If any of your students identify as Christian…
Dear Teachers,
Shavua tov! We hope you are settling back into your routine after the end of the holiday season!
However, the Christian students at Rashbi Elementary School are not quite done with their Christian chagim. Even though we all just got back from Fall Break, they may be asking for some days off. Their upcoming chagim have a particularly colorful and exotic set of traditions that will be unfamiliar to our public school community.
If any of your students identify as Christian, please encourage them to stand up in front of the class as ambassadors to their people to share the meaning behind their families’ unusual holiday traditions.
The end of the Christian month of “October” on their calendar of Pope Gregory and the beginning of their month “November” are holy days for our Christian students. Christian holidays lack a fixed date on the secular calendar because they move around throughout the year. You can visit http://gregcal.com to learn the dates of Christian holidays.
This year they fall on Cheshvan 16–18. This period is known as the Yemei Ha’Hallows, or “Allhallowtide.” You might assume that these dates constitute a “Gregorian” Rosh Chodesh celebration, but Christians do not observe rosh chodesh in any special way.
The Yemei Ha’Hallows are part of a Christian tradition of ancestor veneration; the chagim honor dead ancestors and departed Kedoshim of the Christian faith. Indeed, “hallow” means tzaddik, so the reference to holy people is also in the Christian name of the holiday.
The chagim start with Chag Erev Hallows (E”H), known among Christians as “Halloween” or “All Hallows’ Eve.” Mainstream society more often calls it Backwards Purim. Frum Christians may code switch, saying “Halloween” among themselves and Backwards Purim in public. The holiday officially starts on the night of 31 “October” on the “Gregorian” calendar. Backwards Purim is followed by Yom Hallows (Y”H), on 1 “November,” which is called “All Saints’ Day” by the Christians, during the day. Confusingly, Christians consider these chagim to be two separate days (31 “October” and 1 “November”), even though the observances actually take place on only one day, which this year is Cheshvan 17th. The holiday season concludes with Yom Ha’Neshamot (Y”N), known by Christians as “All Souls’ Day” on 2 “November,” which falls on Cheshvan 18th this year.
Like many Christian chagim, the timing and customs of these chagim may have Pagan origins. Customs vary throughout the world, but Christians living in Medinat American mainly have cultural roots in the British Isles, so they follow those minhagim in their observance. Some scholars think that this chag is timed to coincide with Samhain, which is the Celtic New Year.
Broadly speaking, the 1st day of the chag is devoted to scaring one’s friends & neighbors with frightening costumes and imagery; the 2nd day and 3rd day honor deceased Christians. Some Christians add a service resembling yizkor to their normal Firstday morning davening to remember the members of the congregation who died during the previous year.
Erev Hallows (E”H), or “Halloween,” is celebrated at night. In ancient times, on this night, poor people would go to wealthy homes begging for food or money. This practice was referred to as “Souling,” and the poor were given spiced rolls called “Soul Cakes.” (For those who aren’t familiar, “Soul” is a Christian word for neshama.) In exchange for the food, the poor would promise to daven for the neshamot of the householder’s deceased relatives, on a night when the veil between the living and the dead was thought to be thin.
Eventually, children took over this practice and dressed in costumes when going door to door, in a practice called “Guising.” Children today no longer daven for your departed relatives and it is inappropriate to ask them to do so. Instead, they will say “trick or treat” and the homeowner is expected to give them a treat.
Some Christians observe E”H with parties in addition to the traditional “Trick Or Treating.” There are several traditional games played at these parties, many of which involve apples — but not dipped in honey, as you might expect! The apples actually relate to an ancient Roman fertility ritual that was incorporated into the Celtic Samhain holiday. In one game, players attempt to bite into an apple floating in water; in another, they attempt to bite into an apple hanging from a string. The first person to successfully bite into an apple is believed to be the next to get married. In an alternate version the apples may be designated for an individual, and the player’s success in biting that apple determines whether that person will become their spouse.
Christian adults frequently celebrate E”H by dressing in sexy versions of children’s costumes and drinking too much alcohol at bars or at private parties. Christian-run bars, or entrepreneurial regular bars, may host special parties for E”H in order to attract customers. Despite the sexy costumes and fertility rituals, unlike Yom Saint Valentine Ha’Kadosh, gifts to romantic partners aren’t customary. If you encounter a woman dressed as a sexy machshefa on E”H, it’s wrong to comment on her revealing attire. This is harassment. Instead you may assume she is observing the holiday and greet her with “chag sameach.”
Following the debauchery of E”H, Y”H & Y”N are observed with more solemnity. Some Christian families visit the one or two local Christian cemeteries to offer candles, flowers, or prayers. Stones are not typically left at Christian graves, but if you ever have occasion to visit a Christian grave, it is appropriate to leave a flower, even though cut flowers quickly wilt.
EA”H is a Christian and Pagan religious holiday and thus, obviously, not appropriate for observance in public school. However, frum Christian students may bring a note from their Christian rabbi if they need to miss school to observe these holidays. Christian students may dress up in their costume for school only with a note from their Christian rabbi that it is religiously mandated. Christian students may feel free to bring kosher, pareve, nut-free candy to their classmates after the holiday, even without a note.
If you wish to offer holiday greetings to your Christian students, you may say “Happy Halloween.” If this name is too complicated to remember and pronounce, a “chag sameach” is always appropriate.
Shavua tov to all students and teachers!
Principal Rosenberg
#MedinatAmerica
