I haven’t heard too much negative press about Halloween in the news this year (or maybe I’m just doing a better job of ignoring it). In the recent past, there has been quite a bit of controversy in some circles of the dangers of Halloween and its alleged pagan origins. For the most part, Halloween in the last 50 years has become a secular and highly commercialized celebration focusing on candy and licensed character costumer (in fact, Americans will spend nearly $7 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation). Author Disclaimer: Halloween at my house typically involves some combination of Disney characters, Star Wars costumes, vampires, ghosts, Sour Patch Kids, Skittles and lots of chocolate.
As a result, many people are surprised to find that Halloween is, in reality, tied first and foremost to a Catholic religious holiday. The pagan origins are really all about timing.
To learn about the history of Halloween, there’s no better place to start than the word itself. The word “Halloween” is a contraction of All Hallows Eve, or night before All Hallows, or the Feast of All Saints. The Feast of All Saints, or All Saints Day, has been observed by the Roman Catholic Church on November 1 since the 8th century. The day is a solemn Roman Catholic holiday which honors “all saints known and unknown.” The following day, November 2, is the Feast of All Souls, in which the Catholic remember and pray for their dead.
All Saints Day was originally a springtime observance for the Catholic church, and there is some evidence that Pope Gregory III moved the holiday to November 1 to coincide with the Celtic festival of Samhain, a celebration of the new year and the end of the harvest. It was also one of the days during which dead could cross over to the world of the living.
According to the History Channel’s website, the tradition of donning costumes and visiting one’s neighbors for treats is a common part of celebrating both Samhain and All Saints Day. The idea of wearing a disguise to confuse wandering ghosts or spirits is found in a number of traditions, including those with Irish and English origins. Originally, walking from door to door asking for food also involved offering prayers for deceased relatives. Costumes and food offerings also figure prominently in Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico (another holiday honoring the dead which was also changed to November 1 from a different time of year).
I found a number of websites with fascinating information about Halloween folklore and the religious aspects of Halloween just while doing my bit of research for this post. Here are some of the most entertaining:
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween
http://catholicism.about.com/b/2011/10/24/halloween-a-catholic-view.htm
http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/Irish-traditions—Halloween-in-Ireland-132912653.html
A View From the Room 