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My fundamentalist
friend was surprised to hear that my parish was
having a Halloween party.
"But Halloween is a pagan holiday!" she exclaimed.
"Our church frowns on things like that. We’re
having a Harvest celebration."
My conservative Catholic cohort was equally
surprised. "I don’t understand this parish. Why
don’t they call it a Fall Fling or at least
require people to come dressed as the saints? It
makes us Catholics look bad!"
Still other parents grumbled about the
restrictions the parish school put on the annual
Halloween costume parade. "I don’t see why Johnny
can’t come dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th
if he wants to!"
Confused at best, my husband and I passed on the
parish Halloween party, much to our friends’
disappointment. Despite the protest of our boys
for decorations of ghosts and black cats, our home
was carefully adorned with scarecrows and smiling
pumpkins. We even began to wonder if we should let
the kids go trick-or-treating, although we were
heartsick at the thought of disappointing them.
And, for another year, a large black trunk
remained locked in our basement, silently
enshrining a collection of costumes and
decorations from parties we had hosted many years
ago. Before we were so confused about Halloween.
Finally, wanting some answers and wanting to be
loyal to our faith, I decided to do some digging
into what this bizarre holiday was all about and
whether we as Catholics should have anything to do
with it.
My research took me back to the ancient Celts who
lived in the British Isles. Avid followers of
nature and the cycles of life, the Celts observed
that in late October plants died, animals
disappeared (into hibernation), days grew shorter
and nights grew longer. They attributed this death
like state to Samhain, their god of the dead. They
feared that Samhain would slay the sun god,
leaving the world in total darkness and releasing
fearful spirits to roam the earth and create
mischief.
Therefore, every year from October 31 to November
1, the Celts would celebrate a feast to their god
of the dead. They believed evil spirits could be
pacified with edible treats or scared off with
bonfires (or "bone" fires, kindled from the dried
skeletons of sacrificed animals) set ablaze on
outdoor altars. People would set out lanterns of
carved turnips along with food to guide their
family spirits and make them feel welcome. The
head of each household would carry a burning coal
from the bonfire and light a new fire in the home
to further ward off evil spirits. During this
journey, the person wore a wear mask and costume
to fool the spirits.
Okay, I thought. That explains the tradition of
Halloween costumes, pumpkins, and
trick-or-treating. But what does this have to do
with the Church?
Upon further investigation, I discovered that the
early Church – after it had survived centuries of
persecution by the pagan Roman Empire and become
the official state religion – made deliberate
efforts to announce its victory over paganism.
This was primarily achieved by replacing pagan
symbols, feasts and places of worship with
Christian ones. In the same way that Christmas and
Easter took the place of pagan feast days, October
31st and November 1st were also earmarked for
Christian celebration.
In the ninth century, the Church officially
designated November 1 as All Saints Day, a
celebration commemorating all the saints. The
night before became known as All Hallows Evening
(or Hallowe’en for short), a holy vigil to draw
attention to the following day.
Over time, different cultures added to the
evolution of Halloween. Medieval beggars knocked
on doors for "soul cakes" in exchange for prayers
for the household’s deceased members. Costumes
became a way for people to participate in pageant
form in the story of life, death and that which
may happen in the hereafter. Brought to this
country by Irish and English immigrants, Halloween
eventually lost its religious significance for
most people, becoming a purely secular event.
Armed with this information, I now saw the value
in reclaiming Halloween as the holy celebration it
was intended to be. I realized that it was OK –
even important – to recognize that the devil,
demons and evil do exist. It was our
responsibility as Catholics to teach our children
what life and death are really all about and why
it is so necessary to pray for our brothers and
sisters in Christ who are no longer with us.
My husband and I began by giving an accurate
account of the holiday to our children before the
excitement of collecting bags of candy all but
obsessed them. I’m not sure they totally
understood everything we told them, but we plan to
make education a part of our annual Halloween
celebration.
In my quest to learn more about the fascinating
history of Halloween, I discovered some excellent
opportunities for evangelization, a task Pope John
Paul II has urged us all to do.
Here are a few examples: |
- Instead
of following commercial trends in terms of
costumes, try dressing your children as
saints or characters from the Bible.
- Hand out
correct information on the history of
Halloween along with your candy treats.
- Put
religious stickers on treat bags.
- Initiate
a three day celebration of life, death and
eternity in your parish with Masses and
memorial services.
-
Celebrate with a traditional parish
Halloween party.
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I even heard of one
family who exchanged thank-you notes for the
treats they received, wishing the candy givers a
happy All Saints’ Day and promising to pray for
their deceased family members.
As for me? I decided to write about it.
Enjoy Halloween with its history and traditions
now that its truth has been unmasked.
Published in Liguorian, October 2000
Elizabeth Ficocelli
is a Catholic author who writes for children and
adults.
For more information, visit
www.elizabethficocelli.com
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