halloween
Church Press Release About the feast of Halloween
The Church in Malta issued a press release about Halloween, a feast claimed to be of (or mixed up with) pagan origins or elements (in Maltese). You can find it here (pdf) or below in text form:
Kummissjoni Djocesana Okkult u Satinizmu
c/o Kurja ta’ L-Arcisqof
Furjana
Press Release
Il-Kummissjoni Djocesana intalbet taghti l-parir taghha minn diversi genituri u Youth Centres dwar jekk ic-celebrazzjoni tal-festa tal-Halloween hijiex kompatibbli jew le ma’ min jixtieq jiehu bis-serjetà l-impenn tas-sejha nisranija tieghu.
Filwaqt li l-Kummissjoni taghraf li spiss hemm persuni zghar u kbar li jiccelebraw b’mod newtrali din il-festa biss biex ikollhom okkazjoni biex jorganizzaw celebrazzjoni jew party b’differenza li tkisser ir-rutina tal-hajja ta’ kuljum, din l-istess Kummissjoni tinnota li:
Il-festa hekk imsejha ta’ ‘Halloween’ hija ta’ origini pagana u ssib l-gheruq taghha fi twemmin mhux imdawwal mill-misteru ta’ Gesu’Kristu, l-Iben ta’ Alla maghmul bniedem, li bil-mewt u l-qawmien tieghu fdiena u joffrielna hajja gdida, issa u anke wara li nghaddu mill-passagg tal-mewt. Anke jekk hemm min izomm li din hija biss celebrazzjoni antika tal-bidu tax-xitwa, ma’ din il-festa ntrabtu diversi tradizzjonijiet superstizzjuzi u tradizzjonijiet ohra li ghandhom x’jaqsmu aktar mad-dinja ta’ l-ispiritizmu u l-okkult fis-sens l-aktar wiesa’ tieghu. Tradizzjonijiet li fil-fatt ma jaqblux ma’ dak li n-nisrani jemmen fid-dawl ta’ Gesu’ Kristu.
Ghal din ir-raguni, ghal min jixtieq jiehu bis-serjetà is-sejha nisranija tieghu, il-Kummissjoni jidhrilha li ma jixraqx li gruppi kattolici jiccelebraw din il-festa. Anke jekk dan jaghmluh b’mod superficjali u minnghajr l-ebda intenzjoni hazina, xorta wahda l-istess celebrazzjoni ssir sinjal ta’ ftuh lejn kultura neo-pagana u tlaqqim fil-kultura ta’ l-okkult, komuni hafna fi zminijietna.
Ikun aktar jixraq li wiehed jifhem ghaliex din ic-celebrazzjoni mhijiex kompattibbli mat-twemmin nisrani u jivvaluta mill-gdid il-wirt nisrani li fih tfakkarna kontinwament il-Knisja. Fl-1 ta’ Novembru in-nisrani huwa msejjah jiccelebra l-festa tal-Qaddisin kollha, dawk li l-Papa Benedittu XVI, liz-zghzazgh migbura f’Cologne, sejhilhom “ir-rivoluzzjonarji veri tas-socjetajiet taghna”. L-ghada, imbaghad, issir it-Tifkira tal-Fidili Mejtin kollha: permezz ta’ Kristu nitolbu ghall-gheziez mejtin taghna u ahna stess nircievu l-gid li jwassal it-talb taghhom ghalina. Zewg tifkiriet li jfakkruna fl-ghaqda tal-Knijsa ta’ l-art ma’ dik tas-sema.
Ikun sabih jekk l-okkazjoni ta’ dawn il-jumejn taghti lok biex wiehed jiccelebra l-fidi tieghu, u fuq l-ezempji tal-qaddisin, jifhem li ghan-nisrani, il-ferh veru jinsab f’relazzjoni ta’ hbiberija vera u hajja ma’ Kristu Gesu’, il-Feddej tal-bniedem.
5ta’ Ottubru 2005
P. Marcello Ghirlando OFM
Segretarju tal-Kummissjoni
Night of Light
The 31st of October is celebrated all over the world as Halloween.. – the feast of darkness.
As Halloween falls on October 31st, it is the eve of all saints day. The name ‘Halloween’ therefore originates from this. –’Hallow’ meaning ‘Holy’ and’ ‘Een’ being a shortened version of the word evening. In spite of this Halloween has traditionally been strongly associated with darkness rather than light, and the practices that have taken over halloween are as far removed form holiness they can possibly be.
Christians throughout the world are working together to bring the ‘Hallow’ back into ‘Halloween’ and to spread the light where there is only darkness. As their little contribution to this worldwide effort, St Joseph’s School Sliema is organising an activity – called the Night of Light – during which pupils from this school will be visiting Ta’ Xbiex taking the light of Jesus into people’s hearts and homes, spreading peace and goodwill wherever they go.
Fil-lejl tal-31 ta’ Ottubru, id-dinja kollha ticcelebra Halloween – il-festa tad-dlamijiet.
Halloween jahbat fil-31 ta’ Ottubru, lejlet il-festa tal-Qaddisini kollha. Il-kelma Halloween fil-fatt gejja minn hawn: Hallow tfisser qaddis filwaqt li Een hija l-kelma mqassra Evening, jigifieri lejla. Minkejja dan, il-Halloween ghandu konnessjonijiet qawwijin mad-dlam aktar milli mad-dawl, u l-uzanzi li jigu prattikati f’din il-festa huma mill-aktar ‘il boghod mill-qdusija.
Hafna Nsara madwar id-dinja qed jaghmlu sforzi flimkien biex igibu l-qdusija lura fil-Halloween u b’hekk idahhlu d-dawl fejn bhalissa hemm biss dlam. Biex jaghtu kontribut ghal dan l-isforz dinji, l-istudenti ta’ St Joseph’s School Sliema qed jorganizzaw attivita’ – imsejha l-Lejl tad-Dawl – li matulha l-istudenti se jkunu qed izuru Ta’ Xbiex biex igibu d-dawl ta’ Kristu fil-qlub u fid-djar tan-nies ta’ din il-lokalita’.
