Days of the Dead
From October 31st through November 2nd, a number of festivals, holidays and solemnities take place, all loosely related and revolving around remembrance of the dead. Halloween, Samhain, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, the Day of the Dead and other festivals trace their origins back to Celtic, Aztec, Roman and Christian traditions. Halloween is largely a secular observation these days, All Souls and All Saints remain mainly Catholic observations, and the Day of the Dead is still largely a Latin American tradition, its roots in Mexico’s Aztec heritage. Collected here are photographs over the past week from the varied observations of the Days of the Dead around the world. Read full story from boston.com
Tribes claim wind farm would destroy sacred ritual
MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) — From a blustery perch over a Cape Cod beach, Chuckie Green gestures toward a stretch of horizon where he says construction of the nation’s first offshore wind farm would destroy his Indian tribe’s religion. Read full story from Associated Press
Native community reclaims history of Alutiiq masks
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – For more than 100 years, more than 70 Alutiiq ceremonial masks were housed in a museum in France, honored as art yet completely cut off from their original cultural context. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com
PERFECT EXCUSE FOR A LITTLE WITCHCRAFT
Before pumpkins were so widely available people would use a large turnip or swede instead (as I did as a nipper) and everyone bobbed for apples, face first into a tin bath full of cold water. It’s all very ancient. In pre-Christian days, October 31 was celebrated as All Hallow’s Eve, when ghosts and spirits were thought to be at large, so superstitious people took steps to ward them off. Read full story from express.co.uk
Going green? What about going pagan?
Since the rise of the major world monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and of secular culture, pagans have gotten a pretty bad rap. When we switched to one God or no god at all, we labeled pagans as heathens and idol worshipers, connoting uncivilized primitiveness and even evil. Read full story from statepress.com
For heathens’ sake
Till death do they part: On Halloween, a ‘Catholic witch’ and a pagan tie the knot with a most unusual twist Read full story from washingtonpost.com
Wiccans celebrate autumn holiday in their own fashion
CAMBRIA — An ancient celebration that evolved into Halloween and All Saints Day celebrations was observed this weekend. Read full story from wiscnews.com
Are Wicca and Witchcraft the same?
The subject of this article comes up a lot in books, online, and in conversation (not to mention misleading films and television shows). Ancient civilizations knew more about the answer to the above question than most people do today. Read full story from The Examiner
