you would have no hope, and your eternal torture would be your infinite self-consciousness all bound in self that you are now restricted from saving anyone else. However, there are pious stories of shades from Hell warning the living of the stain of mortal sin. So I gotta say…I dunno, and maybe someone smarter and better than me at apologetics can tease this one out or point to some glaringly obvious teaching from a Church Doctor that will make me even more apologetic and slap my head ‘D’ho!’
@@samurguy9906Protestant vs Catholic belief. I'm not sure if Catholics believe anyone goes to hell until the Final Judgment. I'm not Catholic and don't believe in purgatory.
@@timothynorton6137Catholics do believe that the danmed before the Second Coming will have their souls experiencing damnation, and their souls and bodies will be punished after the Second Coming. The Catholic Church doesn’t have a teaching on how to interpret the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, but I think the standard Catholic reading is that these are the two kinds of places people ended up in Hades/Sheol before the Resurrection. Either Paradise/Abraham’s Bosom/Limbo of the Patriarchs for those who died in friendship with Christ, or the eternal hell of the damned. I think the standard interpretation is the rich man is damned in the parable.
Halloween is my favorite time of year. Not because of the spooky lore, but because it's a feeling in the air, atmosphere, the change of the season..it relates to my Celtic ancestry. It's a very distinct feeling I feel, I'm sure many feel it. That all the growing crops and livestock were harvested at this time. So Halloween and Thanks giving in USA are tied together. Many associated this season change feel as something paranormal, but if going past that, it feels more like a change of our earth going into dark. We have always understood that seasonal balance, light equals good and dark equals bad. Early pagan people thought the sun was God , through spring summer, this god brought life and then god dies, bringing cold and all vegetation dies. They seen this as the cycle of life, and each season the established festivals to honor each season. It all related to their pagan calendar like a farmers Almanac, indicating when to plant and harvest crops or raise livestock and when to butcher that livestock.
Halloween was my favorite holiday to decorate for when we lived in the Metroplex. Now we are out in BFN and no one would see it. I am currently making a Mermaid costume for my two year old granddaughter. Loved this video. Loved also that you brought in all the correct ingredients to make the true cake that is Halloween.
I have been studying Halloween as of late. As such, I've been trying to understand both the big picture of Halloween, as well as all the little ingredients that you mentioned. I have some criticisms, but I want to start with my compliments. In terms of your presentation, I think focusing on the big picture is wise and needed. I have often described Halloween as a dragnet of Fall traditions from northern Britania rather than a real holiday. I agree that Samhain has had minimal impact on the modern holiday and that the vast majority of what we associate with the day has more to do with modern America than anything ancient. The skeleton of your presentation is exactly right, and this video is a needed and welcomed corrective for pop-folk history. That said, I have some critiques. For reference, much of my research has been in the collective works of Lisa Morton and "The Stations of the Sun" by Ronald Hutton, though there are other works that I have read. I noticed one of Morton's books is in your description, so it seems there is some cross over in our research. I also mention here that my critiques are based on big picture analysis, not on simply "Hey, I think you should have included this!" First: the English Reformation. This is the only thing you left out that I think you should have included simply because it was a critical juncture in the development of Halloween. You vaguely mention that the English rejected it (though the English were the only Protestants who did for political reasons), and that's good. However, I think a sentence mentioning that the association of witches and the devil with All Hallow's Eve was from anti-Catholic propaganda from the courts of Henry and Elizabeth. It did not proceed it, and was emphasized at the time. I find this to be a critical point deserving a mention. Second: The date. I disagree with Morton and some others that we can attach Samhain to the date October the 31st. Yes, Samhain was practiced in that time period, but the Celts did not use the Roman calendar. Because it was a harvest festival (and the comparison to Brave was brilliant BTW), it was simply around that time. Indeed, the affixation of All Saints Day to compete with Samhain is dubious, and comes from a Sir John Rys ("Stations of the Sun", pp 364). In reality, All Saints Day was already being practiced on Nov the 1st in England and much of the German states; it simply wasn't in Ireland (April 20th, if you're curious). Pope Gregory merely made it the same day for all of the church. Again, I only bring this up because it is a major component to the presentation that you gave, and I think it is part of the big picture. All in all though, I appreciate this video, and I am glad that you made it. I hope that these myths regarding Halloween will diminish. God bless.
