{"id":1206,"date":"2022-10-25T13:24:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T13:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/?p=1206"},"modified":"2022-10-25T13:24:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T13:24:49","slug":"all-hallows-eve-is-next-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bodymindspiritjourneys.com\/news\/all-hallows-eve-is-next-monday.html","title":{"rendered":"All Hallows’ Eve is next Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Did you forget what Hallowe’en means?<\/p>\n

It’s the evening before All Hallows, or All Saints’ Day.<\/p>\n

Pope Gregory IV made the Feast of All Saints official in the 9th century, although holy days honoring Christian martyrs were being held as far back as the 4th century.<\/p>\n

It also corresponds to the Roman pagan festival of Lemuria, in which restless and evil spirits were appeased.<\/p>\n

And it can be argued that in even earlier times the Celts celebrated\u00a0Samhain<\/em>, when the veil between the worlds was thinnest, and the living could feel closer to the spirits of those who had passed.<\/p>\n

Today, Halloween with all the noise and excitement of Trick or Treating has become such a huge event, that it’s easy to forget the more spiritual meaning out of which it grew.<\/p>\n

\"Day
\nIn Mexico, our southern neighbors with their\u00a0D\u00eda de los Muertos<\/em>\u00a0(Day of the Dead) on November 1st and 2nd come a bit closer to the original spirit of the season.<\/p>\n

In my family, we have a tradition of lighting candles at dusk on Halloween to help us focus our thoughts on those who are no longer with us in person.<\/p>\n

But that’s certainly not the only way to feel a tangible connection to the past. For me, personally, water has been a powerful medium to do that.<\/p>\n

I vividly remember being in Nazareth and drinking water from the same well where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary. And at the River Jordan, touching the same water in which Jesus was baptised. Both of those experiences moved me to tears.<\/p>\n

\"Nativity
\nHow would you feel if you were in standing in Bethlehem’s Manger Square, or in Old Jerusalem walking along the\u00a0Via Dolorosa<\/em>\u00a0(Way of the Cross), or entering the very room where the Last Supper was held?<\/p>\n

Those experiences can be yours. They are just a few of the places our\u00a0“Heart of the Holy Land” Women’s Pilgrimage<\/strong>\u00a0will be visiting next February. And we still have a space open for you.<\/p>\n

Here are a few highlights…<\/p>\n