How Is Halloween Celebrated In Scotland?

[macwilkin]

No one has mentioned that the original name for the holiday was Samhain, various spellings, pronounced sew-ron. So I have!

And it seems this is another major contribution the Scots-Irish made to North American culture that they get no credit for, I mean in the modern mind. Explains why Halloween always seemed to be much more of a Protestant thing (in my childhood) than a Catholic one.

I suppose it depends on which branch of Protestantism you were thinking of; without crossing the line in terms of forum rules, I have always associated the holiday more with Catholicism and other liturgical churches such as "my own" Episcopal Church, since "All Hallow's Eve" is the evening before All Saints Day in the liturgical calendar.

One thing though: Halloween as a an American holiday is a relatively recent innovation; the late 19th century at the earliest, although as I mentioned earlier, certain aspects, such as divination of the future were practiced by the Scots-Irish in the past. I doubt the more militant Protestant Scots-Irish ever celebrated the Feast of All Hallows, given its association with All Saints Day.

T.