October 31 is approaching fast—a night of ghoulish costumes, haunted
houses, trick-or-treating, witches, jack-o’-lanterns, parties and
superstitions that we call Halloween. What is this festival really
about?
Celtic Origins
While the exact origin of our Halloween celebrations remains disputed by
scholars, most point back to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain
(pronounced sah-wen) as the precursor. The Celtic people of
pre-medieval Europe lived in an area encompassing Ireland, the United
Kingdom, and northern France.
Halloween greeting card from 1904, divination is depicted: the young woman looking into...
They divided their year into two halves or seasons – the “light half” (summer) and the “dark half” (winter). October 31 was the transitional time between the end of summer and the beginning of winter with its darker and shorter days that was often associated with death. Since the Celtic worldview relies on a strong sense of place and the natural world for its harvest and livelihood, there was much superstition surrounding this liminal or “in-between” night. The Celts believed the boundaries between the land of the living and the land of the dead became blurred on October 31, and the dead could cross over into this world to visit souls.
As a result, to avoid being recognized and sought by ghosts when they
left their house, the Celts would wear masks or other disguises to trick
the ghosts so they wouldn’t think they were a fellow spirit. This is
likely the origin of modern-day dressing up in costume for Halloween.
Vance Ferrell states that Celtic priests (Druids) told people to go with
one another to gather food from each other’s houses to placate the
ghosts, spirits, fairies, witches, elves, and otherworldly creatures
believed to come out on that night and harm people.i
This food often included dainty sweets and is one theory as to the
origin of trick-or-treating or ‘guising’ as it is called in Scotland and
Ireland. If the evil spirit didn’t get properly “treated” or sent off,
they would play a “trick” on people instead.ii
A symbolic, communal bonfire was held on this night to mark the end of
the “light” half of the year and protect the people from the coming
winter.
Many divination and occult
practices took place on this night. People sought out spirits of their
ancestors and other beings to tell the future about weather and crop
expectations, or even romantic interests. One tradition for women
included standing in front of a mirror with a candle in a darkened room,
where it was said that the face of their future husband would pass
before them.
God makes it clear where He stands on these sorts of practices:
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a
consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all
that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of
these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before
thee. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)
Jack-O'-Lantern
The legend of the jack-o’-lantern has a few different meanings. Some sources say the Celtic people used hollowed-out turnips to carve frightening faces and put a candle in to keep harmful spirits away from their homes.iii Other tales say it was meant to act like a lamp to guide their dead ancestors to the meal left out for them.iv The legend of “Jack of the Lantern” has it that a man named Jack tried to outsmart the devil through practical jokes. The devil punished him for it by making him carry around a lit lantern the rest of his life, meant as a warning for others not to offend the devil.v
Roman Influence
When Rome conquered Celtic territory and ruled for four centuries
(43-410 AD), aspects of Roman paganism became fused with the Celtic
tradition of Samhain. For example, the Romans had two similar festivals
themselves—Feralia, a day in late October where Romans commemorated the
passing of the dead, and Pomona, a Roman goddess of fruit and trees,
from which the Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples likely derives.ii
Etymology
So if the Celtic festival of Samhain foreshadows Halloween, how did we
come to call Halloween “Halloween”? Halloween literally means “the eve
of All Hallows’ or All Saints’, which had to do with the Christian
Church. On May 13, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV re-consecrated the
Pantheon in Rome and renamed it “Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs.”
This day established the anniversary of remembering the Church’s
martyrs. In the 9th century, Pope Gregory III dedicated this day to all
the saints (hence the name All-hallows or “All Saints Day”) and moved it
from May to November 1—directly after the Celtic pagan festival of
Samhain. The night before (October 31) became “All Hallow’s Eve” and
eventually “Halloween” – a contraction of the phrase.
Christian Influence
The fusing of religious celebrations that occurred between the Celtic
and Roman peoples similarly occurred between the Celts and Christians
when Christianity began spreading into Celtic lands. Travis Allen
describes why this intermixing of holidays occurred and its aftermath:
As Christianity moved through Europe it collided with indigenous pagan
cultures and confronted established customs. Pagan holidays and
festivals were so entrenched that new converts found them to be a
stumbling block to their faith. To deal with the problem, the organized
church would commonly move a Christian holiday to a spot on the calendar
that would directly challenge a pagan holiday. The intent was to
counter pagan influences and provide a Christian alternative. But most
often the church only succeeded in ‘Christianizing’ a pagan ritual—the
ritual was still pagan, but mixed with Christian symbolism. That’s what
happened to All Saints Eve—it was the original Halloween alternative!vi
In this sense, Samhain was absorbed into Halloween. The same is true of other “Christian” holidays like Christmas and Easter,
which all had pagan origins. Halloween eventually made its way to North
America around the second half of the 19th century when a flood of
Irish immigrants came to the New World after the potato famine in 1846
and brought their traditions with them. Certain Samhain festivities
prevailed like costumes, trick-or-treating, candy, and bobbing for
apples. Hollywood has added its own imagery to further enhance the scare-factor and spiritual darkness of this night.
Wiccans and Halloween
Samhain is also connected to modern-day Wicca – an old English word for
witch. This religion is an offshoot of the ancient Celtic witchcraft of
Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Samhain was one of the more important
sabbats or seasonal holidays of the year that witches held sacred.
Celtic priests believed that witches ride on broomsticks this night and
can change themselves into black cats—hence two popular symbols of
Halloween that continue today.
According to one article, “Canadian Wiccans would like to see Halloween
recognized as a day of special pagan religious significance.”vii
Many Wiccans claim this holiday as their day, taking part in activities
such as ritual purification, divination, and contact with dead
ancestors. Vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and other such morbid
costumes fill the streets on Halloween night. Haunted houses are
decorated with violent imagery showing blood-stained hands, faces, and
decapitated bodies. This holiday that has been around since ancient
times increasingly focuses on the perverse, the gothic, and the occult.
Reformation Day
Instead
of celebrating a pagan festival shrouded in superstitions, darkness,
and occult imagery, let’s focus on the light that this day
represents—the light of God’s Word revealed to each and every person
directly through the Scriptures and not through an institution, and
let’s look for opportunities to spread this message to others on October
31 in keeping with the legacy of the Reformers.
i. Vance Ferrell, The Real Story Behind Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. (Altamont, TN: Harvestime Books, 2003): 66.
ii. Travis Allen, "Christians and Halloween.”
iii. Ellen Feldman, "Halloween." American Heritage (52.7: 2001).
iv. "The History of Halloween." Sceptic (7.3: 1999).
v. Vance Ferrell, op. cit., p. 66.
vi. Travis Allen, op. cit.
vii. Terry O'Neill, "Pagans and Pumpkins: Christians recoil at the ghoulisness of Halloween, while Wiccans work to clean it up." Report News Magazine (Oct 25, 1999): 62-63.
AD
No comments:
Post a Comment