" The ancient Romans held a great and popular festival at the
end of February, called the _Ferralia_. At this season, they visited the
graves of their departed friends, and offered sacrifices and oblations
to the spirits of the dead; they believed that the spirits of the
departed, both the good and the bad, were released on that particular
night, and that, if they were not propitiated, these spirits would haunt
throughout the coming year their undutiful living relatives. In all
probability, though the time of celebration is different, these Roman
ceremonies and the Hallowe'en ceremonies in this country had a common
origin. In the year 610, the Bishop of Rome ordained that the heathen
Pantheon should be converted into a Christian church, and dedicated to
all the martyrs; and a festival was instituted to commemorate the event.
This was held on the first of May, and continued to be held on this day
till 834, when the time of celebration was altered to the first of
November, and it was then called _All Hallow_, from a Saxon word,
_Haligan_, meaning to keep holy.
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