Halloween – Pagan or Holy?

Everyone knows that Christmas is the holiday which brings in the most money to business. Do you know which is second? Easter? - No. Valentine’s Day? - No. It is Halloween. Halloween is the second most popular and the second most profitable of the holidays. So where did it come from? “Hallow” in old English means “holy” or “sacred”. “Hallow’s Eve” or Halloween means “evening of holy persons” and refers to the evening before All Saints’ Day. As early as 609 B.C., All Saints Day was practiced in the church as a means of honoring all martyrs. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory II moved the festival of All Saints to November 1st where it remains to this day on both Anglican and Roman Catholic calendars. The move in part offered a substitute for the popular pagan celebration of the Celtic New Year. The Celts believed that at the New Year, the dead came back to mingle among the living. As the ghosts thronged about the houses of the living, they were greeted with tables loaded with food. After feasting, masked and costumed villagers, representing the souls of the dead, paraded to the outskirts of the town leading the ghosts away. You can see the origins of Halloween in this festival -- children dressing up in costumes going house to house to gather treats in an effort to thwart the work of ghosts. Thus Halloween is in part a religious holiday to prepare us for the Festival of All Saints. Some Christians prohibit their children from practicing this age-old rite. They say it is pagan. I think not. It is grounded in religious practice and can be used as a “teachable moment” when we know the facts. So get out your favorite mask and old bed sheet. Go to the neighborhood Halloween party. It’s your religious duty. Get ready for All Saints’ Day.