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niedziela, października 30, 2005

PolBlogcast: Halloween, All Saint's Day, and 95 Theses

PolBlogcast: Halloween, All Saint's Day, and 95 Theses


Another PolBlogcast

In our PolBlogcast today we change the subject from Polish elections to a comparison and celebration of two very old and often seen as conflicting traditions: we are speaking of course about Halloween and All Saints Day (in Poland called Zaduszki?).

The Jack-o-Lantern: Symbol of the
trickster who even fooled the Devil!

Most Poles (young and old) I speak with about Halloween really don't understand its origins, usually describing it in the superficial way that most in the USA do when they go from house to house and say 'trick or treat'(smell my feet give me something good to eat!) dressed up like clowns or Casper (the friendly ghost). Few Poles know about the very Halloweenish "Jezi Baba" from their pre-Christian past. Sounding as formidable as any witch from Western lore:

Jezi Baba is portrayed as a witch who flies through the air in a mortar using the pestle as a rudder sweeping away the tracks behind her with a broom made out of human hair. She lives in a house that revolves around by means of three pairs of chicken legs that dance. Her fence outside was made with human bones that had skulls atop of them.


Googleween


Test your knowledge of Halloween traditions,Take the PolBlog Poll

And also today, according to traditional accounts, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses onto the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.


Halloween Chart Buster: Monster Mash Music
(A Nice fusion of traditional with pop culture)
(3 minutes)



The first of about 9 sequels!


PolBlogcast: Halloween, All Saint's Day, and 95 Theses
(20 min. w/Bonus Song)



Links:

1) Monster Mash performance (with lyrics)

2) Pre-Christian Polish Pagan Pantheon


3) Brief history of Polish Paganism


4) The Vigil of All Hallows (Hallowe'en) - From Irish folk piety


5) Classic Halloween fare, Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - You can buy the MP3 file for about 9zl, listen to Ichabod Crane!


6) Google has even changed its icon today and provides a search list connected with Halloween.


7) The History Channel is even in on the tradition


8) Halloween without Michael Myers is 'holloween' - remember the 1978 classic slasher that spawned at least 8 or 9 sequels?


9) The Halloween Capital of the World - Anoka


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# posted by ~JS @ 30.10.05

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