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NEWSLETTER OF THE PATRICIA H. LADEW CAT SANCTUARY
VOLUME 4 NO. 5
AUTUMN 2014
Giving Thanks Why Do Black Cats Get such a Bad Rap on Hall ween? for a
itty Cent (right), our full on rapper, Fis still black cat — who loves his bling— looking for a forever home!
You can read his story in Spotlight on Sponsorship on page 5. Black cats actually get a bad rap year’round and are hard to get adopted. Ever wonder why black cats are associated with Halloween? We had to delve deep into the origins of Halloween to find the answer!
Banner Year at PHLF H Call us at (516) 922-CATS! Our Fax # (516) 922-5203
Visit us at theladewcatsanctuary.org or www.facebook.com/ theladewcatsanctuary
alloween means All Hallows Eve, because it’s the night before All Hallows Day, also known as All Saint’s Day. In Scotland, evening is pronounced e’en which, when paired with Hallow, sounds like Hallow e’en or the common Halloween. It seems Halloween stems from the ancient Celts of the British Isles (Ireland, Scotland and Wales are mostly of Celtic origin), who celebrated a religious festival on October 31st. According to Celtic belief, on October 31st, the wall between the physical world and the spirit world was lowered which allowed spirits to return, so people in those times, wore costumes to protect their true identity from the spirits and to scare the spirits away.
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lack cats became associated with Halloween, because cats are nocturnal and, particularly true of black cats, at night you only see the glow of their yellow or green eyes. Because of this, they seemed to be a perfect match for a somewhat scary night-time holiday. Black cats have also had the unfortunate connection to superstition as well as their supposed association with witches where this belief, in midevil times, led people to even kill black cats. So, why is the black cat associated with Halloween? We now know that due to false beliefs stemming back to ancient times and the color of their fur and eyes, the black cat became the unforunate victim of circumstance! Happy Halloween from all of us at PHLF — black cats and otherwise!