The History of Halloween or Samhain - LIGHTGRID - Lichtnetz - REDDELUZ2024-03-28T08:49:42Zhttps://lightgrid.ning.com/forum/topics/the-history-of-halloween-or?groupUrl=circleoftheyear&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIndeed, and the FULL MOON is…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2014-11-05:4024228:Comment:4010952014-11-05T06:54:00.879ZMyriel RAouinehttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/MyrielRAouine
<p>Indeed, and the FULL MOON is approaching :-)</p>
<p>Indeed, and the FULL MOON is approaching :-)</p> Dear Sonja,
Thanks for postin…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2014-11-05:4024228:Comment:4009752014-11-05T05:18:41.140ZDr. SohiniBen Shuklahttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/DrSohiniBenShukla
<p>Dear Sonja,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting all about Halloween....</p>
<p>One week passed already ..!!</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771302970?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771302970?profile=original" width="450" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Dear Sonja,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting all about Halloween....</p>
<p>One week passed already ..!!</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771302970?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771302970?profile=original" width="450" class="align-full"/></a></p> Arcturus is a Halloween ghost…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2014-10-31:4024228:Comment:4003332014-10-31T15:41:54.476ZMyriel RAouinehttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/MyrielRAouine
<div class="entry_header clearfix"><h1 class="entry-title">Arcturus is a Halloween ghost of the summer sun…</h1>
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<div class="entry_header clearfix"><h1 class="entry-title">Arcturus is a Halloween ghost of the summer sun</h1>
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<div class="tonight_info span-4 last"><h2>TONIGHT FOR<span>OCTOBER 31, 2014</span></h2>
<div class="tonight_moon"><img src="http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/phase.gif" class="Moon" alt="Moon Phase"/><small class="credit">Courtesy U.S. Naval Observatory</small></div>
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<p>Every Halloween – and a few days before and after – the brilliant star <a href="http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/brightest-stars/bright-orange-arcturus-use-the-big-dipper-to-find-it" target="_blank">Arcturus</a> sets at the same time and on the same spot on the west-northwest horizon as the summer sun. What’s more, this star rises at the same time and at the same place on the east-northeast horizon as the sun does during the dog days of summer.</p>
<div id="attachment_136099" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2012/10/12Oct28txt_4301.jpg" alt="" title="12Oct28txt_430(1)" width="430" height="430" class="size-full wp-image-136099"/><p class="wp-caption-text">At northerly latitudes, Arcturus sets in the west after sunset and rises in the east before sunrise</p>
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<p>However, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you can’t see Arcturus right now. South of the equator, Arcturus sets at the same time and on the same place on the horizon as the <em>winter sun</em>. In other words, Arcturus sets <em>before</em> the sun and rises <em>after</em> the sun at southerly latitudes at this time of year.</p>
<p><a href="http://earthsky.org/store">EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Supplies limited.</a></p>
<div id="attachment_108810" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2011/10/arcturus_300.jpg" alt="" title="arcturus_300" width="300" height="409" class="size-full wp-image-108810"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Cover of 'Star Arcturus, ghost of summer sun' coloring book</p>
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<p>In the Northern Hemisphere – around Halloween – this brilliant pumpkin-colored star playacts as the ghost of the summer sun.</p>
<p>At mid-northern latitudes, Arcturus now sets about 2 hours after <a href="http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/astronomy-essentials/sunrisesunset-moonrisemoonset-almanacs" target="_blank">sunset</a> and rises about 2 hours before sunrise.</p>
<p>By watching this star in the October evening chill, you can envision the absent summer sun radiating its extra hours of sunlight. Not till after dark does this star set, an echo of long summer afternoons. Similarly, Arcturus rises in the east before dawn, a phantom reminder of early morning daybreaks.</p>
<p>You can verify that you’re looking at Arcturus once the Big Dipper comes out. Its handle always points to Arcturus.</p>
<p>By the way, if you live as far north as Barrow, Alaska, the star Arcturus shines all night long, mimicking the midnight sun of summer.</p>
</div> Halloween derived from ancien…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2014-10-31:4024228:Comment:4003912014-10-31T15:34:55.538ZMyriel RAouinehttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/MyrielRAouine
<div class="entry_header clearfix"><h1 class="single-post-title">Halloween derived from ancient Celtic cross-quarter day</h1>
