Halloween
Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting candy. It is celebrated in much of the Western world, though most common in the United States, Puerto Rico, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and sometimes in Australia and New Zealand. Irish, Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century. Most other Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop culture in the late 20th century.
The term "Halloween" (or eve) before the feast of All Saints (an important day in the Christian calendar), which used to be called "All Hallows" derived from All Hallowed Souls. In Ireland, the name was Hallow Eve and this name is still used by some older people. Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian reinterpretation. In Mexico and Belgium November 2nd, after All Saint's Day, following Halloween, is the Day of the Dead.
Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit.
In Britain and Ireland in particular, the pagan Celts celebrated the Day of the Dead on All Hallows Day (1st November). The spirits supposedly rose from the dead and, in order to attract them, food was left on the doors. To scare off the evil spirits, the Celts wore masks. When the Romans invaded Britain, they embellished the tradition with their own, which is both a celebration of the harvest and of honoring the dead. Very much later, these traditions were transported to the United States and Canada and other places in the New World.
Halloween is sometimes associated with the occult. Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the "liminal" times of the year when the spirit world can make contact with the natural world and when magic is most potent (see, for example, Catalan mythology about witches).
Anoka, Minnesota, USA, the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital of the World," celebrates with a large civic parade.
Salem, Massachusetts, USA, also has laid
claim to the title "Halloween Capital of the World," though
Salem has tried to separate itself from its history in the
subject of witchcraft. Despite that, the city does see a
great deal of tourism surrounding the Salem witch trials,
especially around Halloween.
History
"Originally a Celtic festival,
Samhain, the last day of October became All Hallows
Eve in the eighth century when Pope Gregory III
moved All Saints' Day (or Hallows' Day) to November
1. The move was a means to claim the day for
Christians, yet connections to pagan, Wiccan, and
Druid beliefs remained."
Although various earlier feasts and celebrations
were observed to remember the departed saints,
Gregory's Feast of All Saints was apparently the
first such annual observance (and thus not "moved"
from any other date). The Feast of All Souls
(November 2) was later installed as a means of
remembering the souls in Purgatory.
Some sources place the pagan celebration of Samhain later in November: "Although little is known about these celebrations, it seems that the Samhain festivities were observed between November 5-7 (midway between the summer equinox and the winter solstice) with a one-week series of events, ending with the feast of 'the dead,' which marked the beginning of the new Celtic year."
It is unknown exactly how much influence the Celtic celebration had on the institution of the All Saints, but contemporary American practices almost certainly have a direct root through the large Irish (Celtic) immigrant population.
Halloween -- literally "All Hallow's Eve" -- is celebrated on the "eve" before All Saints ("All Hallowed").
Evolution Of A Holiday
(by
the History Channel)
As European immigrants came to America, they
brought their varied Halloween customs with them.
Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that
characterized early New England, celebration of
Halloween in colonial times was extremely limited
there.
It was much more common in Maryland and the
southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of
different European ethnic groups, as well as the
American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American
version of Halloween began to emerge. The first
celebrations included "play parties," public events
held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors
would share stories of the dead, tell each other's
fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween
festivities also featured the telling of ghost
stories and mischief-making of all kinds. By the
middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn
festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet
celebrated everywhere in the country.
In the second half of the nineteenth century,
America was flooded with new immigrants. These new
immigrants, especially the millions of Irish
fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to
popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally.
Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans
began to dress up in costumes and go house to house
asking for food or money, a practice that
eventually became today's "trick-or-treat"
tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween,
they could divine the name or appearance of their
future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple
parings, or mirrors.
In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to
mold Halloween into a holiday more about community
and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts,
pranks, and witchcraft.
At the turn of the century,
Halloween parties for both children and adults
became the most common way to celebrate the day.
Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and
festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by
newspapers and community leaders to take anything
"frightening" or "grotesque" out of Halloween
celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween
lost most of its superstitious and religious
overtones by the beginning of the twentieth
century.
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a
secular, but community-centered holiday, with
parades and town-wide parties as the featured
entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many
schools and communities, vandalism began to plague
Halloween celebrations in many communities during
this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had
successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had
evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the
young. Due to the high numbers of young children
during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from
town civic centers into the classroom or home,
where they could be more easily accommodated.
Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice
of trick-or-treating was also revived.
Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way
for an entire community to share the Halloween
celebration. In theory, families could also prevent
tricks being played on them by providing the
neighborhood children with small treats. A new
American tradition was born, and it has continued
to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6.9
billion annually on Halloween, making it the
country's second largest commercial holiday.
Arguments why not to participate:
Pagan origins
"More than a thousand years ago Christians confronted pagan rites appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. Halloween's unsavory beginnings preceded Christ's birth when the druids, in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer with sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic year, and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves. The waning of the sun and the approach of dark winter made the evil spirits rejoice and play nasty tricks. Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan rites and superstitions."
Emphasis on evil and the occult
"Witches, sorcerers, and ghosts are popular figures during Halloween. But the Bible strictly forbids occult practices such as witchcraft, sorcery, divination, interpreting omens, casting spells, and consulting a medium (Deut. 18:9-11). These counterfeit attempts to see the future, control one's fate, or obtain guidance are forbidden because God's people are to trust him for their future and seek his guidance."
