Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83 based; site homxa.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!homxa!bds
From: bds@homxa.UUCP (B.STERMAN)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Haloween and Jews
Message-ID: <469@homxa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Nov-84 15:16:48 EST
Article-I.D.: homxa.469
Posted: Thu Nov  1 15:16:48 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Nov-84 06:22:51 EST
References: <212@hocsj.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 19


    There is another piece to this puzzle about the origins of
Halloween and it's relationship to Judaism. In times of very old
(somewhere in the 700's or so) there began an ancient Teutonic
rite called Walpurgisnacht, when the town would rise up to chase
away the demons. This custom evolved, strangely enough, from the
Roman fertility rites of not getting married during the month of 
May.  In fact, some scholars (and I use that term quite loosely)
have suggested that this is the basis for the customs of the Omer
and Lag B'Omer. Namely one month of not getting married, culminating
in a day of running around in the fields with bows and arrows,
(the same thing that the Early Geemans did when chasing away their
witches!). The theory hardly stands up, but it's interesting
trivia nonetheless.
     For more details see the encyclopedia Judaica article on Lag
B'Omer and the article by that same author brought down in the
bibliography.
                                              Baruch Sterman
                                              ihnp4!homxa!bds