November is the month of the dead in the Catholic calendar. This in turn is directly related to the pagan end of year - ie, Halloween - due to Catholicism's happy habit of tieing in Christian ceremonies with existing festivals - and Halloween is a far more practical solstice than the real one in terms of time perception in these islands.
And the Puritan movement was about abandoning those ties that were still blatantly obvious even after so many years' separation - and were far more obvious in those countries that had held on to a longer connection with the Celtic church, which was far less shy about its direct connection on festivals.
(BTW, reared Catholic here myself, not Pagan in practice, but have had rather fascinating discussions on the subject with still-practising Catholic, Pagan, and non-Conformist friends and family. And the non-Conformist end of the family and friends will make it very clear what they've been reared to believe about Catholics and their practice over the years. And also what they've actually observed to be true.)
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-10-31 11:15 pm (UTC)November is the month of the dead in the Catholic calendar. This in turn is directly related to the pagan end of year - ie, Halloween - due to Catholicism's happy habit of tieing in Christian ceremonies with existing festivals - and Halloween is a far more practical solstice than the real one in terms of time perception in these islands.
And the Puritan movement was about abandoning those ties that were still blatantly obvious even after so many years' separation - and were far more obvious in those countries that had held on to a longer connection with the Celtic church, which was far less shy about its direct connection on festivals.
(BTW, reared Catholic here myself, not Pagan in practice, but have had rather fascinating discussions on the subject with still-practising Catholic, Pagan, and non-Conformist friends and family. And the non-Conformist end of the family and friends will make it very clear what they've been reared to believe about Catholics and their practice over the years. And also what they've actually observed to be true.)