"No one can deny that Halloween
is mainly focused on fear, darkness, monsters, the
occult and violence. Are these the kinds of things
that we should be exposing our children or
ourselves to? ...Halloween is a holiday that
glorifies that which is dark, that which is
diabolical. "
[
See Ephesians 5:11 and 1
Thessalonians 5:22
Misappropriation of money
Christians who are convicted not to participate in this holiday also believe that their money could be used in better ways. Rather than spend money on costumes, parties, candy, etc..., some Christians would rather give their money to the Church or to ministries instead.
Arguments for participating
Reinterpreted or given new meaning
"For the children who will come to our door asking for candy, Halloween means something different from its original intent. Anthropologists talk about cultural reinterpretation, which is the process whereby an imported cultural trait or feature is reinterpreted to make it compatible with the values of the society embracing it. Presumably, the parents of little children who come to the door every year have reinterpreted Halloween, or ignored its original meaning so that their kids can have fun without the ugly elements usually associated with Halloween.
"Strictly speaking, it is impossible to reinterpret Halloween. Unlike Christmas and Easter, which also had pagan origins but were successfully changed into Christian holidays, Halloween is still pagan. Parents who dress their children in clown suits don't really reinterpret the holiday. They just divest it of meaning in order to turn the children loose for an evening of harmless fun."
Harmless fun
"[T]here is a place for some harmless fun. Kids love to dress up and pretend. If the Halloween experience is focused on fantasy rather than on the occult, I see no harm in it. Make costumes for your children that represent fun characters, such as Mickey Mouse or an elderly grandmother, and then let them go door-to-door asking for treats. This side of Halloween can be thoroughly enjoyable for little ones." James Dobson,
Don't prevent kids from gathering all the free candy they can because of ancient "pagan" traditions. But, beware of the real danger: cavities. Adults, that doesn't mean pass out apples. Kids, that means brush your teeth before bed.
'Baptize' the holiday
"...celebrate the fact that at death we pass from the land of shadows into the land of light."
Time with one's kids
Many parents look forward to Halloween as it allows them to spend time with their kids. Having the opportunity to set the focus of the evening, many parents pray with their kids before they leave to "trick or treat", and at the end of the night make a point, even as "childish" as it may seem, to give thanks to God for the candy that was freely given. Some have even taken the chance to use "free candy" to talk to their kids and relate this to God's grace that is given freely to those who believe.
Evangelism
Many parents who allow their kids to go door-to-door for candy also have their children carry pieces of paper with passages from the Bible. When the child receives their candy, in return they leave the person with a passage from the Bible concerning God's love, Jesus, salvation, etc.
Alternative celebrations
Reformation Day
Reformation Day is a day in remembrance of the Protestant Reformation. It takes place on October 31 and is official holiday in a lot of countries.
Costume party
It has been encouraged to throw a party where each individual shows up wearing a costume. Even though kids may be wearing costumes that resemble withes, ghosts, or things of this sort, the focus of the party does not have to be "pagan" or "evil".
Remembrance of departed believers
"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." -Hebrews 13:7
"There are other values in a meeting convened to remember those who have passed into heaven. Believers who have lost friends or family members could be encouraged to talk about them openly. What the Bible teaches about the state of the dead who die in the Lord could be reviewed, and the occasion could be a fine opportunity for proclaiming that Christ is Conqueror over death and hell and Satan."
Trunk & Treat
Some churches host what is called a "Trunk and Treat". At this event, parents arrive having dressed up their cars, using their trunk (or truck bed) as the area where candy is passed out, decorations are done, or anything of this sort. Parents fill up the parking lot, and kids go "car to car" viewing each car's "costume" and getting candy. It provides a time for parents to allow their kids to enjoy themselves in a safe environment and all are able to enjoy fellowship with others from their church.
Cautions
Whether one allows their child to participate during Halloween, parents should be cautioned of a few things. If you decide not allow your child to participate, be aware of their reactions and feelings. Typically children (or even teens) will feel left out from social events, time with their friends, or will feel abnormal, different, or "not like the other kids". This is not reason to go against your conviction, but it does give reason to be conscious of their feelings, and to act as a support in their time of disappointment (not to say all kids will be disappointed). Whether your child is following Jesus or not, this is a great opportunity to bring your child to God's Word and introduce or remind them of the commitment to follow Jesus at any cost. Rent a movie, get some candy, or plan something fun for the evening.
For those who will be allowing their child to participate, be cautious of your child's motives to participate. Some may get into the "evil" side of things too much, while others may want to go for the social interaction or other reasons. If your child is following Jesus, help remind them of their commitment to Christ, and to remain an example as they "trick or treat" (this is one of many examples). If you are unsure if your child is following Jesus, and will still be allowing them to go, perhaps take time to discuss with them how to avoid evil and how to make good choices. Find ways to relate this to Jesus, or God's Word.
For those who will be going with their children, this a great opportunity to allow your child the freedom to enjoy the holiday, while watching over your child to make sure that things do not get out of hand. Be careful to not be over-protective, but do not hesitate to relate a situation to something in God's Word.
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