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A History Of Halloween
By MARY CANTELL, For The Bulletin
October is tricky—a seasonal enigma. You may be wearing a short-sleeved shirt one minute only to have the wind creep up at gale-force speed, sending you running for cover toward the nearest fleece-lined parka. Going for a brisk walk could require bringing a sweater and, most likely, by the end of the walk, you’ve become a teaming mass of sweat for which wearing a sweater might be incongruous. Familiar trees lose their familiarity and begin to usurp their verdant greenery for some finer shades of red or gold. And let’s not forget the daylight savings time tradition where we set the clocks back an hour. These are some of the highlights of the first full autumnal month—October. But the most celebrated thing in October is what happens on the last day: the hallowed Halloween. The celebration’s early beginnings are a bit cloudy and there are several sources of its significance; however, most historians agree that it originated among the Celts.
Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the times of the year where spirits can make contact with the physical world. Today, in the western culture, many of the celebration’s features are still practiced: wearing costumes, carving pumpkins, lighting bonfires and trick-or-treating. These practices originally began in an effort to ward off evil spirits, which may have caused havoc, and the costumes were donned in an attempt to mimic or placate them, or so the legend goes. The celebration continued throughout the centuries and did not become a holiday in the U.S. until the 19th century nor commercialized until the 20th, chiefly because of the Puritan influence, according to historians.
While Halloween has become a fixture in the U.S. and around the world, some believe that its superstitious attributes have all but abated in favor of just a night of fun for children. But the debate continues.
It may be legend or it may be fact, but in either case, it supposedly began with the Celts’ celebration during a festival, named after a pagan lord of the dead. The Celts—fearing the so-called deity—a sun god, perhaps—offered gifts to ameliorate the god’s powers. Apparently, they thought they were appeasing or serving God in this way. Really? I thought the Bible says that perfect love casts out all fear. The days were fraught with fear and supernatural happenings along with sacrifices and other pagan rituals. Later on when the Romans took over, the celebration embraced other forms of worshipping the dead and eventually the holiday took the form of honoring dead saints and later martyrs. The name was changed to All Saint’s Day and eventually All Souls’ Day.
When the tradition came to America, including the honoring of the dead and dressing up as ghouls and ghosts while playing mischievous pranks, today’s Halloween is a direct derivative of this pagan revelry. In light of this tradition, it begs the question: Is this something you really want to pass onto your children or grandchildren?
You may say what’s wrong with having a little frivolity on the last day of October? It’s just a harmless night of fun. What harm can come from dressing up in spooky costumes and solicit for candy? It’s an innocent tradition. But is it really? Look a little closer.
Halloween stems from worshipping a sun god instead of the real one. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits instead of trusting the Almighty One. Halloween is steeped in superstitious beliefs based on false truths — not to mention mischief, which always end up the day before the holiday. Why is that?
Even after biblical truths and insights are brought to light — among them, the directive from God “not to have any other gods before me,” it seems there will still be those who continue to believe that the celebrating of Halloween is just an innocuous past time for children.
With every real and authentic article, there is a counterfeit. For Christmas, it’s Santa Claus who takes Jesus’ place. At Easter, it’s the bunny which steals the attention from Jesus—again. At Halloween, it’s a little more subtle, but the counterfeit is there: worshipping the dead, appeasing spirits and emulating the creatures who define evil and darkness. Hasn’t the 21st century brought us further than this?
Halloween might be associated with candy, but it’s a white-washed tradition that isn’t at all sweet.
Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the times of the year where spirits can make contact with the physical world. Today, in the western culture, many of the celebration’s features are still practiced: wearing costumes, carving pumpkins, lighting bonfires and trick-or-treating. These practices originally began in an effort to ward off evil spirits, which may have caused havoc, and the costumes were donned in an attempt to mimic or placate them, or so the legend goes. The celebration continued throughout the centuries and did not become a holiday in the U.S. until the 19th century nor commercialized until the 20th, chiefly because of the Puritan influence, according to historians.
While Halloween has become a fixture in the U.S. and around the world, some believe that its superstitious attributes have all but abated in favor of just a night of fun for children. But the debate continues.
It may be legend or it may be fact, but in either case, it supposedly began with the Celts’ celebration during a festival, named after a pagan lord of the dead. The Celts—fearing the so-called deity—a sun god, perhaps—offered gifts to ameliorate the god’s powers. Apparently, they thought they were appeasing or serving God in this way. Really? I thought the Bible says that perfect love casts out all fear. The days were fraught with fear and supernatural happenings along with sacrifices and other pagan rituals. Later on when the Romans took over, the celebration embraced other forms of worshipping the dead and eventually the holiday took the form of honoring dead saints and later martyrs. The name was changed to All Saint’s Day and eventually All Souls’ Day.
When the tradition came to America, including the honoring of the dead and dressing up as ghouls and ghosts while playing mischievous pranks, today’s Halloween is a direct derivative of this pagan revelry. In light of this tradition, it begs the question: Is this something you really want to pass onto your children or grandchildren?
You may say what’s wrong with having a little frivolity on the last day of October? It’s just a harmless night of fun. What harm can come from dressing up in spooky costumes and solicit for candy? It’s an innocent tradition. But is it really? Look a little closer.
Halloween stems from worshipping a sun god instead of the real one. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits instead of trusting the Almighty One. Halloween is steeped in superstitious beliefs based on false truths — not to mention mischief, which always end up the day before the holiday. Why is that?
Even after biblical truths and insights are brought to light — among them, the directive from God “not to have any other gods before me,” it seems there will still be those who continue to believe that the celebrating of Halloween is just an innocuous past time for children.
With every real and authentic article, there is a counterfeit. For Christmas, it’s Santa Claus who takes Jesus’ place. At Easter, it’s the bunny which steals the attention from Jesus—again. At Halloween, it’s a little more subtle, but the counterfeit is there: worshipping the dead, appeasing spirits and emulating the creatures who define evil and darkness. Hasn’t the 21st century brought us further than this?
Halloween might be associated with candy, but it’s a white-washed tradition that isn’t at all sweet.
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Noinden wrote on Oct 27, 2009 10:10 AM:
(1) It is not named after the “Celtic” lord of the dead. Each Celtic culture has it’s own unique pantheon of deities. Samhain (Soo-win) probably means “Summers end” . It is Irish. The Irish lord of the dead was Donn, an ancestor type deity, he was the first Gael to die on Irish soil.
(2) It had nothing to do with a Sun deity. The closest deity to a sun deity would be Lugh. He was not feared.
(3) The date was seen as the time that the ancestors (both of blood and myth) were closest. Thus it was a period of celebration. You knew that those who had passed on were close. Again not a period of fear.
(4) It was also the time of the blood harvest. When the herds were culled before winter.
Try reading Prof. Ronald Huttons Stations of the Sun next time. He is an academic.
Slan leat
Dr Gareth Damian Thomas "