I appreciate this criticism. Thank you for adding to the discussion. My research has been limited to certain Catholic Internet articles from reputable publishers, so I didn't pay attention to their sources. But the points you bring up were included in those articles. And I agree with you that, overall, as a big picture rundown, Reeves did a pretty good job of correcting the myth and legend.
@@MW_Asura them why isn't it practiced in Tara like Samhain was? Where are the clans meeting together? And where is the evidence of going door to door trick-or-treating in the 5th century?
Amazing that no Americans ask "How is Halloween celebrated in Ireland today" bonfires, fireworks and carving turnips (Pumpkins were substituted in America)
One of the best videos ever made that describes the origin of Halloween and how it morphed into the fun costume and candyfest I enjoyed as a kid (and to a small extent still do now 😇). It really does come across like putting together ingredients to bake a cake.
Thanks Ryan, this is a greatly appreciated video, your explanation of folk history and how it is different from tracing an idea to its origins is helpful.
As a Catholic, I'm imagining that there were probably all these complaints or worrying about only celebrating (or praying for) the Saints (especially since they're already in Heaven), so, after a very long time, since the Church moves so slow, they finally gave in and gave us All Soul's Day (for the souls in purgatory who need prayers to get to Heaven). Great video, one of the best ones I've seen on the subject.
Thank you for coming back Ryan. I appreciate you for all this free videos lectures that I've been listening for awhile. I would love to see these wonderful videos on podcast. If that is something you consider doing, that will be great. God bless you for all your efforts and may He increase wisdom and knowledge to you. 🙏🏼🩷
It was cool to see my 12th-great grandfather, William Brewster, illustrated at least twice in this video. He's shown, in prayer, with other Mayflower pilgrims. He'd have been beside himself, seeing the future goings-on during the evening of October 31st. Even Christmas festivities would have stirred him up.
Great video! Having spent much time studying the history of masking traditions in the West, (mummers, Commedia dell'arte, etc) I never fully dove into the huge subject of Halloween to any great extent. Thank you!
I'm an atheist, but love reading and learning about theocratic history and liturgical scholarship. There's something so beautiful about it all, part of me still wishes Hallowtide was observed more widely here in America. I any case, thanks again Ryan. Your videos always make my day!
Very true. I'm a recent convert to the catholic church and the beauty of it all was the initial spark. But there is something about autumn specifically that makes it the best time of year, Hallowtide being a big part of that.
I was an atheist too u til I got into meditation, crystals, and chakras. I seen everything and felt stupid after a year of it, it was all demonic and I was tormented by the devil himself. My life became shit and I was struggling and poor and my mental health prevented me from ever moving in life. I started praying and after 3 weeks of prayer I felt brand new I could breathe again and felt like me. I was able to work, my depression and anxiety went away and even the so called “schizophrenia” the doctors said I had is now gone and not a thing. Haven’t had any weird experiences for 3 years and I’m forever grateful
Planning a big Halloween party here in Brazil for next week. The first one I gave was in 1985. PS ....American citizen married to a Brazilian. Nowadays, all the language schools in town have Halloween parties and many schools also have started to celebrate. I used to " import my Halloween decorations " now I have a choice of half a dozen stores to buy from locally.
In 1960 as small children, we went out to neighbours with our turnip lantern, with our Halloween costume and a poem. You got sweeties or fruit if you could recite your poem. This was 1960 in west of Scotland. This was done in my mother's and father's time also.
Thank you so much for your interesting videos. Thank you for NOT TO ADD silly ambiance music. I love your style, words with excellent diction and pertinent images. That’s the way to go. Greetings from NYC.
Glad to see you posting again. I hope you will do a video on christmas as well. Don't be hesitant to include as much information as possible, I think it will be appreciated.
Worth noting that their was a predecessor to pumpkin lanterns in swedes, a type of turnip. The faces carved into them look much more horrifying than the pumpkin ones, imo.
