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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1969-10-29, Page 12t. " PAGE ?i WEL.VE • THE LUCKNOW fENTINEL,.' . ucKNOW 'OMlTARIO W/TOWS In England, the legal. definition: -of a :Witch is "a :person--who-=hath--. - conference with the Devil, to con- snit with him" or fo do some act .. When we look at the "records of the mediaeval witches, we are dealing. with .the remains: of a pagan relig- ion which • survived, in England at least„ till the 18th century, 1200 years,, after the introduction of • , Christianity. In the 16th and 17th centuries, there was • a wholesale slaughter ' of witches; • many were brought to . trial and when they =-:—+confessed-under torture--to-.b.:�. ' witch, they, were publicly burned al • the. stake. The devil 'was supposed to come to the: witches disguised as an an- . imal • or dressed : in black. There were sacred • dances,, feasts and chants in honour of the devil. Most of the ceremonies , and; liturgical. rituals were fertility' rites to ensure good' crops 'and, many children. Witchcraft was practiced by almost all of the pagan people of . Europe before Christianity, and even after the Christian church was establish-- ' ed, People' clung`"to the beliefs of their ancestors, and in many cases. 'the priests in the church were only outwardly Christian and carried; on. the ; ancient rites of, witchcraft and devil worship :arid sometimes.. even ttie Bishops took part: But . as civ- ilization ivilization • progressed ' and •Christian- ity became more firmly rooted, the. old- religion, . retreated -to: the less..., _. frequented parts of the, country and. was practiced by the . more, ignor- ant members of the , cotninunity. But until . the ;1700's witch. trials were held, :in. England and America. . Four times a year, ,the witches held a "Sabbath'" They., took place on Feb; '2,. May, lst, Aug. 1st and All Hallow: Even (e'en), or Oct. 31st. The: celebration: began in the •, . evening and lasted all. 'night , until dawn. There was much feasting singing and dancing. There were • weekly or ; irregular, meetings cal- • led Covens, for, the principal wit- _ ekes, -Thirteen of : them made up a A Coven. ;..Witches often had "familiars", which were • animals such as cats and . toads who • were. consultedin order' :to predict the future Witches knew, special: spells and chants • which would bring good' or bad luck. One-of-the-oldest=spells, coin • 111 ���11> ,>. ►111 , ��11 (�t BY`DOLORES-NIC DEMONS. After Christianity came -to Ea r opef the old pagan . beliefswent underground and survived in .pop- ular .belief as demons or evil spirits. Demons, were nameless . and. shifty of ' movement,:.apperaing in forests and dark places by night. They often took the bodily form 'of an animal. Others were wraiths, or ghosts- and specters. Many believed than the souls of tte dead often returned by night or in wind and. storm; to torment the living. They were called night -riders • or night mares, who rode: on animals, sway- ed in trees or saton your chest to suffocate you in your sleep. Ill ness_or insanity, was the result of being possessed by a devil. These demons are supposed : to be fright- ened of fire and light. That is why the ` Chinese light -many bon fires and:: use torches and .fire -crackers to scare away .the demons on New ". Year's Day. ' THE CAT The cathas long played a role in religion and : witchcraft. It ' fig- ured prominently in the religions of ancient Egypt;: the:. Norse countries : and parts r of the Orient. The Egyptians had .:a •cat -headed goddess. Thousands: of cikt mum mies, have been discovered in Egypt and , thereare even mouse • mummies, . presumably to . provide. food for :the.. cat _mummy.... More, often; however, the cat .$ as been associated" with sorcery and witchcraft and the superstitions re- garding cats, commonto all countries are innumerable:: Super-' stitions: often took : extrennely vic- ious . forms . and throughout the ages, the cathas• n more cruel- ly ruelly mistreated.. than anyother ani- mal. Black nimal:Black cats in particular have long been regarded as having Oc- cult powers. • ing from Egypt; was . to make a wax doll of an enemy and :gradu- ally destroy it. This was ;done over 1000 years before ' Christ ' Witches. were also supposed to be ablerto transform themselves into animals` at wilt. by putting on the skin . of an animal and saying ,the magic :spell: . HALLOWE'EN Hallowe'en takes ' its name from All ` Halloviis .Eve (orevening) on October 31st, the night before :All. Saints Day on . November 1st ha, the. old Anglo-Saxon religion before • Christianity ; ' was introduced to -Britain, Oct.. 31st Was the eve.., Of .::. the new year; a one of . the ancient fire -fest valstItwas. connected with the return of herds from : pasture;. and ' the rekindling . of fire ?for the coming year. Souls of the dead were supposed to . visit their old: ' homes on this day. Since November . . ushers in ' the darkest and most. barren' half of the year, the autumn festival came to have a sinister ▪ meaning, with: ghosts, witches, hob- goblins, fairies, and demons of all kinds roaming abroad. Some of the ceremonial had to • • do with harvest home A. the killing of the corn spirit at the reaping of the last sheaf. The .crops and the herds -had -.to-be-protected=from evil spirits who were abroad in strength at this time of the year: Thus, there were many bon -fires . to frighten away evil spirits and people wore masks and costumes to confuse the evil spirits. JACK=O-LANTERNS • In America, the Irishimmigrants introduced, .Hallowe'en customs that became popular in the late 19th century: Mischief making on this occasion by boys and young men took such forms as overturn- ing sheds . and outhouses and break Pro- perty . was sometimes severe;;; The, - name jacko-lantern is probably de- rived from the name for the night watchman who carried a lantern, but the idea of pumpkins being hollowed out cane from. the U.S.A. In ;Scotland, • they hollowed . out OTHER .CUSTOMS * ' It was thought that this was .a - very.. lucky time to be "married, seek a' cure for an illness, or to ,die. If you could pick an .:apple out. of the water. using your teeth, you • WEDNESDAY,'OTOSER. Thh, 1949 would have a lucky new Year- Young women. had special spells. 'and charms by which they .could See vision 0£ thew fL i ] us.•.- • blind', ' When Glristianity-came-=to-Brit--- ain, the church made Nov. 1st. All. Saint's Day to counteract,. all thia. business; of witches and goblins ;but this . didn't do much to stop. it. Instead,, people came to be believe that because .the next day was a holy day, Oct.. 31st was a night when witches and devils kicked up, an extra rumpus since they had to behave -themselves on ' All Saint's. We, - continue ,many ' of the 'old' superstitiouis ,practices to this day, but we do it because it . was a trail- • :ition in, our homes sand, towns' and - few of us.treat Hallowe'en customs seriously and. few of us know 'Why or when the • customs ' originated. Knowingabout the origin of cus- toms won't change the way we cel-.• ebrate a : favourite old holiday (which incidentally • comes from . holy day) but It's interesting isn't it? • . This. information was gathered from Encyclopedias and ' many other books and articles.. Money youmove to a special savings account at Victoria and. Grey Trust any time during the period Novemler 1 to November 14. will receive full 63/4% interest from 'November 1. This up -to -two -weeks bonus gives yoursavinggs. -n_substantial Otis- if you act now. Start saving today at Victoria and Grey. „. •YRUST COMPANY SPNCE' .1889 • u fa a e ca fa fa cogen ecoco ca 4a WE NOW HAVE TYPEWRITERS IN STOC COME IN NOW*AND LAY -AWAY FOR CHRISTMAS.