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<tbody><tr><td class="featured_image"><img alt="Photo via Kurt Magoon on Flickr" class="attachment-post_header_image wp-post-image" height="225" src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2011/10/pumpkin_300.jpg" width="300"></img><div class="thumbnail_credit"><span>Photo via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmagoon/2991888344/" target="_blank">Kurt Magoon</a> on Flickr</span></div>
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<div class="entry_header clearfix"><h1 class="single-post-title">Halloween derived from ancient Celtic cross-quarter day</h1>
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<tbody><tr><td class="featured_image"><img width="300" height="225" src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2011/10/pumpkin_300.jpg" class="attachment-post_header_image wp-post-image" alt="Photo via Kurt Magoon on Flickr"/><div class="thumbnail_credit"><span>Photo via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kmagoon/2991888344/" target="_blank">Kurt Magoon</a> on Flickr</span></div>
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<p>Halloween – short for <em>All Hallows’ Eve</em> – is an astronomical holiday. Sure, it’s the modern-day descendant from <em>Samhain</em>, a sacred festival of the ancient Celts and Druids in the British Isles. But it’s also a <em>cross-quarter day,</em> which is probably why Samhain occurred when it did. Early people were keen observers of the sky. A cross-quarter day is a day more or less midway between an equinox (when the sun sets due west) and a solstice (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon). Halloween – October 31 – is approximately midway point between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, for us in the Northern Hemisphere.</p>
<p>In other words, in traditional astronomy, there are eight major seasonal subdivisions of every year. They include the March and September equinoxes, the June and December solstices, and the intervening four cross-quarter days.</p>
<p>In modern times, the four cross-quarter days are often called Groundhog Day (February 2), May Day (May 1), Lammas (August 1) and Halloween (October 31).</p>
<div id="attachment_208344" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2014/10/cross-quarter-day-e1414623422373.gif" alt="Equinoxes, solstices and cross-quarter days are all hallmarks of Earth's orbit around the sun. Halloween is the fourth cross-quarter day of the year. Illustration via NASA" width="580" height="497" class="size-full wp-image-208344"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Equinoxes, solstices and cross-quarter days are all hallmarks of Earth’s orbit around the sun. Halloween is the fourth cross-quarter day of the year. Illustration via NASA</p>
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<p>Halloween is the spookiest of the cross quarter days, possibly because it comes at a time of year when the days are growing shorter. On Halloween, it’s said that the spirits of the dead wander from sunset until midnight. After midnight – on November 1, which we now call All Saints’ Day – the ghosts are said to go back to rest.</p>
<p>The October 31 date for Halloween has been fixed by tradition. The true cross-quarter day falls on November 7, representing a discrepancy of about one week. According to the ancient Celts, a cross-quarter day marks the beginning – not the middle – of a season.</p>
<div id="attachment_186032" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/11/pleiades-star-cluster-dave-dehetre.jpg" alt="The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters, marks the radiant for the North Taurid meteor shower. This cluster is part of the constellation Taurus the Bull. Photo by Dave Dehetre on Flickr." width="430" height="465" class="size-full wp-image-186032"/><p class="wp-caption-text">The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. This tiny, misty dipper is easy to pick out in the night sky. Photo by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedehetre/5060484980/" target="_blank">Dave Dehetre.</a></p>
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<p><strong>The Pleiades connection</strong>. It’s thought that the early forbearer of Halloween – Samhain – happened on the night that <a href="http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/pleiades-star-cluster-enjoys-worldwide-renown" target="_blank">the Pleiades star cluster</a> culminated at midnight.</p>
<p>In other words, the Pleiades climbed to its highest point in the sky at midnight on or near the same date as this cross-quarter day. In our day, Halloween is fixed on October 31, though the midnight culmination of the Pleiades cluster now occurs on November 21.</p>
<p>Presuming the supposed connection between Samhain and the midnight culmination of the Pleiades, the two events took place on or near the same date in the 11th century (1001-1100) and 12th century (1101-1200). This was several centuries before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar.</p>
