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LEAD-IN BY HOST RENEE FELTZ: As Halloween draws near, kpft news takes a look at older ways to celebrate the day of All Hallows Eve or All Souls Day. Lisa Dugger reports. STORY: Whether it be Day of the Dead or Samhain, late October is a time when many people of European cultures and beliefs pay homage to their ancestors. One such Houston based group is the Council of Magikal Arts, who met near Flatonia, Texas last weekend for celebration and self-analysis. "I bring this light in the name of the ancient presence that is, was, and ever shall be." Rituals like the one recited here by Ron Smith High Priest in the pagan tradition of Wicca are often painted in negative ways because they are misunderstood. Carol Green, a High Priestess in another pagan tradition and a member of the council of magical arts, states that many European pagan practices pre-date Christianity and rely heavily on a connection between the land and the people. "Because Wicca and most of these traditions are very Earth based, we're also based around an Agrarian calendar. And this is after the harvest when everybody during the harvest everybody comes together to make sure there's enough food for the community for the year. But after that people start drifting apart a little bit, and start to look inward in themselves and it's a celebration of a successful year, it's a celebration of a successful life. It's not just a day of the dead. It's not just skulls and black candles and those sorts of things." A more formal definition of the holiday celebrated near Flatonia last weekend, is given by High Priestess, Velna Asterman: "Samhain for us is when the two worlds, the veil that separates the two worlds, this world and the world after, is the thinnest. So, as the veils thin there is more ability to be in contact. And by contact I don't mean, you know woooo contact. I mean the feeling of celebration of the ancestors in your life, the friends who have gone on before you." Indeed, old world practices called paganism were assimilated into common tradition as Christianity spread. Some examples of things that Christianity borrowed from paganism include the ideas of giving thanks for a successful year and remembering one's ancestors. "We have a system of recognition we call the Dumb Feast. And during the Dumb Feast we bring foods and especially things that those people liked to eat or drink. And we eat in silence, and the entire meal begins in silence, so you can eat and commune with those who've gone on. And then someone will turn to one and say, 'Tell me about the one you were remembering tonight.' So, it's a time to share those memories and celebrate. It's not about grief. It's about celebrating." Today, what we know in the United States of Halloween is trick-or-treating, candy, and costumes which stem from pagan traditions. In Mexico, some of the more public celebrations, like Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, also stem from pagan traditions that were taken in by the Catholic Church. Chelby King Executive Director of the Lawndale Art Center explains the origins of this holiday celebrated in Mexico and the United States. "And Hallowe'en and Day of the Dead are derived kinda from the same holiday, which is All Hallows Eve and All Souls Day. The original holiday was a tradition that was a pagan tradition in Mexico that the indigenous people celebrated. And the Catholic missionaries imposed essentially All Hallows Eve and All Souls Day on top of that tradition, which honored the dead. The combination of these two traditions manifested in a holiday called Day of the Dead." Meanwhile, near Flatonia, the ashes of a centuries old pagan ritual are resurrected. As you collect or disperse candy on October 31, remember to give thanks to the friends and family who taught you the traditions that you now treasure. Lisa Dugger, KPFT news, Houston.
E-mail Lisa Dugger at Lisa.Dugger@bindview.com .
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