The key is "written down by Christian monks LONG after paganism stopped being practiced in the Isles" The "Harvest" festival was a harvest dinner given by the owner of the farms to their workers. When workers were paid a wage, the harvest dinners stopped. So, whatever really happened, spirits, costumes, wickerman etc. we really don't know.
It seems countries that were apart of a Catholic power, like France or Spain, have spiritual traditions that came from outside the Catholic faith and got blended together. This seems to be very common in Latin America.
Operas related in concept to Halloween include Mozart's Magic Flute, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi's Aida, Wagner's Flying Dutchman and The Ring Cycle, Puccini's Turandot, Strauss' Salome & Elektra. Ballets related to Halloween include Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake & Stravinsky's The Firebird.
"Souling" is still a practice in rural areas here in the Philippines 19:28 And yes its like carolling. Its not done by children but by adults that are laymen or leaders of the small chapel in that place. They do it at night with guitars as if serenading every home in the barrio
Reading Gregory the Great’s letters to the bishops in what now makes up the UK really helårs give context to the baptism of their cultures. It has been something that I wrestle with as Catholic, but you bring all these elements together and keep a bird’s eye view of history and culture. You often explain Catholic history better than Catholics. I am eager to see your Christmas video
:07; ohhhh dang. I just realized that the intro jingle reminds me of a jingle played in the movie, ‘Snatch’ by Guy Ritchie, which is one of my favorite all time movies
Excellent Job Rya!.. I dabble in research in History and I must say you are correct!, I am looking forward to Your presentation on Thanks giving, Christmas and Easter!. Ryan you are a true Scholar. Thank You for the education!
Just found your channel and subscribe. Very entertaining and informative and answering a lot of questions I had about everything. Thank you very much 😊😊😊
Thank you, Professor! Here's to hoping the videos you incidentally mentioned, on The Hustory of Christmas, and on The History of Valentine's Day, materialize. God bless you.
I bet Ryan digs Jethro Tull
😂
Do you think he'd enjoy Samhain?
Do you think he'd enjoy Samhain?
Dr. Reeves’ choice of topics is refreshingly unpredictable, what a joy to have him back
Songs from the Wood, eh?
It's great seeing Ryan back and posting videos, great scholar, and historian.
Yeah, I was like, "New content?!"
halloween is in oct 31st
i know evryone clelebrates halloween
yeah, i was like "omg!!"
I love thinking about the Robert Burns 1786 poem “Halloween” when thinking about the history of Halloween. The poem is a series a vignettes about young people telling stories, sneaking around, playing pranks, getting into trouble, and scaring themselves. It’s really interesting how similar 18th century rural Scottish Halloween was to our modern ideas of the holiday. Obviously many thing have changed since then, I don’t think the poem mentions any costumes, but it’s clear that the core idea of the holiday is already there. Ghost stories, food, and young people being let loose seem to be a Halloween staple going back centuries, at least in some parts of the world.
This is one of those channels that went dead but I saved my subscription anyway, thinking I might want to rewatch it all in the future... I'm glad I saved it, because I would've forgotten about it otherwise. The new videos are different, but I am enjoying them so far.
Thank you Dr. Reeves; you make informative and entertaining videos. You are protestant, but you are fair, and you never try to make the Roman Church (nor the Orthodox/Oriental Churches) look foolish in order to bolster the protestant sect with which you identify...
I consider this channel to be a good companion to the channel "Gospel Simplicity", also run by a protestant man who is not a crazy person.
Ryan, it's sooooo great to have you back! You were one of the content producers that got me into TH-cam, and I still go back and relisten to your old content, but having new content to look forward to is like "Christmas" every day.
I'm looking forward to Professor Reeves' video class on The History of Christmas, now that you mention it.
Thank you Dr. Reeves. Concise and very informative. I do not "do" Halloween, but as a pastor in a local church I get lot's of questions about its origin every year. This one goes goes into my "Hallloween Folder"! Bless you my friend.
