Notes about Halloween
Do you ever wonder about the origin and history of Halloween? Do you ever wonder about whether or not it is pagan or Christian? The annual event is complicated and has been shaped by various cultures through the ages, so let’s look into this holiday and learn about it.
The English name Halloween goes back to the medieval Catholic Church, which long predates the Reformation (which is also celebrated on October 31). The word hallow is derived from an Old English word which means holy. It can also mean saint. The holiday we know as All Saints’ Day was called All Hallows’ Day and the previous day, when an evening mass was held, was All Hallows’ Evening. That gradually became Halloween.
The ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, which occurred on Nov. 1 but started the evening before, is considered the earliest known source of some of our Halloween traditions. Samhain (end of Summer) in the Celtic religion is one of the most important and fearful festivals of the year. On Nov. 1, the Celts believed the world of the gods became visible to humankind and the gods played many evil tricks on their live human worshippers. Considered a dangerous time filled with fear, people thought that sacrifices of every kind were necessary to neutralize the activities of the deities.
Samhain was an important forerunner to Halloween. People believed the dead were allowed to return to this side of the grave and interact with the living. One of the fears was that if the living didn’t honor the dead, the spirits (ghosts) would haunt and curse the living. Some also believed that the bodies — the skeletons or partially decomposed bodies — of the dead would appear to harm or at least scare people, and that is why Halloween is popular for many of its haunted stories. This concept is shared by other cultures.
Connecting the Church with Halloween activities and superstitions on Oct. 31 is more complex. Pope Boniface IV began All Saints Day in 609 when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to “Blessed Mary, ever virgin, mother of all saints” on May 13. (Another source says the pope dedicated it to “St. Mary and all Martyrs.”) Pope Gregory IV added All Saints Day to the Church calendar, extending the celebration from Rome to churches everywhere, and Pope Gregory VII ultimately mandated All Saint’s Day to be held on Nov. 1. With All Saints Day on Nov. 1, All Hallows’ Eve was on Oct. 31. This was, perhaps, an effort to offset the pagan event with a religious celebration. But it didn’t offset anything; it merely added a deeply pagan tradition to the Church calendar.
The early pagan holiday of Samhain involved a lot of polytheistic Celtic rituals and ceremonies. Gradually, the Church became insensitive to the negative spiritual connotations of the celebration and absorbed the pagan traditions into Christianity.
The mystical rituals of earlier times evolved into more lighthearted fun and games. For example, the somewhat heavy concept of interacting with the dead was replaced with the more lighthearted idea of fortune telling — itself a pagan practice. Bobbing for apples also became popular as a fortune telling game on All Hallows’ Eve: Apples would be selected to represent all of a woman’s suitors and the apple she ended up biting into would supposedly represent her future husband.
The candy collecting concept became mainstream in the U.S. in the early 1900s during which families would provide treats to children in hopes that they would be immune to any holiday pranks.
As for the costumes, young Scottish and Irish pranksters got the idea to dress up in scary-looking garb as a way to spook unsuspecting neighbors. And, thanks to these people, costumes became scary, spooky and creative all at the same time.
Many people, including Christians, see nothing wrong with the annual celebration, and others — primarily Christians — still recognize the pagan origins. And yet others still celebrate the day in the manner of the original Celtic Samhain.
Throughout the early to mid-1900s in the U.S., the celebration was fun, innocent and a great social event. But gradually, the spirit of the event began to show its ugly head. I don’t know about other states, when I lived in Southern California, parents found razor blades in some apples, some candy was tainted with poison or illicit drugs, and more.
So, if you celebrate the popular Halloween celebration, be careful. Take care of your kids. And in all you do, honor Jesus Christ.