Roodmas
Roodmas (from
Old English 'rod' pr. 'rood', rood, cross, and 'mas', mass) is an ancient and obsolete English word meaning "
Mass of the
Cross". This festivity is associated with the
Heathen festival of
Beltane, the same
Neopagan festivity,
Walpurgis Night,
May Day and
witchcraft. It took place at
midnight on May 1, during a time in which it was common to celebrate some masses at 12 AM (0:00 hrs), presumably in an attempt to diminish the influence of
Paganism. Persecutions were common the days after the celebration of Roodmas because people who did not go to the church were considered to be Pagans first, and
Satanists later, and the
Christian authorities were not well disposed to tolerate non-Christian population in their territory, as
History proves. During the
Middle Age and
Renaissance it was said that witches and warlocks celebrated a reunion called Great
Sabbath on this night to honour the
Devil and offend
Jesus,
God and all
sacraments. It is true that some people confessed their participation in this Great Sabbath (under torture, for no confession was taken as valid by ecclesiastical tribunals if not given under torment), it is true that some persons practised
Satanism that day, but it is also true that most accused people were Pagans who refused to accept
Christianity, continuing the celebration of their ceremonies, which were turned into Satanic rites by Christian authorities.
In fiction this festivity is mentioned several times by H. P. Lovecraft in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, misspelled 'Roodemas' to imitate the arbitrary orthography of the 17th and 18th Centuries, and considered, together with Hallow's eve (Halloween) the most favourable days to invoke the stronger powers of Darkness.