"By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the
course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two
festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic
celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when
the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second
was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol
of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into
Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is
practiced today on Halloween. "
(p.s. For a bit of fun here at the office, today I dressed up a "fruit"
bat! Trick or treat!)
----Suzi T.
Librarian, Paul Evans Library of Fruit Science
Southwest Missouri State University Mtn. Grove Campus and Missouri Fruit
Experiment Station
9740 Red Spring Rd, Mountain Grove, MO 65711
Phone: 417-926-4105, Fax: 417-926-6646, email: srt175f@smsu.edu
URL: http://library.smsu.edu/paulevans/
AgNIC Viticulture site: http://library.smsu.edu/paulevans/viticulture1.shtml
Member: CBHL, USAIN, ALA, ACRL, IAALD
[NAFEX] Halloween and Pomona,
Suzi Teghtmeyer, 10/31/2002