❤
Im tradition Roman Catholic and I do Halloween without the gore
Just curious, by "tradition", do you mean pre-Vac II?@@gracewhite1601
It's refreshing to see a pastor online getting as much information as they can to be prepared for the questions you know are coming every year makes me believe you a pretty good pastor anyways happy Halloween God bless
@@faulknersealock5575 right!!
Let's get him started on Valentine's Day, that sounds like a great video.
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a crazy holiday.
Welcome back sir! I'm one of the lucky folks who got to binge all of your church history lectures during the lockdowns and am very glad to see more new videos from you. Just wanted to thank you for all you do, I have learned so much from you!
So glad your back, definitely one of the most underated channels on youtube 😀
Found your channel a few months ago when I was leaving a oneness Pentecostal church and your history on the early church helped me a ton to leave the modalist heresy, thank you!
Thank you Jesus !!! Praise God
@@ChristsDisciples praise God!
Praise be to God, you were able to escape modalism!
praise be to god!
So glad you are back with these lectures. I love them.
I hate how our society has been changed. On Oct 4th 2024 in my city, Fall/ Halloween decorations were gone in stores and Christmas was in. SLOW DOWN! They not only got rid of Halloween but Thanksgiving as well. Love this video!
I've watched a LOT of videos on the "history of Halloween" and I must say, THIS is one of my favorites. It's more in depth, without all the fluff. Straight to the point AND at the same time giving us the history that other narrators don't! I'm sooo glad that YOU are narrating your channel and NOT some AI, because of THAT, you got a NEW SUBSCRIBER!!! YAY!!!
I'm so grateful for your videos and I'm glad you are making them again.
Don’t go away again. The new content is great!
❤
This is fantastic history that is presented in a fun and easy to understand way. Love it. I feel like I’ve been searching for this specific video for years and finally found it.
Thank you for making this video. I watched this with my entire family including my 73 year old mother, 58 year old aunt, and my 4 year old. We really enjoyed it
I am a Unlicensed Non-Certified historian (that sounds classier than a history nut). One thing I have learned is history is A LOT more complicated than a lot of people Get. This s a Classic example.
You sound like my dad.
Do you also give an “Application To Date My Daughter” form to visiting boys?
Does it also ask “Do you own a van?”
😂
I heart nerds.
Do you have any interesting topics you'd recommend?
@@v0idlikehonestly if you’re interested in the history of random things, just pick one and start looking stuff up. I just did a short presentation on the history of cheesecake just because it seemed interesting. Good luck!
looks like from the comments this is first video in a while. Let me join in and say Yes! I am very happy to see him post a new video also! I learned so much from watching some of his videos on LoTR and also real life church history topics from a few years back! And now this video came up “randomly” on my feed and I thought, ohhhh yay! I have not watched this guy in a while. So yes! I am very glad, I very much enjoy his calm, measured, succinct, and yet, captivating speaking and presentation style! Bravo!
Another well balanced and well done video sir! Thank you from a Catholic fan of your channel.
Excellent! I am a youth pastor sometimes asked by parents what they should do around halloween. Having this is a resource is very helpful, thank you!
❤
I suggest omitting the blood sacrifice part
So glad you are back. I stated subbed to your channel (like others) for so long hoping I'd get that random notification one day you were making videos again. Thank you again.
Years ago, i learned from The Simpsons that Halloween is “a yearly custom” that eventually became “an annual tradition.” I think that is quite insightful.
🤣 Ahh we have learned so much from the simpsons
So does that mean before it was a yearly custom, it was a ritual done once every orbit?
Great to see new videos from you, thanks for this one.
In Scotland going from house to house for treats is called guising. And traditionally we had carved lanterns made from turnips (neeps) it has become very Americanised in modern times to the point that pumpkins have replaced turnips and kids call it trick or treating now rather than guising. But the practice must have its roots in Irish and Scottish tradition to have been practiced in parallel in America.
The carving of turnips in Scotland and Ireland led directly to the carving of pumpkins in the USA. Pumpkins were much more readily available here.
@@steadysmv and a hell of a lot easier to carve 😆 partly why they have been replaced in Scotland, that and the Americanisation of the festival. I do get annoyed that kids don't call it guising anymore, the diminishing of the scots language continues.
