Many Christians are conflicted during the month of October as to whether or not they will celebrate October 31st or Halloween. There are vehement protests about why Halloween should be ignored by believers. While others view it as a harmless day for their children to enjoy. I mean really what’s sacrilegious about Cinderella or Spiderman? With Halloween days away, I decided to do a little research to find out the origin and true meaning of this spooky.
Nicholas James, a professor of History at New York University, wrote the book “Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night” which diligently explores the history of Halloween and it’s etymology. He found that Halloween is literally derivative of “all-hallows’-eve”; and even though most believe the holiday was of pagan ancestry, it’s actual origin is rooted in Christianity. All Saint’s Day on November 1st together with All Souls’ Day on November 2nd was marked on the Christian calendar to honor and celebrate saints but especially loved ones who had passed in the year. So the next question is where the heck did all the ghoul and goblin come from! Well, in past centuries All-hallows-eve became tied to a variety cultural styles that were steeped in folklore and pagan roots.
About 2000 years ago the Celts celebrated Samhain, which to some was considered a magical holiday. Celtics believed that the night before the New Year the chasm separating the living and the dead was bridged, allowing spirits of the dead, both good and bad, to join with the living. Some of these spirits were thought to possess living people, cause trouble, ruin crops, or to search for passage to the afterlife. To assuage the spirits, people would offer food and drinks. Also, hoping to aid the spirit in reaching the afterlife. Others dressed in bizarre or garish costumes and roamed the city making noise as to scare the spirits away. In other parts of the Celtic region that covered United Kingdom, Ireland and Northern France people celebrated dead pagan gods by having a sacred, central bonfire.
But during the first century A.D. during the 400 years of the Roman Empire, Christianity had spread, and the church didn’t approve of Samhain. Shocker! So Pope Boniface IV designated All Saints Day to honor martyrs and church saints. All Saints Day was also known as All Hallowmas. Later, in 1000 A.D. the church assigned All Souls Day to November 2nd to honor the dead who were not saints, nice people just not saintly people. Then the two holidays of Samhain and All Hallowmas were combined and celebrated as Hallowmas, which is known today as Halloween.
The irony is that in different countries all over the world there are variances of meaning to All-Hallows-Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day that have also merged with our present day meaning of Halloween. In England, All Souls Day was when the poor would “go a-souling”. They would go door to door asking for food and in exchange they would pray for the souls of dead relatives. It was thought that a number of prayers were needed for a soul to cross over the other side. In parts of Czechoslovakia, the people would eat special cakes and drink cold mike to “cool souls that are roasting in Purgatory.”
While in Mexico, Latin America and Spain All Saints Day and All Souls Day were a three-day celebration starting at sundown on October 31st extending to November 2nd. Though, the Aztecs influenced the style and meaning of the evolution of their holiday. According to writer Carlos Miller, the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during rituals. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth as a way to honor the dead whom they believed came back to visit during a month-long ritual. The Spaniards viewed death as the end of life, and the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Not to dissimilar from Christian beliefs—interesting! Thus, instead of fearing death, they embraced it. The skull continues to live on and Dia De Los Muertos translated from Spanish means Day of The Dead. It is an extravagant holiday long celebrated in Mexican culture. At night and in cemeteries, the family of the departed will decorate gravesites and offer prayers or speak to the dead family members.
Through the years the roots of All Hallows Eve or Hallowmas lives on and takes shape in new and sometimes outlandish forms each year. The dressing up and going door to door is rooted in Celtic and English tradition; while the ghouls and goblin, haunted cemeteries, and skulls or calavera is from Aztec and Mexican culture. Even with these numerous cultural influences, many of which were not included in this article, Halloween’s supernatural elements and undertones seem to be about reconciling our fear of death. Albeit, the imagination of many writers, filmmakers, and artists were sparked to create a literary smorgasbord of fiendish characters all assigned to what we presently call Halloween.
But for Christians wanting to run from Halloween, try reigniting the original meaning of All-Hallows-Eve. Instead of costumes and goblins, how about taking time to celebrate or remember the life of a loved one passed on; or find a way to honor people no longer with us who impacted your life and world in a profound way. As Christians God calls us to always remember Christ and put nothing before Him, but even when Christ’s dear friend Lazarus died He still wept, despite the fact He knew Lazarus was merely sleeping. Halloween doesn’t have to mean evil or bad remember its origin and reclaim it.
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