[LM_NET] HIT: Hallows

[Caryn Werlin <werlin@SCH.CI.LEXINGTON.MA.US>]

Thanks to all for responding. Enjoy the holiday!!

Hallows are saints, as in "All Hallow' Eve," or Halloween, being the night
before All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day.)
 
Deathy Hallows?  Heck if I know? :-)

There are a few theories on this. I looked up the work in the OED and
hallows can mean saints, as in All Hallows Eve, ie Halloween.

I also read that some people think it has something to do with Godrich's
(sp?) Hallow, which is where Harry's parents were killed when he was a
baby. I think there's some speculation on this at the Leaky Cauldron.

The commonest use seems to be in the phrase "all hallows eve," an old
title for halloween. Hallows would therefore seem to mean "saints" ot
"holy ones."
This is what comes up when you enter define:hallows in Google.
http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Ahallows&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

American Heritage Dictionary - [
http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=hallows&ia=ahd4 ]Cite This
Source 

hal·low   (hl')  [ http://cache.lexico.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html
]Pronunciation Key   [
https://secure.reference.com/premium/login.html?rd=2&u=http:%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fhallows
][ http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif ][Image]  [
http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium.gif ][Image] 
tr.v.  hal·owed, hal·low·ing, hal·lows 

1.      To make or set apart as holy. 

2.      To respect or honor greatly; revere.


 
I looked it up in reference to the book.  I am so excited! I can't wait to
find out the release date.

I think it probably relates to Halloween, "All Hallows Eve."

Google this: all hallows eve
That's what came to my mind when I saw it.  What Halloween is.  See if 
that doesn't answer your question.

Although not specifically in the dictionary, I think the easiest
assumption is that "hallows" refers to a place or places that are sacred
or revered in some way. 

define:hallows in google turns up this:

("holy" or "holy night") the Oct. 31 Greater Sabbat, also called November
Eve, the Celtic Samhain ("sow-en"); the beginning of the Celtic winter,
and of the Celtic year; the beginning of the Witches' Year, when the Veil
Between the Worlds grows thin and the spirits of the dead may return to
Earth; the Descent of the Goddess to the Underworld; the final Harvest
festival


"Hallows" is another name for saints, and is also a British nickname
for Halloween ("All Hallows' Eve", which is the night before All Saints'
Day/All Hallows' Day).  So, yes, it is a noun.  
 
Harry's parents were killed on Halloween, so perhaps the title is some
reference to their death, or just of something that happens on the
anniversary of their death.  There have been some other important events
that happened to Harry on Halloween.
 
I'd be interested to see a hit, if anyone sends you anything interesting.

As a noun hallows is dialect for hollow or hollows0, as in a
valley.

Halloween is actually the shortened version of All Hallows Eve. 
Unabridged also shows Hallows as a variation of "hollow." We know that
Harry is going back to Godric's Hollow, the scene of his parents' murders
to search for a possible horcrux.  James and Lily were also murdered on
Halloween.  My money's on something along those lines.


All Hallows Eve (Halloween)

 From the OED:

hallow /"hal@U/
· v.
1 make holy; consecrate.
2 honour as holy. Ø [as adj. hallowed] greatly revered.
· n. archaic a saint or holy person.
– ORIGIN OE hQlgian (v.), hQlga (n.), of Gmc origin; rel. to holy.

**************************************
Caryn Werlin
Bridge School Library
55 Middleby Rd.
Lexington, MA 02421
781-861-2510 Extension 1106
werlin@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
Visit the Elementary Library page at
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Libdept/elem.html


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