@@Waterhouse1666 And it is much easier to put a candle inside a pumpkin.
Yeah when the Irish first went to the states they took Halloween with them now it’s huge in the states
I'm surprised he didn't mention the story of Jack o 'lantern supposedly an Irish men that got himself into some trouble.
That was definitely the most rational and thorough treatment of the topic of Halloween's history that I've encountered. Nice work, Ryan! God bless!
Thank you so much, Dr. Reeves for restarting your wonderful films. The quality of work is excellent.
So thrilled you're back! Definitely my favorite TH-cam history Channel! God bless!
Good round-up. I’d suggest anything longer include a review of the works of Charles Coloumbe on the subject, who has a parallel take but from a distinctly more Catholic emphasis. Things I think should have been included: 1) the Catholic Calendar is driven by “Evening Came, and Morning came, the first day…” and therefore All Saints Day begins in the Evensong and Compline of October 31st. 2) The liturgical colors for All Saints Day is white, signifying the Saints are in the Church Triumphant. 3) the liturgical colors for All Souls Day, November 2nd, are Black (for Masses for the dead), a particular shade of dark emerald green, and orange. But where does the orange as a ‘Hallowtide’ color come from? No, not pumpkins and squashes. Rather, from the fact that Masses for the Dead use *unbleached* beeswax candles, which have the natural orange coloration in them from pollen. The unbleached candles are distinctly not white, because it is a Mass for the dead in Purgatory, the Church Expectant, unshriven souls on their way to bleached perfection (white) paying the temporal price for their sins (their eternal price, damnation, has been paid by baptism, confession and absolution, unction, etc…..all Sacraments pointing to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and instituted by His example and pronounced good). So the ‘Holloween’ color of Hallowtide of that particular hue of orange is not from Pumpkins (unknown to catholic Europe) but from unbleached candles used in Masses for the dead. A further note: All Saints Day is a Feast of Holy Obligation, but All Souls’ Day is not. The Church Militant (us) do have the duty to pray for the souls in purgatory, as they can pray for us, but cannot pray for themselves (the example of Lazarus on Abraham’s company, and the Rich man’s ineffective prayer).
I always thought the Rich man was in Hell rather than purgatory, assuming I’m thinking of the right parable
@@samurguy9906 that is a good point, and I confess, I do not know what the Church teaches on this parable, so forgive my imprecision. I do note, however, the Rich Man has an attitude of *hope* in his unheard prayer…and in Hell there is no hope. In addition, the Rich Man has concern, compassion, fear, for those still alive, and begs for testimony from death to alert them to his torments. In Hell, again, you would have no hope, and your eternal torture would be your infinite self-consciousness all bound in self that you are now restricted from saving anyone else. However, there are pious stories of shades from Hell warning the living of the stain of mortal sin. So I gotta say…I dunno, and maybe someone smarter and better than me at apologetics can tease this one out or point to some glaringly obvious teaching from a Church Doctor that will make me even more apologetic and slap my head ‘D’ho!’
@@samurguy9906Protestant vs Catholic belief.
I'm not sure if Catholics believe anyone goes to hell until the Final Judgment. I'm not Catholic and don't believe in purgatory.
@@timothynorton6137Catholics do believe that the danmed before the Second Coming will have their souls experiencing damnation, and their souls and bodies will be punished after the Second Coming. The Catholic Church doesn’t have a teaching on how to interpret the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, but I think the standard Catholic reading is that these are the two kinds of places people ended up in Hades/Sheol before the Resurrection. Either Paradise/Abraham’s Bosom/Limbo of the Patriarchs for those who died in friendship with Christ, or the eternal hell of the damned. I think the standard interpretation is the rich man is damned in the parable.
@samurguy9906 I think you are right that the rich man was implied to be in hell.
