My daughter came home from school yesterday eager to tell me what her history teacher said was the real history of Halloween. Nearly everything she proceeded to tell me was wrong.
I had a similar discussion last Sunday with a man in my Bible study. I told him I hadn’t brought up Halloween during class because we’re in a protestant church and as I know how they feel about it, I don’t think I’m the best person to talk to. Half my family is Catholic.
The largest Catholic church in the town I grew up in hosts a mammoth Halloween carnival every year. They do not call it a “Harvest Festival” and it’s not one of the “Trunk Or Treats” that are ubiquitous here in Florida. It’s cake walks, hay rides, food booths and carnival games run by nuns in full costume. I’ve moved away but the carnival continues. Ghosts or little red devil costumes are common.
When my mother converted to a Baptist, I ended up in a church where Halloween was a harvest festival in the gym where the only costumes allowed were Bible characters, and only the good guys. We shrugged and went to both. The Catholic carnival wasn’t honoring evil. We were simultaneously acknowledging the reality of supernatural evil while making it look childish and small.
Back to my daughter—her history teacher told her the Catholics took over an existing pagan holiday. It’s important to know that this is a common pagan claim and they do the same thing to minimize Christmas. They love to say they came first and Christians were just riding on their coat tails; it’s meant to reduce the significance of Christianity by making our faith sound derivative.
All Saints Day most certainly did not begin because of an obscure Celtic celebration. It began in the 8th century and when it spread to Ireland, the traditions associated with two holidays both celebrated on November 1st inevitably influenced each other. Some of the goofier things we do, like carving jack o’lanterns, have much more to do with folklore than religion.
Hallow means holy and Hallow’s Eve is the night before the holy day of remembering those who are dead in Christ. Today is a good day to remember those we have lost as we look forward to the day we see them again.