<p>At that time, when the Julian calendar was in use, the cross-quarter day and the midnight culmination of the Pleiades fell – amazingly enough – on or near October 31. But, then, the Julian calendar was about one week out of step with the seasons. Had the Gregorian calendar been in use back then, the date of the cross-quarter day celebration would have been November 7.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.math.harvard.edu/computing/javascript/Calendar/" target="_blank">Calendar converter</a></p>
<p>But Halloween is now fixed on October 31. Meanwhile, the true cross-quarter day now falls on or near November 7 and the midnight culmination of the Pleiades cluster on or near November 21.</p>
<p>Bottom line: The present date for Halloween – October 31 – marks the approximate midway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Halloween is one of the year’s four cross-quarter days. It is the modern-day descendant from <em>Samhain</em>, a festival of the ancient Celts and Druids. The Pleiades star cluster also plays a role in this story, because Samhain was said to happen on the night that the Pleiades star cluster culminated – or reached its highest point in the sky – at midnight.</p>
<p><a href="http://earthsky.org/tonight/arcturus-ghost-of-the-summer-sun" target="_blank">Arcturus is a Halloween ghost of the summer sun</a></p>
<p><a href="http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/pleiades-star-cluster-enjoys-worldwide-renown" target="_blank">Pleiades: Famous Seven Sisters</a></p>
</div> tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2013-10-31:4024228:Comment:3255272013-10-31T16:26:09.684ZArleemhttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/NatasaAbatinovic
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278421?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278421?profile=original" width="660" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278421?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278421?profile=original" width="660" class="align-full"/></a></p> tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2013-10-31:4024228:Comment:3255192013-10-31T11:22:04.398ZDr. SohiniBen Shuklahttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/DrSohiniBenShukla
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278516?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278516?profile=original" width="600" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278516?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771278516?profile=original" width="600" class="align-full"/></a></p> Thank you Sonja for this co…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2013-10-31:4024228:Comment:3255002013-10-31T03:27:39.977ZIshema, Carol Sucheckihttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/CarolSuchecki
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771276851?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771276851?profile=original" width="440"></img></a></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">Thank you Sonja for this complete history. I have shared it with another site.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">A Blessed Samhain,…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771276851?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2771276851?profile=original" width="440" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thank you Sonja for this complete history. I have shared it with another site.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">A Blessed Samhain,</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Ishema</p> Ah - you will know when the t…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2011-11-02:4024228:Comment:1534342011-11-02T08:50:58.669ZMyriel RAouinehttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/MyrielRAouine
<p>Ah - you will know when the time is right!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sending you much LOVE, dear Natasa,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sonja Myriel</p>
<p>Ah - you will know when the time is right!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sending you much LOVE, dear Natasa,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sonja Myriel</p> on Halloween I'm dreaming .. …tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2011-11-02:4024228:Comment:1535162011-11-02T08:28:23.465ZArleemhttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/NatasaAbatinovic
<span class="hps">on Halloween</span> <span class="hps">I'm</span> <span class="hps">dreaming</span> <span class="hps">..</span> <span class="hps">old</span> <span class="hps">Native</span> <span class="hps">woman</span> <span class="hps">..</span> <span class="hps">I woke up</span> <span class="hps">and nit</span> <span class="hps">heard</span> <span class="hps">what she</span> <span class="hps">wanted to say......</span>
<span class="hps">on Halloween</span> <span class="hps">I'm</span> <span class="hps">dreaming</span> <span class="hps">..</span> <span class="hps">old</span> <span class="hps">Native</span> <span class="hps">woman</span> <span class="hps">..</span> <span class="hps">I woke up</span> <span class="hps">and nit</span> <span class="hps">heard</span> <span class="hps">what she</span> <span class="hps">wanted to say......</span> Awsome pic, THANK YOU for sha…tag:lightgrid.ning.com,2011-11-02:4024228:Comment:1534262011-11-02T08:10:31.453ZMyriel RAouinehttps://lightgrid.ning.com/profile/MyrielRAouine
Awsome pic, THANK YOU for sharing, dear Arleem!
Awsome pic, THANK YOU for sharing, dear Arleem!