Halloween is my favorite time of year. Not because of the spooky lore, but because it's a feeling in the air, atmosphere, the change of the season..it relates to my Celtic ancestry. It's a very distinct feeling I feel, I'm sure many feel it. That all the growing crops and livestock were harvested at this time. So Halloween and Thanks giving in USA are tied together. Many associated this season change feel as something paranormal, but if going past that, it feels more like a change of our earth going into dark. We have always understood that seasonal balance, light equals good and dark equals bad. Early pagan people thought the sun was God , through spring summer, this god brought life and then god dies, bringing cold and all vegetation dies. They seen this as the cycle of life, and each season the established festivals to honor each season. It all related to their pagan calendar like a farmers Almanac, indicating when to plant and harvest crops or raise livestock and when to butcher that livestock.
Halloween was my favorite holiday to decorate for when we lived in the Metroplex. Now we are out in BFN and no one would see it. I am currently making a Mermaid costume for my two year old granddaughter. Loved this video. Loved also that you brought in all the correct ingredients to make the true cake that is Halloween.
I have been studying Halloween as of late. As such, I've been trying to understand both the big picture of Halloween, as well as all the little ingredients that you mentioned. I have some criticisms, but I want to start with my compliments. In terms of your presentation, I think focusing on the big picture is wise and needed. I have often described Halloween as a dragnet of Fall traditions from northern Britania rather than a real holiday. I agree that Samhain has had minimal impact on the modern holiday and that the vast majority of what we associate with the day has more to do with modern America than anything ancient. The skeleton of your presentation is exactly right, and this video is a needed and welcomed corrective for pop-folk history.
That said, I have some critiques. For reference, much of my research has been in the collective works of Lisa Morton and "The Stations of the Sun" by Ronald Hutton, though there are other works that I have read. I noticed one of Morton's books is in your description, so it seems there is some cross over in our research. I also mention here that my critiques are based on big picture analysis, not on simply "Hey, I think you should have included this!"
First: the English Reformation. This is the only thing you left out that I think you should have included simply because it was a critical juncture in the development of Halloween. You vaguely mention that the English rejected it (though the English were the only Protestants who did for political reasons), and that's good. However, I think a sentence mentioning that the association of witches and the devil with All Hallow's Eve was from anti-Catholic propaganda from the courts of Henry and Elizabeth. It did not proceed it, and was emphasized at the time. I find this to be a critical point deserving a mention.
Second: The date. I disagree with Morton and some others that we can attach Samhain to the date October the 31st. Yes, Samhain was practiced in that time period, but the Celts did not use the Roman calendar. Because it was a harvest festival (and the comparison to Brave was brilliant BTW), it was simply around that time. Indeed, the affixation of All Saints Day to compete with Samhain is dubious, and comes from a Sir John Rys ("Stations of the Sun", pp 364). In reality, All Saints Day was already being practiced on Nov the 1st in England and much of the German states; it simply wasn't in Ireland (April 20th, if you're curious). Pope Gregory merely made it the same day for all of the church. Again, I only bring this up because it is a major component to the presentation that you gave, and I think it is part of the big picture.
All in all though, I appreciate this video, and I am glad that you made it. I hope that these myths regarding Halloween will diminish. God bless.
I appreciate this criticism. Thank you for adding to the discussion. My research has been limited to certain Catholic Internet articles from reputable publishers, so I didn't pay attention to their sources. But the points you bring up were included in those articles. And I agree with you that, overall, as a big picture rundown, Reeves did a pretty good job of correcting the myth and legend.
songs from the wood eh?
Modern Halloween is still the same as Samhain in its customs. The US had little influence in it
@@MW_Asura them why isn't it practiced in Tara like Samhain was? Where are the clans meeting together? And where is the evidence of going door to door trick-or-treating in the 5th century?
I'm putting together a Halloween themed D&D session for my friends and this video was exactly what I was looking for as a springboard. Thanks!
May all your rolls be nat 20
Thank you so much for returning these videos have sparked such an interest in me to learn about the history of the church
Love you brother, so glad you're posting on youtube again!
Oh dude I'm so glad you're back!! Your history of the church videos are incredible!! Welcome back :)
As an Irish man! It’s pronounced Saaaauu-win!
As a Yank we just try to be mostly right most of the time.
