Samhain, one of four major pagan holidays, celebrated with a fire festival

This year the average American household will spend between $40 and $50 on Halloween candy and decorations.

To put this into perspective, in 2008, the people of the United States spent over $5 billion dollars on Halloween. This amount nears the $7 billion dollars that is being spent monthly to fund the war in Iraq.

Americans are known for putting their wallets where their priorities are, and it seems that in this case the national priority is on candy. However, this is not the way it has always been.

Halloween originated from a Celtic celebration called Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”). It was one of four major Pagan holidays that was celebrated with a fire festival. In the Gaelic traditions it was believed that during this time the worlds of the living and dead collided. The seasons would change, harvest would come to an end, and what was green and lush was now brown, dry, and dead.

The Celtic people would use this time to take stock of their supplies and prepare for winter. October 31st of each year was the night that it was believed that the boundaries of the living and the dead overlapped, and it was on this night that the deceased would come back and cause sickness among the healthy and destroy crops that were late in being harvested.

To avoid mass destruction and illness, the Gaels would gather around large bonfires. The idea behind the fires, it is believed, was to draw insects, and the insects in turn would attract bats that would help ward off the evil spirits of the dead that were roaming about. Another tradition of the Pagans during this time was to wear masks around the fire. These masks would either mimic or appease the dead.

In the 8th century Pope Gregory III established “All Saints Day.” This move was likely an attempt to distract the Celtic Pagans from their evil practices. All Saints Day (also known as All Hallows Day) was designated on November 1st and was put in place to celebrate the lives of the holy saints, known and unknown. However, this celebration only helped to blur the lines between the practices of the Pagans and the practices of the Church. The English not only adopted the new holiday, but continued to practice all of their Pagan traditions. Soon Samhain was referred to as “All Hallows Eve,” which later became known as “Halloween.”

The Puritans, of course, wanted nothing to do with an evil holiday. They lived by the Biblical verse in Jeremiah 10:2 that read, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen…” For this reason, they left behind the practices of All Hallows Eve as well as All Saints Day when they left Europe. In fact, life in the new colonies remained free of this Pagan practice until the 19th century.

By 1840, the Irish had become very dependent on their crops of potatoes. While potatoes had not been native to Ireland, they thrived in the damp Irish climate. However, in the mid 1840’s a potato blight reached the shores of Ireland by way of ship cargo holds and quickly spread through the Irish potato fields. As a consequence, Ireland was thrown in to a great famine, and people were forced to leave their beloved country.

Many of those who fled Ireland made their way across the Atlantic Ocean and to the shores of America. With them they brought their customs and religious practices, including those of Halloween. It didn’t take long for the holiday to mesh with the American people, and become a regular part of life.

More than 150 years later in our nation’s history, Halloween seems as much a part of American culture as apple pie and baseball. Schools, work places, and even entire towns make time for grand celebrations. While much of the holiday has now been reduced to superficial parties, there is still a debate that rages within the church.

The Satanic Bible, by Anton Levey reads, “After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween (page 96, Segment on religious holidays).” For this reason, many Christians, and Christian churches, have chosen to disassociate themselves with the holiday entirely. They see no place for the church in what they feel is a satanic holiday.

However, as Halloween becomes more and more culturally acceptable, the church finds itself in a quandary. Do they completely shut themselves off from a celebration that is so much a part of the daily lives of the people, or do they find alternate ways to celebrate? For many churches it is their fear that if they chose to ignore the holiday as a whole their people (especially their children and youth) will find themselves in places they shouldn’t be on Halloween night. This has caused many churches to hold alternative events, often called Harvest Parties, on the same night.

These parties still include candy, costumes, and games, but steer very clear of the demonic and evil sides of Halloween. While this could be considered an effort on the part of the Church, some of the more pious or devout denominations feel that there should be no concessions made in the celebration of what they view as an evil holiday. They believe that the church should distance itself from the holiday as a whole.

It seems that no matter the position of church, the country has made Halloween a great priority on the calendar. So now, it comes down to personal choice.

Is this a holiday meant for children to dress up and hunt for candy? Is it a holiday for adults allowing them to don costumes and return to their youth? Or is there something more sinister lurking behind the façade of this national holiday?

WHAT SAY YOU?

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