Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap
There is a lot of mix-ups in the minds of
the Christians regarding the participation in the feast of Halloween. Consequently,
the debate goes on every year. I was asked to throw some light on this
debate. So here I am. The debatable
issues are many. 1) Is it a pagan (not Christian) festival? Does it involve the
worship of the devil? Does it have pagan or Catholic origin? What is wrong to
take part in the party?
Well! Let’s begin with
the etymology and history of the festival.
Actually, Halloween means nothing by
itself. It simply means "All Hallows Eve or All Hallows Day”. Hallow, as a
noun could mean saint and as a verb or adjective it could mean holy. So,
Halloween does have a connection with All Saints Day. This feast of All Saints
(Nov 1) was earlier known as Hallow-Mass or All Hallow-Mass. Therefore,
Halloween is a shortened form of Hallows-Eve or the evening before Hallows
day. It has been called that way for the
past 200 years.
So, when did it begin? Some accounts say
that the peasants, who lived 2,000 years ago in the Celtic belt (Ireland, UK
and northern France), celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked
the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a
time of year that was often associated with human death. On the night of October
31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the spirits of the dead
returned to earth causing trouble and damaging crops. The Druids or Celtic
priests built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and
animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts
wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to
tell each other’s fortunes.
Some other accounts say that in the
ancient Celtic (mostly Irish) calendar, November 1 began the New Year. So
naturally it was a time of celebration and merry making. The Celtic people made
this their cultural celebration. Just like the carnival today. While Christians
who are opposed to the celebration of Halloween frequently claim that it
descends from the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain. However, there's no
evidence whatsoever that Gregory III (who instituted the feast of All Saints in
8th C in Rome) or Gregory IV (who made it universal 100 years later) was even
aware of Samhain. This cultural festival had stopped being celebrated when the
Celtic people converted to Christianity hundreds of years before the Feast of
All Saints was instituted. In Celtic peasant culture, however, elements of the
harvest festival survived, even among Christians, just as the Christmas tree
owes its origins to pre-Christian Germanic traditions.
So, if the exact origin of this festival
is debatable why there is so much controversy? What created the controversy?
The controversy started in America.
The debate was between
the Catholics and the Protestants. The
Catholics did not give much importance to this festival whereas the Protestants
preached downright that the festival is a big NO to Christians. They even went
on identifying the festival with the Catholic Church. Since the Protestants do
not believe in saints they started suppressing all Catholic festivals.
In post-Reformation
England the Celtic peasant customs associated with Halloween were
outlawed. In the North-eastern United States,
Puritans outlawed the celebration of both Christmas
and Halloween. The celebration of Christmas in the United States was revived
largely by German Catholic immigrants in the 19th century; Irish Catholic
immigrants brought with them the celebration of Halloween. Continued opposition
to Halloween in the late 19th century was largely an expression of
anti-Catholicism and anti-Irish prejudice. But by the early 20th century,
Halloween, like Christmas and Carnival, were becoming highly commercialized.
All the different
traditions revolving around All Saints and All Souls were mixed together in the
United States when immigrants started to intermarry and combine customs. The
celebration of Halloween spread throughout the country during the early 20th
century and quickly became a secular community activity that was devoid of its
Christian origins. In the modern times criticism of Halloween by protestants
began in the 1980's, in part because of claims that Halloween was the
"Devil's Night". By the late 1990s, many Catholic parents began to
question Halloween celebrations.
Paganism in the ancient times and paganism
today are poles apart. Modern paganism
is precisely modern and should be distinguished from the cults of ancient
religions. Modern paganism as far as Halloween is concerned is just about 200
years old. It has no connection with the paganism of ancient times. The
paganism that exists today is a romantic and very selective form of
entertainment. Today when people talk about Halloween they do not talk about
the dead or the spirits or the ghosts or some animal sacrifices. They talk in terms of entertainment and
having fun. But as the Bible says the
devil is very cunning. (1 Peter 5:8; Rev 12:11; Eph 6:11; 1 John 5:19; Eph 6:11)
He has all the tricks up his sleeve to deceive us so that we may end up
worshiping him and betraying Jesus. So
if the celebration of Halloween involves some kind of cult of the devil, some
kind of invoking of the dead spirits or witchcraft and black magic then it is
very clear this festival has to be avoided.
But since the devil is extra intelligent, he may not seduce the
participants through such actions, he will seduce them through alcohol, drugs
and cheating on partners. Money and pleasure have always been source of evil
and sin. Therefore, the Catholic Church
was always cautious about such festivals. So, it is up to us Christians to
decide. Choose well choose wisely.
*First published on Renovocao the Goan diocesan magazine and then on social media
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