Currently at work - decided to LIKE this post so that I can come back and watch it later. Super excited
Amazing that no Americans ask "How is Halloween celebrated in Ireland today" bonfires, fireworks and carving turnips (Pumpkins were substituted in America)
He’s back! My favorite historian
One of the best videos ever made that describes the origin of Halloween and how it morphed into the fun costume and candyfest I enjoyed as a kid (and to a small extent still do now 😇). It really does come across like putting together ingredients to bake a cake.
Thanks Ryan, this is a greatly appreciated video, your explanation of folk history and how it is different from tracing an idea to its origins is helpful.
I'm glad that you're back on You Tube. I've learned a lot from your videos and I look forward to new ones.
As a Catholic, I'm imagining that there were probably all these complaints or worrying about only celebrating (or praying for) the Saints (especially since they're already in Heaven), so, after a very long time, since the Church moves so slow, they finally gave in and gave us All Soul's Day (for the souls in purgatory who need prayers to get to Heaven). Great video, one of the best ones I've seen on the subject.
Great to have you back, Dr Reeves.
Thank you, Ryan! You bring knowledge and understanding to this crazy world. And you do it with a WIT of a perfect professor!
The explanation of folk history as a sort of disclaimer was so good. I subbed because of that alone! Awesome, awesome video. Thank you!
Thank you for coming back Ryan. I appreciate you for all this free videos lectures that I've been listening for awhile. I would love to see these wonderful videos on podcast. If that is something you consider doing, that will be great. God bless you for all your efforts and may He increase wisdom and knowledge to you. 🙏🏼🩷
It was cool to see my 12th-great grandfather, William Brewster, illustrated at least twice in this video. He's shown, in prayer, with other Mayflower pilgrims. He'd have been beside himself, seeing the future goings-on during the evening of October 31st. Even Christmas festivities would have stirred him up.
Great video! Having spent much time studying the history of masking traditions in the West, (mummers, Commedia dell'arte, etc) I never fully dove into the huge subject of Halloween to any great extent. Thank you!
Glad to see a new video from you, Ryan.
I'm glad you're back making content.
Hey Ryan, good points brother. Good to see you back 👍
I'm an atheist, but love reading and learning about theocratic history and liturgical scholarship. There's something so beautiful about it all, part of me still wishes Hallowtide was observed more widely here in America.
I any case, thanks again Ryan. Your videos always make my day!
Very true. I'm a recent convert to the catholic church and the beauty of it all was the initial spark. But there is something about autumn specifically that makes it the best time of year, Hallowtide being a big part of that.
I was an atheist too u til I got into meditation, crystals, and chakras. I seen everything and felt stupid after a year of it, it was all demonic and I was tormented by the devil himself. My life became shit and I was struggling and poor and my mental health prevented me from ever moving in life. I started praying and after 3 weeks of prayer I felt brand new I could breathe again and felt like me. I was able to work, my depression and anxiety went away and even the so called “schizophrenia” the doctors said I had is now gone and not a thing. Haven’t had any weird experiences for 3 years and I’m forever grateful
Planning a big Halloween party here in Brazil for next week. The first one I gave was in 1985. PS ....American citizen married to a Brazilian. Nowadays, all the language schools in town have Halloween parties and many schools also have started to celebrate.
I used to " import my Halloween decorations " now I have a choice of half a dozen stores to buy from locally.
Ryan, its so good to see you posting videos again.
Man I missed hearing that outro music. Such a Pavlovian dopamine hit. Glad to have you back!
Thank you so much for your work!
Started supporting the Patreon at a small amount, but will up the amount in the future when I can. Great work. Blessings.
❤
In 1960 as small children, we went out to neighbours with our turnip lantern, with our Halloween costume and a poem. You got sweeties or fruit if you could recite your poem. This was 1960 in west of Scotland. This was done in my mother's and father's time also.
Thank you so much for your interesting videos. Thank you for NOT TO ADD silly ambiance music. I love your style, words with excellent diction and pertinent images. That’s the way to go. Greetings from NYC.
So awesome to see you back, the guitar opening tune was better though, i associate it with your channel
It was a sample of another work. They were nice enough to allow me to use it without striking me but best to use my own now. Sorry!
