J 'I got used to post daily on the table in my classroom today's date from the Roman calendar, possibly followed by an indication of a party or a celebration taking place today then the Romans, as well as an event that would have happened that day in Roman history.
But last October 5 was "Mundus patet, "" the world is open. " This is the world of the dead. Indeed, that day, the Romans, moved a heavy flat stone placed over a hole supposed to be a mouth of Hell. The spirits of the dead could therefore release all day outdoors and partying with their close living world. At the end of the day, they returned to their holes wisely!
One student asked if it was the same as Halloween. The similarity struck me indeed, and the proximity in timing, especially since the Romans it again on November 8!
course, Halloween is related to All Saints is a Christian holiday, but we know that Christians did not invent anything and that most of their holidays have a Greco-Roman. Greco-Roman or Celtic, and in this case, Halloween is of Celtic origin, and Christians have just grafted the Saints the next day, just to stand out.
However, the question remains unanswered for my students because it seems hard to believe that this is the chance which has established similar festivals around the same time of year (Mundus Patet takes place three times: August 24 , Oct. 5 and Nov. 8). I think that we should not get well far the answer. Among the Romans as the Celts, the feast of the dead takes place just in autumn, when nature is starting to die, where time is more sad when the nights are longer, and where there is naturally more inclined to think of death.