@@RyanReevesMahh well keep up the great work, your videos on church history are a service to the church and i love them,
Excited that you started posting again. Cheers Ryan.
Glad to see you posting again. I hope you will do a video on christmas as well. Don't be hesitant to include as much information as possible, I think it will be appreciated.
I've always been interested in the history of Halloween 🎃 this hit the spot thank you 👿
I am so glad you’re back, Dr. Reeves
Ryan Reeves is once again posting videos regularly, this is such a great time to be alive.
Glad you’re uploading again
So glad you’re back!! Looking forward to listening!
You weren't kidding. No Halloween, no Christmas, no fun.
Celebrate wht culture
@@markwhite8332Doesn't take much to trigger some folk.
This may become the best/authoritative History of Halloween video on YT -- excellent
Worth noting that their was a predecessor to pumpkin lanterns in swedes, a type of turnip. The faces carved into them look much more horrifying than the pumpkin ones, imo.
The key is "written down by Christian monks LONG after paganism stopped being practiced in the Isles" The "Harvest" festival was a harvest dinner given by the owner of the farms to their workers. When workers were paid a wage, the harvest dinners stopped. So, whatever really happened, spirits, costumes, wickerman etc. we really don't know.
It seems countries that were apart of a Catholic power, like France or Spain, have spiritual traditions that came from outside the Catholic faith and got blended together. This seems to be very common in Latin America.
Thank you for sharing. I love the combination of folk and intellectual history.
Jim, I love you! ♥️
Keep up the good work man!
Operas related in concept to Halloween include Mozart's Magic Flute, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi's Aida, Wagner's Flying Dutchman and The Ring Cycle, Puccini's Turandot, Strauss' Salome & Elektra. Ballets related to Halloween include Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake & Stravinsky's The Firebird.
Thank you for coming back ❤
Welcome back! You should make more of the 'Century history' videos or something similar. Loved those!!
So glad you’re back, brother
i clicked on this video expecting a dark tale but i had a great time. thank you for this
Bro! I’m glad you’re back!
The best explanation I have ever heard, I have a MA in Theology and Folklore! Thank you so much!
Glad this man is back making TH-cam videos.
"Souling" is still a practice in rural areas here in the Philippines 19:28 And yes its like carolling. Its not done by children but by adults that are laymen or leaders of the small chapel in that place. They do it at night with guitars as if serenading every home in the barrio
So glad this dude is back!
So glad you're back. Looking forward to Holliday celebrations with you.
Yay, Ryan is back.
Scottish Gaelic speaker here: Samhain is pronounced something like "Sah-ving/wing", at least in most modern dialects
Blame it on the Yank scholars I learned from 🫢
Ryan I’m glad you are back!
Thank you for pronouncing Halloween correctly. My skin crawls every year with all the hollow-een greetings.
Thanks for this very clear summary of how Americanized the celebration of Halloween is!
Awesome i've been waiting for you to do this thank you
whoa. new video from ryan. Praise God this channel is still going. so awesome.
Reading Gregory the Great’s letters to the bishops in what now makes up the UK really helårs give context to the baptism of their cultures. It has been something that I wrestle with as Catholic, but you bring all these elements together and keep a bird’s eye view of history and culture. You often explain Catholic history better than Catholics. I am eager to see your Christmas video
:07; ohhhh dang. I just realized that the intro jingle reminds me of a jingle played in the movie, ‘Snatch’ by Guy Ritchie, which is one of my favorite all time movies
Nice mention of Vallencey! Most people have no clue who he was or what his impact was on the "legends" that surround Halloween.
Excellent Job Rya!.. I dabble in research in History and I must say you are correct!, I am looking forward to Your presentation on Thanks giving, Christmas and Easter!. Ryan you are a true Scholar. Thank You for the education!
Just found your channel and subscribe. Very entertaining and informative and answering a lot of questions I had about everything.
Thank you very much 😊😊😊
Thank you, Professor!
Here's to hoping the videos you incidentally mentioned, on The Hustory of Christmas, and on The History of Valentine's Day, materialize. God bless you.